PA Fanatic

Dear CASPA Applicant,       I know how much of your time has been consumed with the application process. I know how hard it has been to gather all your LORs, keep track of all your volunteering hours, and edit your personal statement. I know how expensive this process can be (when I looked into my "cart" of programs I had added to my CASPA I nearly screamed). But, I also know how badly you want this, and not just for yourself. I know you want to become a health care provider to provide care to those who in need; to give any family their mother, daughter, son, or father back. I know, I get it.       I know how difficult it is to juggle all of this on top of your normal every day life, whether that's being a parent, being a student, or being an employee. Trust me, there were many a times when I thought, "I can't handle this now, maybe I'll just try next year" (there is nothing wrong with a gap year, but I myself had not wanted to take one and in this ...

Hi guys! I've been getting a lot of emails and Instagram DMs recently about a lot of pre-pa questions so I thought it might be helpful create an FAQ! Where did you go to undergrad? What was your major? Drexel University in Philadelphia! I graduated with a bachelors in health sciences. Where are you going to PA school? Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) Philadelphia Campus! Did you consider other career paths in medicine? YES. There are so many amazing jobs in health care that its so hard to chose one. I originally entered Drexel in an accelerated BS/DPT program for physical therapy, but after gaining more exposure, I thought that becoming a PA or physician would be a better suited career for me. I shadowed both a doctor and a PA, and after learning about the lateral mobility that PAs have, I was sold. What did you do to get your patient care experience? Since I was originally on a PT path, that was where all my experience was so I worked as a PT aide in...

5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting PA School  Hi everyone! I'm super excited to be able to share a guest post written by Savanna Perry from The PA Platform! : Hey guys!  I’m really excited that I’m able to share some tips with you about starting PA school.  After the excitement of gaining acceptance, and the realization that you’re actually going to become a physician assistant starts to fade away, the nervousness about what to expect sets in.  If you talk to any current PA student or PA, you’ll likely hear how difficult and all-consuming school is.  I’m here to tell you that it can also be fun, and provide some advice that I wish I had before I started my program.  1. Start studying for PANCE from day 1 The ultimate end goal of PA school is to pass the boards, which is called the PANCE.  I didn’t really start thinking about this until the third semester, but I wish I had used my PANCE study books from the beginning of didactic yea...

We're about to embark on one of the hardest, yet most rewarding, journeys of our lives, but we're gonna need some essentials. After asking around a few current PA students, I've come up with a list of PA school essentials:  Planner I think is the crown jewel of all PA school essentials. I mean, who doesn't love to be organized? The type-A person I am loves to physically cross off things on my list :p With the busy schedule I'll have in PA school, I know it'll be easy for me to forget little things and writing them down will definitely help! I also feel most productive when I can plan out what needs to be done each night. For example, getting through 2 powerpoints one night, and another two the next night.  I use a @plumpaper planner and I absolutely love it (so far)! It's so easy to customize it to your personal needs. I start didactic year in June and end in July 2018 and was able to make my planner start and end in that time frame! I also customiz...

Some people dread it, but it's a necessity. Where to find PAs to shadow : There's a bunch of different ways to find PAs to shadow. I admit, I struggled a little finding PAs to shadow because they either had a contract with a specific high school or could not have students shadow due to HIPAA laws. If you look hard enough, and ask enough PAs, you will find one who will let you shadow them! I first started with googling PAs around my area and would then either call them or go directly to the practic and bring a resume with me.  I definitely recommend starting with this method, but if you can, I really encourage you to show up to places in person. Make a day of it and just have copies of your resume and lists of practices to go to. Also, make sure you also proofread and update your resume beforehand! I would also reach out to other relatives, especially grandparents, and ask if any of the doctors they attended had PAs and if I could shadow them. Trust me, I'm sure at l...

If you're anything like me (writing is not a strength), this may be a harder task for you, but fear not! If I can do it you can too! CASPA opens in just 12 days! If you're applying this cycle and hoping to submit early, it's crucial that you start your statement now. I'm going to be honest, a lot of PA applicants look good on paper. It's hard for the admissions committee to differentiate between each applicant, but your personal statement is the one thing that you can use to bring your application to life and talk about all the unique qualities that you have! As I've said in many posts before, the book "How to get into PA school" by Andrew J Rodican was super, super helpful to me when writing my personal statement. Highly recommended 10/10. Make a list of things you want the admissions committee to know about you : Whether it's traits or accomplishments, this gives you a good starting point and something to start writing around. For me, I kne...

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 examp...