As promised, I've put together a list of the most common interview questions I was asked! I would prepare your answers to these questions ahead of time if you can.
For the most part, my interviews were either 1-3 faculty members (or a PA student) to 1 interviewee. I also had a tour with a PA student that I took as a mini interview and another chance to impress the admissions committee. I never had a group interview or an MMI.
There are many different types of questions you will be asked. Some will be straight foward, some will be situational. It's important that for every question you articulate and fully answer the question while still being concise. For situational questions, I was told that schools just wanted to see how you acted for "on the spot scenarios" and to see what your thought process was.
Before each interview, I jotted down a list of things I wanted the admissions committee to know about myself before I finished my interview. That way, I had examples of my experiences that I knew I wanted to weave into each answer.
Why do you want to be a PA?
This is arguably the most important question of the entire interview. I know, no pressure, right? In this question you must not only talk about your passion for medicine, but also answer in a way that lets the admissions committee know that you know the roles and responsibilities that a physician assistant possesses.
A follow up question to this, Why not nursing or medical school?
This question can tie into the first because you should explain exactly why you want to be a PA, and then also why being a nurse of a physician would not be as ideal a career for you. Be careful when you answer this question- you don't want to bash other providers. You just need to explain why their role in healthcare is not the role for you.
Why our program?
This is probably the second most important question because here is your chance to show the program that you've done your research and to explain why you would be a great fit for the program. You are interviewing the program just as much as they're interviewing you. They want their students to work well with their faculty and other students while also upholding the values of their mission statement.
What do you do in your free time?
This question might seem easy, but don't underestimate its importance! PA school is stressful, no doubt, but you have to be able to close your book and unwind for a little each day or week, otherwise you won't be able to perform as well or enjoy the information if you're constantly stressed out! PA schools want to make sure you have ways to unwind, whether it's exercising, photographing for a hobby, or even volunteering to help you remember why you're putting yourself through all this stress in the first place!
What have you done to prepare yourself for the profession/do you think you can handle the course load?
This is where you can talk about your work experiences, shadowing, volunteering, memberships to the AAPA/state PA society (to better understand our changing health field and the challenges PAs face), and even talking with a few current PA students to farmiliarize yourself with how PA school will be. Here, I also discussed how having a good support system and being able to unwind would help me better hadle the courseload. You can also discuss the classes you took from undergrad that you think have given you a strong science background for PA school curriculum!
What will you do if you don't get in to any schools? What will you do if you get into them all?
Besides "why do you want to be a PA?", this was the only other question I was asked on every single interview. When being asked, "what will you do if you dont get in?", schools are looking to see that you have perseverence and won't give up if plan A doesn't work out the way you want. I know that for me, I wanted to convey to the admissions committee that this was my dream and I would do anyting to achieve that goal, even if it meant taking off two years to gain more patient contact experience. For "what will you do if you get into every school?", I think it's important to note that this would be a decision that should not be taken lightly. I took this as a chance to express why I wanted to attend a particular chool and convey my enthusiasm for specific aspects the program had to offer.
What do PAs have to do to upkeep their certifications?
This is one of those questions which really only has one right answer guys. I was only asked this once, but I think it's super important to remember going into any interview because if you don't know the answer, the admissions committee might not think you've done enough research on the profession. To be certified as a PA, PAs must complete 100 hours of continuing education and take the PANRE every 10 years (it used to be every 6 but they changed it).
Tell me about yourself.
This was probably my most dread question. I mean, come on, how can I adequately describe myself in a few sentences? I was nevery actually asked this during an itnerview, but, you might be. For this question, I asked some of my friends in PA school already how they would answer this and they all agreed that it's important to talk about your path to PA, but also nonacademic related things such as if you studied abroad, if you are really involved in a volunteer organization or if photography is a hobby of yours. It's important to let the admissions committee know about other aspects of your life that might not include medicine.
What kind of personal stress do you see associated with the program?
The admissions committee wants to see that you know what PA school entails. No matter how smart you are, or how hardworking you are, PA school isn't going to be a walk in the park for anyone. I've repeadedly heard PA school explained as "drinking out of a fire hydrant" due to the volume of knowledge thrown at you in such a short period of time. The answer to this question will vary from individual to individual, but for me, I knew that being able to find time for myself would be something hard to do, but also extremely important.
Tell me about a time you made a mistake.
This is a tricky one. It's important to talk about a time you made an actual mistake, not just accidentally signing up for a wrong class or forgetting to study for an exam. It's also important to note here how you learned from this mistake and end the question on a positive note.
Other Common Questions:
For the most part, my interviews were either 1-3 faculty members (or a PA student) to 1 interviewee. I also had a tour with a PA student that I took as a mini interview and another chance to impress the admissions committee. I never had a group interview or an MMI.
There are many different types of questions you will be asked. Some will be straight foward, some will be situational. It's important that for every question you articulate and fully answer the question while still being concise. For situational questions, I was told that schools just wanted to see how you acted for "on the spot scenarios" and to see what your thought process was.
Before each interview, I jotted down a list of things I wanted the admissions committee to know about myself before I finished my interview. That way, I had examples of my experiences that I knew I wanted to weave into each answer.
Why do you want to be a PA?
This is arguably the most important question of the entire interview. I know, no pressure, right? In this question you must not only talk about your passion for medicine, but also answer in a way that lets the admissions committee know that you know the roles and responsibilities that a physician assistant possesses.
A follow up question to this, Why not nursing or medical school?
This question can tie into the first because you should explain exactly why you want to be a PA, and then also why being a nurse of a physician would not be as ideal a career for you. Be careful when you answer this question- you don't want to bash other providers. You just need to explain why their role in healthcare is not the role for you.
Why our program?
This is probably the second most important question because here is your chance to show the program that you've done your research and to explain why you would be a great fit for the program. You are interviewing the program just as much as they're interviewing you. They want their students to work well with their faculty and other students while also upholding the values of their mission statement.
What do you do in your free time?
This question might seem easy, but don't underestimate its importance! PA school is stressful, no doubt, but you have to be able to close your book and unwind for a little each day or week, otherwise you won't be able to perform as well or enjoy the information if you're constantly stressed out! PA schools want to make sure you have ways to unwind, whether it's exercising, photographing for a hobby, or even volunteering to help you remember why you're putting yourself through all this stress in the first place!
What have you done to prepare yourself for the profession/do you think you can handle the course load?
This is where you can talk about your work experiences, shadowing, volunteering, memberships to the AAPA/state PA society (to better understand our changing health field and the challenges PAs face), and even talking with a few current PA students to farmiliarize yourself with how PA school will be. Here, I also discussed how having a good support system and being able to unwind would help me better hadle the courseload. You can also discuss the classes you took from undergrad that you think have given you a strong science background for PA school curriculum!
What will you do if you don't get in to any schools? What will you do if you get into them all?
Besides "why do you want to be a PA?", this was the only other question I was asked on every single interview. When being asked, "what will you do if you dont get in?", schools are looking to see that you have perseverence and won't give up if plan A doesn't work out the way you want. I know that for me, I wanted to convey to the admissions committee that this was my dream and I would do anyting to achieve that goal, even if it meant taking off two years to gain more patient contact experience. For "what will you do if you get into every school?", I think it's important to note that this would be a decision that should not be taken lightly. I took this as a chance to express why I wanted to attend a particular chool and convey my enthusiasm for specific aspects the program had to offer.
What do PAs have to do to upkeep their certifications?
This is one of those questions which really only has one right answer guys. I was only asked this once, but I think it's super important to remember going into any interview because if you don't know the answer, the admissions committee might not think you've done enough research on the profession. To be certified as a PA, PAs must complete 100 hours of continuing education and take the PANRE every 10 years (it used to be every 6 but they changed it).
Tell me about yourself.
This was probably my most dread question. I mean, come on, how can I adequately describe myself in a few sentences? I was nevery actually asked this during an itnerview, but, you might be. For this question, I asked some of my friends in PA school already how they would answer this and they all agreed that it's important to talk about your path to PA, but also nonacademic related things such as if you studied abroad, if you are really involved in a volunteer organization or if photography is a hobby of yours. It's important to let the admissions committee know about other aspects of your life that might not include medicine.
What kind of personal stress do you see associated with the program?
The admissions committee wants to see that you know what PA school entails. No matter how smart you are, or how hardworking you are, PA school isn't going to be a walk in the park for anyone. I've repeadedly heard PA school explained as "drinking out of a fire hydrant" due to the volume of knowledge thrown at you in such a short period of time. The answer to this question will vary from individual to individual, but for me, I knew that being able to find time for myself would be something hard to do, but also extremely important.
Tell me about a time you made a mistake.
This is a tricky one. It's important to talk about a time you made an actual mistake, not just accidentally signing up for a wrong class or forgetting to study for an exam. It's also important to note here how you learned from this mistake and end the question on a positive note.
Other Common Questions:
- What kind of stress do you see associated with finding a job as a PA?
- Tell me about a memorable patient experience for you.
- Tell me about a time when you were most proud of yourself.
- Tell me about a time you failed to time-manage.
- Tell me 3 words that describe yourself.
- Tell me something about yourself that is not on your application.
- If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, fictional or nonfictional, who would it be and why?
- Situational question: A child keeps coming into the office repeadedly for inner ear infections, but your doctor keeps sending the child home, but you disagree. What do you do?
- When shadowing a PA, what did the PA do? What was his/her role?
- What's your biggest weakness? What's your biggest strength?
Remember to also have a few questions prepapred for the admissions comittee! If possible, you want this interview to seem more like a conversation.
I hope this helps in anway! I've been there and I understand how stressful these interviews can be, but prepare right and stay confident, because YOU CAN do it!
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