Hi everyone, I thought with CASPA opening up soon that this would be as good a time as ever to share my journey to starting PA school!
My dad is a pharmacist and my mom used to work as an x-ray tech so I've always been positively exposed to the health field. My parents also highly encouraged my love from science at a young age. The first thing I remember wanting to be when I grew up was a paleontologist, I kid you not. I was obsessed with dinosaurs and rocks and discovering things. My parents would buy me science kits where I would have to chisel away at a rock to find a fossil or shell. I can remember being in 3rd grade and writing down on an "about me" sheet that Emergency Vet was my favorite TV show. I was only 8 years old, but even back then, seeing surgeries being performed fascinated me-even if they were on animals and not people. In addition to fostering my love for science, my parents also taught me from a young age how important it was to take care of those who could not take care of themselves and because of this, I always try to understand someone else's obstacles and be as sensitive as possible when helping someone recover from that obstacle. Because of this, I am who I am today. I may be sensitive, but I am also empathetic, a trait that I know will help me connect with my future patients.
In high school, I wasn't really committted to any career path. In the back of my mind, I think I always knew I would wind up in healthcare, but I wasn't set on it yet. I had pondered the idea of going to medical school and was convinced that if I couldn't commit to anything I would just major in biology and figure it out later on in college. End of my sophomore year of high school my mom has suggested that I check out physical therapy as a possible career path. I resisted a little at first because I wasn't really sure what a PT was, but I decided to give it a chance and shadowed at a pediatric physical therapy outpatient office. I loved being surrounded by the little kids and babies and being able to watch them progress and meet their milestones. There truly is no better feeling than watching a toddler take their first steps, seeing the face on the parent, and knowing that the physical therapist has a big part in this milestone. I wound up shadowing in a few other PT settings and although I did really enjoy volunteering and shadowing with the physical therapists, I did not loooove it. I more so just liked being able to work with the patients. I brushed these feelings aside because I knew I would be happy as a physical therapist, and I just assumed that's how everyone felt about their job. They liked it, but didn't necessarily look forward to their daily workload every day. My parents were also ecstatic about me choosing physical therapy as a career path; they thought it would be the perfect fit for me and became attached to the idea of me becomming a PT.
So, I applied to schools with good PT programs and/or accelerated programs my senior year of high school. I wound up choosing Drexel's accelerated 3+3 program. Convinced this had to be the right path for me, I joined the pre-pt club and was elected as vice president during my first term (Drexel is on the quarter systems which is why I always say term or quarter instead of semester). During my second quarter, winter term, we had to take a university 101 course specific to our major where I learned in depth the responsibilites of a PA. I had interacted with PAs before, but I was never fully informed on what a PA's role is in the health care system is. NJ is not as PA friendly as PA (lol). I was astonished to learn that PAs could partake in surgery and perform various other procedures, which sparked a little idea in my head that maybe PA was really the career path for me.
My freshman summer I shadowed my first PA and loved it. At this time, I was also working as a PT aide at an outpatient office by my house and also shadowing a pediatrician. I wanted to make sure that if I switched my career path that I allowed myself to explore all of the possibilites that healthcare had to offer. I thought long and hard about my decision- I was taking myself out of a guaranteed grad program seat- and decided that my passion for healthcare aligned best with the roles and responsibilites of a PA. It took a lot to convince my parents that this was a better career path for me, but I did and I never looked back.
My undergrad major stayed the same, health sciences, but now I would be completing my undergraduate degree in 4 years instead of 3 and would have to take organic chemistry and medical terminology, instead of physics. Over the next year and a half, I worked hard to get good grades and take classes that fulfillled PA school prerequisites. The summer going into my junior year is where I met the PA that wrote me a letter of recommendation. She worked at a plastic surgery center and I'm still convinced she's the coolest PA out there. I watched as she assisted in mastectomies, consulted with transgender patients, and did botox injections. I was fascinated with everyting she did, not matter if her role was big or small. I loved the time she was able to spend with patients, while still being able to first assist in surgery and perform smaller procedures entirely herself; I was hooked.
Drexel is known for their co-op system which stands for cooperative education, in which students partake in a 6 month internship set up by the school. Mine allowed me to gain 6 months of hands on patient contact experience as a PT aide in an amazing PT office. I loved my job, but I found myself being reassured that PA was the right path for me. The therapists, the patients, the facility itself were all incredible, everything was perfect, but still I did not feel the same passion for PT that I felt for PA.
In the months leading up to the CASPA 16-17 cycle opening up, I volunteered at my local hospital, participated in my sorority's philantrophy, and became BLS CPR certified. When it came to writing my personal statement, I found this to be easy for me. I talked about my love for science, empathy from patients, and how my journey led me from PT to PA. All of this has lead me to where I am today on my journey to add that PA-C at the end of my name.
The major pieces of advice I can give to any of you pre-pas reading this is:
1. Always go with your gut, even if it's telling you something different from what your parents, or anyone else, says. At the end of the day, this is the job that you will be working, not them.
2. If you are consider switching career paths, I encourage you to explore all possible paths. It won't hurt to see what an OT or a SLP does. You won't know if you have a passion for something unless you try it and experience it first hand.
3. Once you find that passion, do everything you can to foster it. I think that being genuinely happy to get up and do your job every day is so special and not many people get to experience this. If you're feeling bogged down with exams and other obstacles, volunteer at a clinic or shadow a health care professional for the day. I guarantee that these little activities will remind you why you're doing what you're doing and fuel the fire to overcome any obstacles.
If you've gotten this far, thank you! I know this post is extremely long, but I wanted to share my story in case ther was any one else out there who ever felt like they weren't on the right career path. As always, feel free to email me at fanaticpa@gmail.com or DM me on instagram @pafanatic !
My dad is a pharmacist and my mom used to work as an x-ray tech so I've always been positively exposed to the health field. My parents also highly encouraged my love from science at a young age. The first thing I remember wanting to be when I grew up was a paleontologist, I kid you not. I was obsessed with dinosaurs and rocks and discovering things. My parents would buy me science kits where I would have to chisel away at a rock to find a fossil or shell. I can remember being in 3rd grade and writing down on an "about me" sheet that Emergency Vet was my favorite TV show. I was only 8 years old, but even back then, seeing surgeries being performed fascinated me-even if they were on animals and not people. In addition to fostering my love for science, my parents also taught me from a young age how important it was to take care of those who could not take care of themselves and because of this, I always try to understand someone else's obstacles and be as sensitive as possible when helping someone recover from that obstacle. Because of this, I am who I am today. I may be sensitive, but I am also empathetic, a trait that I know will help me connect with my future patients.
In high school, I wasn't really committted to any career path. In the back of my mind, I think I always knew I would wind up in healthcare, but I wasn't set on it yet. I had pondered the idea of going to medical school and was convinced that if I couldn't commit to anything I would just major in biology and figure it out later on in college. End of my sophomore year of high school my mom has suggested that I check out physical therapy as a possible career path. I resisted a little at first because I wasn't really sure what a PT was, but I decided to give it a chance and shadowed at a pediatric physical therapy outpatient office. I loved being surrounded by the little kids and babies and being able to watch them progress and meet their milestones. There truly is no better feeling than watching a toddler take their first steps, seeing the face on the parent, and knowing that the physical therapist has a big part in this milestone. I wound up shadowing in a few other PT settings and although I did really enjoy volunteering and shadowing with the physical therapists, I did not loooove it. I more so just liked being able to work with the patients. I brushed these feelings aside because I knew I would be happy as a physical therapist, and I just assumed that's how everyone felt about their job. They liked it, but didn't necessarily look forward to their daily workload every day. My parents were also ecstatic about me choosing physical therapy as a career path; they thought it would be the perfect fit for me and became attached to the idea of me becomming a PT.
So, I applied to schools with good PT programs and/or accelerated programs my senior year of high school. I wound up choosing Drexel's accelerated 3+3 program. Convinced this had to be the right path for me, I joined the pre-pt club and was elected as vice president during my first term (Drexel is on the quarter systems which is why I always say term or quarter instead of semester). During my second quarter, winter term, we had to take a university 101 course specific to our major where I learned in depth the responsibilites of a PA. I had interacted with PAs before, but I was never fully informed on what a PA's role is in the health care system is. NJ is not as PA friendly as PA (lol). I was astonished to learn that PAs could partake in surgery and perform various other procedures, which sparked a little idea in my head that maybe PA was really the career path for me.
My freshman summer I shadowed my first PA and loved it. At this time, I was also working as a PT aide at an outpatient office by my house and also shadowing a pediatrician. I wanted to make sure that if I switched my career path that I allowed myself to explore all of the possibilites that healthcare had to offer. I thought long and hard about my decision- I was taking myself out of a guaranteed grad program seat- and decided that my passion for healthcare aligned best with the roles and responsibilites of a PA. It took a lot to convince my parents that this was a better career path for me, but I did and I never looked back.
My undergrad major stayed the same, health sciences, but now I would be completing my undergraduate degree in 4 years instead of 3 and would have to take organic chemistry and medical terminology, instead of physics. Over the next year and a half, I worked hard to get good grades and take classes that fulfillled PA school prerequisites. The summer going into my junior year is where I met the PA that wrote me a letter of recommendation. She worked at a plastic surgery center and I'm still convinced she's the coolest PA out there. I watched as she assisted in mastectomies, consulted with transgender patients, and did botox injections. I was fascinated with everyting she did, not matter if her role was big or small. I loved the time she was able to spend with patients, while still being able to first assist in surgery and perform smaller procedures entirely herself; I was hooked.
Drexel is known for their co-op system which stands for cooperative education, in which students partake in a 6 month internship set up by the school. Mine allowed me to gain 6 months of hands on patient contact experience as a PT aide in an amazing PT office. I loved my job, but I found myself being reassured that PA was the right path for me. The therapists, the patients, the facility itself were all incredible, everything was perfect, but still I did not feel the same passion for PT that I felt for PA.
In the months leading up to the CASPA 16-17 cycle opening up, I volunteered at my local hospital, participated in my sorority's philantrophy, and became BLS CPR certified. When it came to writing my personal statement, I found this to be easy for me. I talked about my love for science, empathy from patients, and how my journey led me from PT to PA. All of this has lead me to where I am today on my journey to add that PA-C at the end of my name.
The major pieces of advice I can give to any of you pre-pas reading this is:
1. Always go with your gut, even if it's telling you something different from what your parents, or anyone else, says. At the end of the day, this is the job that you will be working, not them.
2. If you are consider switching career paths, I encourage you to explore all possible paths. It won't hurt to see what an OT or a SLP does. You won't know if you have a passion for something unless you try it and experience it first hand.
3. Once you find that passion, do everything you can to foster it. I think that being genuinely happy to get up and do your job every day is so special and not many people get to experience this. If you're feeling bogged down with exams and other obstacles, volunteer at a clinic or shadow a health care professional for the day. I guarantee that these little activities will remind you why you're doing what you're doing and fuel the fire to overcome any obstacles.
If you've gotten this far, thank you! I know this post is extremely long, but I wanted to share my story in case ther was any one else out there who ever felt like they weren't on the right career path. As always, feel free to email me at fanaticpa@gmail.com or DM me on instagram @pafanatic !
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