I went down memory lane today when Facebook graciously showed me a picture that I had shared three years ago. It was a picture of me holding a heart in my hand for the very first time. This is from an 8 am anatomy lab that I took during undergrad with one of my roommates, who was just as excited and eager to learn more about the human body as I was. I remember feeling so privileged to get the opportunity to physically see and touch the chambers, the valves, and the fibers of an organ that beats without resting in our chest, in order to pump blood and nourish all the other organs in our bodies. It was an extraordinary moment that left me giddy and excited for the future.

T-Minus 3 months!

"The ball has started rolling and will form into an avalanche by August 2018." That's what I told someone a few weeks ago in reference to PA school and it's starting to come true already. Our orientation is exactly in 3 months! A lot of financial aid things have kicked in this week and most of us are in a frenzy to figure out the most tedious yet important part of this process. We got a letter from our school letting us know all that needs to be done before orientation and let's just say it's going to be a busy three months! 

How to Prepare for PA School in Undergrad

 

1. Pre-reqs

You don't have to be a biology or chemistry major to apply to PA school. I know a lot of applicants that majored in exercise science, HHP, and even in history before applying to Med/PA school. If you are a non-science major, make sure you take all the pre-reqs required for the programs you're looking at. This takes a bit of planning and something your advisor would be able to help you out with.

2. GPA & GRE

Every year PA schools are becoming more and more competitive and the minimum GPA and GRE scores required keep rising. It's important to keep in mind that the minimum required GPA & GRE scores and the average GPA & GRE scores of the accepted students are two different things. You want your GPA & GRE scores to be either in the same vicinity or higher than the average scores of accepted students. That doesn't mean that you won't get in if you have a GPA that's lower than the accepted average, but it definitely makes you a stronger applicant.

Interview Questions

As promised in my last what to expect during interviews post, I'm sharing mix of some of the questions I had to answer at all three of my interviews either verbally or in a written form. It looks like a lot of questions, but one of my interviews was a MMI (multiple mini interviews) and the other two had two interviewers at once. Please note that the questions you can be asked are not limited to the ones in this post.

The 'All About You' Questions - These questions are usually used to start off the interview and then get more detailed and require some more thought and preparation. During these questions, they're trying to get to know your personality and to see if you've really given this whole PA school thing some thought. A lot of people struggle with the "tell me something about yourself" question. I would say it's okay to add something personal towards the end of your answer, such as "I like hiking" or "I like to try out new recipes in my free time" as long as you lead the answer with a few professional and academic statements.

PA School Interviews - Things to keep in mind

I apologize in advance for a rather long post. For those of you who aren't applying to PA school, you might not enjoy the next post or two, but bear with me please :) 

While I was taking classes part time to finish my pre-reqs for PA school, I met a classmate who had also applied to PA schools. He was kind enough to pass down Andrew Rodican’s “How to Ace the Physician Assistant School Interview” book to me, which had been handed down to him as well. With the help this book, along with the advice of our A&P professor, and the many wise people I have been blessed with in my life, I was able to prepare for and ace my PA school interviews. Here are a few things to consider if you're getting ready for the next interview cycle:

First and foremost, know why you want to become a PA. Not only so you can answer the question at your PA school interviews, but also for yourself. Really know why you want to spend the rest of your life doing this. The cliché answer that you want to stay away from is “because I want to help people”. Yes, while that is a valid and very important part of why anyone would want to become a PA, realize that we can help people without being a PA. Please give it some more thought and have more reasons than just that.  

A first for everything

Welcome everyone :) This is my first post on my first blog! I've been following a few blogs for a while now but never thought I would want to start one myself. My main motivation for this blog was to be able to "process and share my journey" as one of my best friends put it. When I started looking into the PA profession, trying to figure out if it's something I would want to commit to for the rest of my life, I didn't know any PAs or anyone who was currently in PA school. After calling almost every clinic and hospital in my town, I heard back from one PA who was willing to let me shadow him. Excited and eager to get my feet wet, I took the opportunity and set out to buy my first set of scrubs! 
Once I decided to apply to PA school, reading other people's experiences helped me understand what to expect and what all I had to look forward to! 

In early summer of 2015, I applied to PA school and got my first interview invitation in August. I still remember opening that email in Kroger and running to my mom to share the news with her. It involved some jumping up and down and squealing on my part, which is very uncharacteristic of me. But when you get something you've been waiting for a long time, jumping up and down with joy seems very natural. 

The program I will be attending was my third interview and honestly the last place I expected to get in. When I first applied there, I knew that there was a possibility that I might not even get an interview because of how competitive the program is. But with the program's reputation, foundation, and proximity to my hometown, I decided to go ahead and try my luck by applying. I am so blessed to have gotten into my top choice and feel that I'm heading exactly where I need to be.

We got our first round of emails two weeks ago with a calendar for our didactic and clinical semesters, so I'm expecting a lot of paperwork and financial aid stuff to kick in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more exciting updates as we get closer to our start date in May. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your thursday!