Interview season is here, which means the applications are done and the part that actually decides things is starting.

By the time you're invited, everyone in that room is qualified on paper. Your GPA got you in the door. It won't get you a seat. The interview is where they figure out who they want to spend two and a half years teaching.

I put together the PA School Interview Course as a companion to my interview book, and in this episode I walk through what's in it - traditional questions, behavioral questions, ethical scenarios, and the practical stuff like what to wear and how to handle group activities. Modules you can work through instead of just reading a list of questions and hoping.

Whatever you use to prepare, prepare. Out loud. Before the week of.

What I cover:

• Why the interview matters more than your stats at this stage
• Traditional, behavioral, and ethical question types
• What's inside the PA School Interview Course
• How the course pairs with the interview book
• Practical prep: attire, logistics, group exercises
• Common mistakes that cost people offers

Resources:

Interview course: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pa-school-interview-course

PA School Interview Guide: https://www.thepaplatform.com/physician-assistant-school-interview-guide

Mock interview: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/mock-interview

Pre-PA counseling: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pre-pa-counseling

Mentioned in this episode:

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Hey, y'.

All.

Welcome to the Prepa Club podcast.

Today we're talking about some interview stuff and things you can do to prepare, because guess what?

It is interview season.

Welcome to the Pre PA Club podcast.

If you want to learn how to.

Become a physician assistant, you're in the right place.

I'm your host, Savannah Perry.

Let's get to it.

Hey, guys, we're getting really close to that episode 100.

I don't know exactly what I'm going to do yet.

Maybe a podcast giveaway.

I'm not sure how to make that work, but I'm sure I can figure it out.

So, yeah, I'm really excited.

I can't believe it's been almost two years of doing this podcast, almost every single week now.

I'm really sorry about last week's episode being late uploading.

I just ran into some technical difficulties that I could not figure out.

And honestly, I'm still having some of those.

So my bad.

Right now, my microphone's kind of not working with me.

So if it sounds a little different this week, that is why.

And I'm working on getting it fixed.

Also, the B key on my keyboard stopped working, and that's a little bit tough when the letter B is in almost all of your passwords.

Also working on getting that fixed, but I think that is what just comes with the territory of doing so much on our computers these days.

Anyway, thank you for listening.

If we've never met before, I'm Savannah Perry.

All.

The Prepa Club on Facebook is awesome.

It is the place to be, and it's a lot of.

Lot of people sharing their information, answering questions, asking questions.

I run that with the mypa Resource, which is a service that edits essays, so personal statement stuff.

If you're applying to PA School and need help with your essay, definitely check them out.

You can use the code.

We're changing the code.

Just listen so you can use the code Future PA Resource for a discount on that service.

You're also welcome to use that code or Prepa Club on the PA Platform.

And then we also work with PA School Prep, which is an online course that helps prepare you for PA school, specifically in anatomy and medical terminology.

And so that's something else that you can look into as well.

So I'm really, really excited.

I've got Some cool stuff this week.

Now, first of all, if you didn't listen to last week's episode, which did not upload on the normal day due to those technical difficulties, I interviewed Sean and he is a non traditional applicant who has just a great story, great personality.

He started PA school last week.

So definitely go back and take that episode and give it a listen.

Because I just think everything he shared was so valuable, especially if you maybe aren't in a place where you're in college right now, if you're going back to PA as a second career like Sean did.

He was a teacher and then decided to go back and pursue PA and moved across the country, has a wife and kids, made a lot of sacrifices to get there, and now he is a PA student, which is super, super exciting.

But I wanted to talk about interview stuff a little bit because not that I've never talked about that before because that's a lot of what I talk about.

But last week at the Northeastern Prepa Conference, I was able to do a couple talks about interviews and really breaking down, you know, everything, just what to expect on interview day, the types of interviews you can come across talking about different interview questions, that type of thing.

But all that information came from something that I've been working on for the last, oh gosh, probably year since the book came out.

I felt like it needed a companion because I put a lot in the book, the PA School Interview Guide, and pretty much as much as I could.

But it's a little bit different when I'm actually talking about those things.

So I decided to create an online course.

It's called the PA School Interview Course.

I'm super creative, I know, not really, but it just, it's simple, it tells you what it is.

So it's kind of a companion to the book.

It's that thing that if you feel like you need more than the book, but you're like, I'm not ready for a mock interview, but I want to be preparing for interviews.

What do I do?

That's where this course steps in.

So as of today, as of right now, it is officially available.

And I've had some people testing it out.

They haven't found any glitches, have said that it's running pretty well.

So it's over four hours of video, a bunch of handouts, and I mean, it's got a mock interview guide, it's got mock interview examples, video ones, it's got my favorite thing.

So if you've ever wanted a list of how to schools interview, what's their interview style.

We have a list of every single program and their interview style.

As much as we know there are some schools that don't share or have a non disclosure haven't started interviewing yet.

So those are not on there.

But if you wanted a list it's so long and has every single program and how they interview.

So that took a lot of work too but I think it's something that's so so valuable.

Anyway, if you want to check that out and I'm going to in just a minute kind of put the introduction video in here.

Not that you can see it because this is a podcast, but you can of listen to it to know what to expect from the course and what you would get out of it.

But you can go to prepacourses.com and now through Sunday.

If you're listening to this currently and it is August 9th now through Sunday, it's going to be half off if you use the code yes please.

I might have been watching too much Parks and Rec recently but the code yes please will get it get you that course for 50 off and if you have any questions about it please let me know.

Just reach out on, you know, Instagram email.

You can always email me Savannah no H S A V A N N a@the pa platform.com there's a contact form on our website to post in the Prepa Club.

There is a private Facebook group in addition to the course.

So as you're working through it you can post in there, you can post videos of yourself answering questions.

We're give you some feedback, let you know how you're doing and you can kind of brainstorm with your peers about any of your interview issues.

But this is just the area that I really love working on when it comes to PA school stuff.

And I think just if you can hone those interview skills a little bit, it makes such a huge difference once you get to the actual interview.

So I'm going to stick that intro video in here.

Now I wanted to start something new because well, number one I love to read but number two I'm obsessed with books and audible now that I I don't know, I like listening to things, hence the podcast.

So if you go to audibletrial.com thepaplatform you can get a free audiobook.

So I'm going to be picking out some of my favorite books that are there for you to check out, kind of telling you why and then I'm hoping I think I've been saying this to get the PA school Interview guide up there soon.

I have it partially recorded, but that whole process again, y', all, I'm so not good at technology.

I'm not quite sure why I try to do these things.

So working on it.

But the book that I think you should check out is one called Atomic Habits by James Clear.

The subtitle is an easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones.

So this is kind of going to fall into that kind of.

I don't want to say self help category, but I felt like this was a really good read for when you just feel overwhelmed.

So for me, like I have trouble sometimes with time management and figuring out when to work out and when to kind of do the things to take care of myself versus everyone else in my house and all that.

So this book kind of lays out some ideas on how you can be more effective in establishing good habits and breaking bad ones.

So it kind of talks about breaking things down into just very small steps to create these habits that you can carry forward with you.

So Atomic Habits.

And you can listen to that for free if you sign [email protected] thepa platform and then just make sure that you, if you don't want to continue audible that you cancel the membership right after so that you don't get charged.

But I think, I mean I like getting free stuff so check it out.

Alright, let's jump into this introduction to the course and then if you have any questions feel free to reach out, let me know.

And yeah, and also jump on Instagram.

There are going to be a ton of giveaways coming up this next week for the course.

I may throw in some books, I don't know.

But the page follow HEPAPA platform on Instagram.

Make sure on the newsletter there may be something coming up in there too.

So that's the paplatform.com newsletter.

All of these links are in the description, so don't be like trying to scribble them down.

But let's jump into that course introduction.

When I was applying to PA school there are so many requirements in the personal statement, completing all the classes, all of that.

But I think that what really gets you accepted to PA school is the interview.

And PA school has only become more competitive since I applied and now everyone has experience, everyone is qualified that turns in their application.

So to really stand out, the interview is your chance to shine.

That's why when I finished PA School and started working as a dermatology PA I felt like I needed to get out there and help people with their interview skills.

During my interviews, I was accepted to every program I interviewed at and I.

Actually enjoyed the process.

That doesn't mean I wasn't nervous because I was, I was shaking.

But I actually really liked the challenge of trying to come up with an answer, trying to figure out what they were asking me and why, and really just getting to show them why I was going to be a great pa. That's the goal of the interview.

What's going to make you a great.

Colleague, a great classmate?

Why should you be the person that they choose for that program?

So over the past five years, I've enjoyed really working with students on interview skills.

And that's been a lot of one on one through mock interviews.

And then last year I decided to.

Put all that into a book form,.

Which I think is great.

You know, I like to read things,.

I like paper, I like to see it, but that doesn't necessarily help you practice.

And so that's where the course that I've created, the PA School Interview Course, is kind of a middle ground where if you've read the book but feel like you need more guidance, more direction, more details, but you don't quite feel ready to do a mock interview, maybe you haven't quite gotten that interview invite yet or you think it would just be weird to talk to a person through a computer.

The PA School Interview course is your solution.

In this course, it includes 10 different modules where we break down every part of the interview process from before the interview, what you should do to get ready, how to prepare, how to practice to what to expect at the interview, different types of interviews, then the interview questions.

So we break it down into traditional behavioral and situational, including some ethical questions, multiple mini interviews or mmi and then group interviews, essays, what to do after the interview, and then tons of Q and A.

So part of this course is a private Facebook group where you can actually post your responses to questions and get some critiques, which is really cool.

As well as a list of a bunch of different interview questions and a.

List list that we've compiled over the.

Years of kind of what we know about the interview process at different schools.

So it has every PA school listed and everything that we know about their interview process.

It's kind of a cheat sheet, but it should help you out when it comes to the interview.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

The personal statement is what gets you an interview to PA school and the interview is what will get you accepted.

So if you feel like you don't know where to start if you feel like your answers are robotic, you just don't know what to say, you get caught up in your words or you're just really nervous.

I think this course is for you to help you with those skills, help hone your answers and really give you the confidence you need to walk into.

That room and own the interview I'm going to go through in this introduction.

You know, just expectations for the course, how to complete the course, what to look for, how to do it, and if you have been following the PA platform for a while, I mean, you may have heard some of these tips before, but I've never gone into them in this much depth.

So I'm really excited to share with you all of my tips and tricks and techniques to impress your interviewers, which you may recognize that from the PA School Interview Guide as the tagline.

But what I find when I read through that book is that there's so much more I want to share and you can only put so much into a book and that is where the course comes from.

So let's move on.

As far as the introduction, like I said, I just want you to kind of be able to know more about me and why I'm talking about all of this and then also know what to expect and how to complete this course most efficiently to get the most out of it.

So we'll jump in and I am Savannah.

If we've never met before, I am a pa.

I did a little bit of soul searching then just to figure out exactly what that meant.

But ultimately PA school is my goal.

I stuck to that.

I did all the classes, I worked as a cna, I shadowed and so I ended up applying the summer between my junior and senior year.

It was my goal to not have to do a gap year if possible and luckily that worked out.

I was accepted my first cycle.

I applied to four schools, was interviewed at two, and accepted at both of those programs.

My top choice was Augusta University and that is where I ended up attending.

I immediately went into working in dermatology.

I knew I loved derm just from shadowing and then being on rotations.

I love surgery and a job opened up that was just perfect timing.

So I was able to kind of roll right into that position.

And so I still work in dermatology today.

And that's pretty much all I have ever done.

But beyond that, I do also help achieve their dreams of becoming PAs.

When I was in college, I loved the advising role and I would always help people make their schedules and so that's something that just really appealed to me.

But I wanted to maintain some of that as a pa.

So about four years ago I started the PA platform as a blog and it's just turned into a really great community of people who want to become PAs, PAs who are helping other people become PAs.

And it's been a lot of fun.

So that is what brings me to you.

Let's talk about this course.

Now, if you've never done an online course before, it's basically different lessons and videos and worksheets that you can do at your own pace to learn more about something.

So this is what I expect from this course for you.

I want you to learn, I want you to know what to expect at interviews.

I want you to walk away and be able to really kind of say, alright, I feel like when I walk into that interview, I'm going to feel more confident just because I'm not going to be as surprised or I'm going to be ready for any surprises that come my way.

I want you to actually practice.

So we're going to talk about ways to do that.

We're going to go through different interview styles, different types of questions, things to think about, get you in the right mindset for your PA school interview.

And then once you've practiced, I want you to have that confidence.

You're going to see confidence as a recurring theme here, but to take control of your interview and of your nerves, those are things that we can't take away.

No matter how much you practice, you will be nervous, but ultimately you have, let's say, 15, 20, 30 minutes to go in and convince a couple of people that you are the best person for a spot in their program.

And so you have to know before you get in there what it is that you need to leave in that room.

We're gonna work on that.

And then coming back to confidence.

This is kind of a make it or break it for interviews.

If your nerves get in the way of you being able to answer questions or answer appropriately, that can be detrimental honestly to your interview.

So that confidence realm, I just want you after this course to feel prepared in your interview skills, be confident in your study or your practice methods, and then feel prepared to kind of take on that interview.

So that's what I want you to get out of this in the worksheets.

You'll be able to kind of figure out what you want to get out of this.

But why is all this important?

So, I mean, everyone knows the interview is important.

But you know, I've said it probably 500 times and I'll say it again in my mind.

When it comes to PA school applications, there are a lot of qualified people, which is awesome.

But you can't just go on experience or grades alone.

You really have to have that total package of being a well rounded applicant.

And so this is kind of my mantra.

Your essay gets you an interview, the interview gets you accepted.

Accepted.

And I stand by that.

You know, each program does things differently and some, yeah, they may, when you get there, have already decided.

And that's unfortunate.

But for a lot of programs, the interview stage is an even playing field.

These schools get thousands of applicants, so they have to narrow it down by your requirements.

If you don't meet the requirements, typically they don't see your application.

But once, let's say they take that 4,000 applications down to 1,000 qualified people, maybe only 100 to 150 of those will get interviews.

That's not a huge amount.

That's where rolling admissions comes in as being something that's so important.

But if they like what they see on paper and you get to that interview stage, depending on how big the program is, usually they interview two to three people per spot.

That increases your chances of an acceptance dramatically.

And sometimes, you know, you won't get exactly what you wanted or expected at the interview or they may feel like it's not the best fit and it needs to be a good fit on both sides.

So that is why this is so important.

It's important that you take the time to prepare.

I've had too many applicants come to me saying they kind of underestimated the process.

And for whatever reason, PA school interviews are just a little bit intense.

My husband who interviewed for medical school always makes fun of me when I'm doing mock interviews because he's like, these questions are ridiculous.

Why are you asking that?

But every single question I ask is a real question that someone has been asked at an interview.

And so it can be a pretty intense process, unfortunately.

Alright, so what is included in this course?

What can you expect?

So each mod, each kind of section is broken down into modules and we'll go through those in a second.

And then you're gonna have multiple video sessions for each lesson.

And then some of the areas, some of the lessons will have homework or handouts that go along with them.

The mock interview guide is attached.

The Master PA School Interview list with everything we know about interviews thus far and that gets updated regularly.

Lifetime access to complete this course at your pace.

And if anything's added in the future, more mock interview examples will be added.

You can definitely sign back in and watch those.

And then you'll also get a pretty good discount on mock interviews if you decide that you need more personalized practice.

Our agenda so we're going to go through a lot of different things and it's broken down into different sections.

Some of them are a little bit longer, some are a little bit shorter.

It's up to you to complete this at your own pace.

You know, if you have an interview coming up and you're pressed for time, you may have to skip a few sections.

If you don't think they're relevant, you can always come back to them or just kind of skim through and see what you think you need the most.

So starting with the introduction, that's what you're watching now.

Good job.

Then we're going to move into module one, getting ready, talking about what to expect at an interview, how to prepare things you can do beforehand, and then getting your mindset in the right place.

Module 2 is going to be traditional questions.

We're going to break down some of those main subjects that come up very frequently.

Module three is behavioral questions.

So this is phrasing questions in a different way to kind of get a different response and more examples.

Then we're moving on to ethical questions and scenario questions.

Module 5 is multiple mini interviews, which is a specific interview style group or module six is group interviews and essays.

Module seven is after the interview.

So what happens after?

What questions can you ask?

And then module 8 is just a bunch of Q and A followed by the conclusion and then you'll be all done.

Sound easy?

Maybe.

Alright, so again, these are the things that I want you to learn and be thinking about throughout this process.

Thoughtful answers is something I talk about a lot.

Your answers, I want them to really seem mature and that you've actually put a lot of thought into this and that you're not just playing a ping pong match where they ask a question, you answer.

I want you to stand out to your admissions committee as someone who has put so much thought into this that it's impossible for your passion to not show.

I want you to have that confidence and you're gonna know what they want to know when you walk in.

So it's up to you to leave that on the table.

And you'll always go to an interview and feel nervous and you'll always feel like there's something else you could have shared or said and that's completely normal.

But the more that you kind of get these things on your mind, the better you'll do and the more confident you'll feel.

And I just want you to be more prepared, have a leg up on your competition.

I don't really like to think of it that way, but at the end of the day the PA school application process is pretty competitive.

And so the more that you've prepared, you're going to be kind of one step ahead and doing more than the other applicants at your interview.

Alright, so for homework today, there's some handouts in the lessons and then use the schedule handout to make a plan for completing the course.

Try to stick to that as much as you can, but you may need to alter it just depending on your interview invites.

And throughout this course, if you ever have any questions, just email them to infohepapapaplatform.com also make sure that you're in our specific private Facebook group so that you can start posting your answers when you're ready.

All right, thanks so much.

We'll see you in the first module.

Alright, so that's the intro and if you have any questions let me know.

So you can find [email protected] and don't forget about that code.

Yes please, if that's something that you're interested in and you know, just to kind of let you know, it's in the course.

So it's broken down into some different modules.

So you have the introduction and then module one is just your interview basics and that's, you know, before the interview, what to expect on interview day, types of interviews, how to prepare, common mistakes for the re applicant.

And then we get into module 2 which is traditional questions about, you know, why you want to be a pa.

Experience, academics, weaknesses, laws, legislation, the politics no one likes to talk about.

Module three is behavioral questions.

Module four is ethical questions and scenarios.

Module five is multiple mini interviews and then mmi.

And then module six is groups and essays.

Module seven is after the interview and then there's an FAQ and conclusion.

So lots of, lots of videos that you can complete on your own time and lots of great handouts and worksheets to kind of help you through the process.

So I hope that's helpful.

If you have any questions, please let me know and then I hope to see you in the course.

In the Facebook group.

And as always, I'm here if you need me.

See you guys next week.

Bye.