Amber studied political science. Now she's a PA student at USC.

If you're worried that your major or your background disqualifies you, listen to this. Amber came into medicine from somewhere completely different, and it made her a stronger applicant, not a weaker one.

What we talk about:

• Going from political science to prerequisites to PA school
• How she explained the career switch in her application
• What non-traditional applicants bring that programs actually want
• Inside the PA program at USC's Keck School of Medicine
• Why their medical Spanish training matters for patient care
• Her advice if you're starting over from another field

Resources:

Free application timeline: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-application-timeline

PA Program Map: https://www.thepaplatform.com/pa-platform-map

Free personal statement worksheet: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-personal-statement-worksheet-download

One-on-one pre-PA counseling: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pre-pa-counseling

Here we go with episode 27.

We'll be hearing from a PA student at the University of Southern California.

Let's go.

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, I'm Savannah.

I'm your host of the Pre PA Club podcast.

I'm a dermatology PA and I run a website called the PA Platform.

But today, I am really excited about an interview with someone I met on Instagram.

It's crazy to me how social media works and how you can meet some of the coolest people.

So I really enjoy talking to other PAS PA students.

Pretty PA people through Instagram, Facebook.

It's really neat.

And then hopefully getting to meet some of you in person one day.

Thankfully, the PA world is pretty small, so it's not uncommon to run into people that you've met in some capacity, even if it means if it's just online.

So, anyway, Amber from tudyingandscrubs on Instagram reached out and wanted to come on and do an interview, which I was super excited about because she goes to the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.

And I know that there are a lot of you out there that would love to go to school in California, and there are a ton of schools in California.

So it was really interesting to hear her insights and interesting things about the program that I didn't know that they did and things that make their program unique.

So she has a really great story, and I'm really excited for you to hear about that.

And we'll get to that that in just a second.

I wanted to throw this out there.

I know I've talked about MyPA resource in the past, but they're doing something so cool this year.

Mypa Resource is a personal statement editing service.

I do edit for them.

But this year, one person who gets their essay edited will have up to $1,000 of their CASPA fees refunded.

So basically, you can win $1,000 and have your applications be free.

It is not cheap to apply to PA school or to go to interviews and do all that stuff.

I actually have a blog post about that on my website from Jamie, who was on a previous episode.

But if you're looking at getting your essay edited, go ahead and do that so that maybe you can win that money, and that would help kind of buffer the cost a little bit.

But my PA resource, we only use practicing PAs, so you know that somebody's reading your essay who knows what they're talking about, and you'll get some great feedback.

So you can use the Code Prepa Club there for a discount as well.

And yeah, let's get to the interview.

Hi, guys.

My name is Amber Price.

I'm originally from Phoenix, Arizona.

So I'm considered a non traditional applicant because I graduated in something other than like your normal life sciences, like biology or psychology.

So I have definitely a different background.

When I graduated, I moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for a senator there and then was in like, the political field in Phoenix for, for a while before I decided that I wanted to go into medicine.

So I definitely have a different route than other people.

And so I love sharing my story so people don't feel discouraged from applying to PA school.

And you're in PA School now?

Yes, I'm in PA School back in California.

I'm at the USC Keck School of Medicine Physician Assistant program.

And how far along are you in that.

Second semester?

First year.

Okay, cool.

So just about finishing up my second semester.

Okay.

Yeah.

I definitely want to hear more about the switch from political science to medicine because that's basically opposite ends of the spectrum there.

Yeah, so I was a student athlete in college, so I actually played college softball.

And so my focus.

Well, in high school, I was like your typical AP student, like in every honors course possible, National Honor Society, as well as like a varsity athlete.

And my dream that I had worked my whole life towards was like, I originally wanted to be pre health, but then also I wanted to excel, like, in my sport.

So I had the opportunity to play Division 1, and so I went and played for a couple years, and then I ended up getting injured and trying to rehab back and it just.

It just didn't work out.

How I had planned.

Realization for me to come to is that I, you know, wasn't living this, like, college athlete life that I had, like, planned out for myself.

And then, like, school was getting really hard because trying to juggle a sport and like the sciences was really difficult.

So one other thing that I had always loved and like, been really interested in was just learning about people, learning about politics, like world affairs.

And so honestly, like, I went into that major because I knew I would be able to get, like, good grades while I was playing a sport.

But it just came easier to me rather than like, having to go to lab hours and like meeting with TAs and stuff because it's really difficult.

To.

Get your schedule to work with the science courses while you have like practice and weights to like worry about.

So actually kind of gave up my dream of going into healthcare because I told myself that I couldn't do it because I wasn't smart enough or like I didn't have the time to dedicate to it.

So my junior year of college I switched and then Excel did really well, was like graduated with honors, so.

And I got the opportunity to have like an extended internship working for a senator on the hill in D.C. so I moved out there, did that for about six months and then actually got a really great job opportunity back in Phoenix and worked on some campaigns and worked for some organizations out there just in the political realm and got a lot of really great leadership experience and leadership training from that.

But like, I didn't feel fulfilled.

I took the lsat, I applied to law school, got into a few law schools, and like a month before I was supposed to go to law school, I had this like, for 25 year old me, I'm 27 now, but I had this like quarter life crisis where I was like, I don't think I want to do this.

Like, I know it sounds good in theory, but like, what am I really passionate about is like helping people, like effect where you can like see the change or like see progress with people.

And at the time, I mean, still there was like, there's a lot of like unrest politically within our country.

And I just was like, you know what?

I really want to make a difference.

And I don't know if I'll be able to do that with the current climate, like little old me.

So like, why not serve my community, you know, on the ground, like taking care of people.

And my dad's a physician and I went to him and I was like, look, do you actually think I could like, do this?

Because I just never thought I could.

And he.

So I took all my transcripts.

I went to a junior college by where I lived and I dumped all of them on the guidance counselor and was like, they were taking, here's my gpa.

Like, here are the science classes I've taken.

Like, you tell me what I need to do to get into PA school.

Surprised.

He was like, oh, you only have like five or six classes to like.

At the time it was Arizona school.

So like Midwestern and at still.

And I worked full time and took those classes for a year and a half before I applied.

So I actually, I kind of went all in like Quit my job cold turkey, my corporate job, and got a job as an ER tech and started doing that while I was finishing my classes.

So that's like the long short of it.

Okay, do you feel like.

Well, first of all, I think it's interesting that your dad is in healthcare and he's a physician, because I feel like people sometimes get mixed, I don't know, responses.

So was he ever like, no, you should go to med school, or was he no go to PA school?

I mean, what were.

What were his thoughts there?

So my dad.

My dad's been practicing for, like, 27 years, 28 years, actually, I think now.

And he's an anesthesiologist.

So for him, PAs haven't really infiltrated anesthesia.

That's actually one specialty I'm pretty passionate about, like, furthering our reach into is because there's such a shortage of anesthesia providers.

But that's another story.

But he has seen, you know, like, CRNA is coming onto the scene, like, there's such a need and that the advanced care providers are able to fulfill that need.

And so initially he was like, no, you need to go to medical school.

Age and where what I wanted to do and I didn't want.

I honestly, truly didn't want to spend eight years in school.

Like, I wanted to be able to make a difference.

I also, like, did not want to have to commit to a specialty because that sounded, like, terrible.

Because, you know, honestly, some of the ER doctors I worked with, you know, after doing 13 years in the ER, they were like, you're making the right decision.

It could switch to a different specialty, but they can't.

So my dad at first was like, what are you thinking?

But then the more he saw me, like, do research, and really, like, the more he looked into it, it was funny to see him, like, switch.

And he was like, wow.

Actually, like, you're probably making, like, the best choice, so that's good.

How do you feel that your person or personal political science background affected your applications?

I mean, was that something that made you stand out or was that something that held you back?

I have a lot of people who ask about majors, and personally, I think you should major in something you're interested in.

So I did biology because at the time I felt like I needed to do that to get all my classes.

But if I could go back, I would do something else.

I would do marketing or business or PR just because I'm really interested in those topics.

I would still be a PA and I still would have taken the classes I needed, but I don't think I would have done biology as my major.

Right.

So I'm actually a big proponent of like adding tools to your toolbox.

So if you can make yourself like more diverse, like I say, go for it.

So like you said, if you're, if you're really interested in another subject other than medicine, like, why not get your undergrad in it?

Because it's very doable to do a different traditional route of biology or chemistry and do marketing, do business and then take your prereqs on the side because it just makes you a more well rounded person and it's only going to benefit you in the long term because you know, having a business background could help you if you decide to branch out as a PA. And you know, there are some PAs that like run, you know, they have a supervising physician, but they run like their own clinics.

But they have to know how to like manage money and like promote their businesses.

So that's like a really important tool I think to have.

But in terms of political science, I actually think that my background helped me stand out to schools because they would bring that up in my inner, like all my interviews.

Wow, this is really important.

We need more people like you because we need more advocacy.

And you see that so much within our profession, I think because people.

What I found especially within my class is people are scared of it because they don't understand politics.

So they're really comfortable with science.

But to them, and they roll their eyes.

But really, yeah, there's politics, which is like what you see on tv and then there's like understanding how laws get passed and how you advocate on behalf of your profession to get things done.

And we're progressing so much as a profession that we need more voices and we really need to take charge of our own paths like moving forward.

So I actually think my political science background really helped me out in that sense.

Do you think you'll get, I mean you may be involved now, but do you think as you become a pa?

I mean, do you want to get more involved with either like your state or AAPA?

Yeah, I would love to.

USC's program is actually unique that we, as I, as far as I know, we're the only program that does a D.C. advocacy trip.

So we're actually, we're actually going in three weeks.

They do it every single year for the first year class.

It's an option so we have to pay for it on our own.

But we, our program director used to be the president of paea.

He has connections with PAEA and aapa.

And we go out there and we first, it takes a lot of preparation.

So we reach out to our representatives and our state senators, everyone that decides to go based off of like where you're from and, and you meet with these representatives, the House of Representatives, like congressmen and women and senators to advocate on behalf of the PA profession, students.

And it's really cool because we get exposed to the legislative process.

You get to like.

So the only.

Right now, the only member of Congress that is a PA is Karen Bass and she's actually a graduate of our program.

So she is a sitting member of Congress and she is a physician assistant.

So we visit with her and she's really involved and she's really awesome.

So there's definitely PAs out there doing things, changing the world in politics and we definitely need more people like that.

That's really cool.

I didn't, I'm learning things.

I didn't even know that.

I can't say that I'm strong on the political side of things.

I try to keep a handle on what's going on in Georgia and our local regional GAPA committee or whatever they are group is very good about that and kind of letting us know like hey, this bill's coming up or this changed and we need to work on it.

So that's helpful.

But yeah, I'm definitely in the camp of I get really confused and overwhelmed trying to figure out what's going on.

Yeah, it is a lot.

But that's really cool.

There's a PA on the Hill.

I didn't know that.

So yeah, there is Karen back one of the representatives for California.

I can't remember which district off the top of my head.

Maybe like 37th.

I'm assuming she doesn't practice.

Can you do both?

Yeah, I don't know if she does currently, but our program takes a lot of pride in the fact that she graduated from USC's program and she's out there really advocating on behalf of like patients and PAs and healthcare.

So it's really important and I'm really excited for our generation because I feel like our generation's really going to take charge in that with a agenda.

Interesting.

Well, yeah.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

Do you going back to kind of your process?

So you ended up at usc.

How many schools did you apply to?

How many did you interview at?

Okay, so I was a one time applicant and because of my age, I was 26 when I applied.

Was not messing around and I like, I mean I know it's not really like in your control to whether or not you get entered.

It is to a certain extent, but you really don't know.

Right.

So I decided, okay, I'm going to do everything that's within my control.

So I applied to like 25 schools my first time.

Wow.

Oh, I applied to 25.

I received, I can't remember exactly.

It was around eight or nine interviews, invites.

One program was USC and it was actually my first interview invite and my first acceptance.

So like to.

I did interview at four schools total just because I wanted to make sure like this is where I wanted to be and no doubt, like it was for sure where I needed to be.

But I was accepted to two.

I was waitlisted at one and then denied from one of the four interviews I went to.

And then I turned down like the other four or five.

Okay, cool.

So yeah, you definitely put yourself out there.

What was the most difficult part of applying?

Definitely self, like the self doubt that creeps in constantly worried.

I was working in the ER as a tech and I remember I would like, after I submitted my CASPA applications, I would check my email like all the time because there's that window where, you know, I got my applications in like the week that CASPA opened.

Like you gotta get them in right away.

That's like my biggest pointer to people.

But then there's like a gap.

There's some schools that don't send you invites for like three months after.

So the waiting game was actually, to me the worst part of applying.

The anxiety that comes with that feeling like you're not, you know, not good enough or maybe you're not going to get in.

So that was definitely, I think the most difficult part of applications was kind of like the mind games.

Yeah, no, I, I agree.

And there's a lot of that just throughout this cycle for sure.

When you decided on usc, what do you made that an easy choice?

Like, what stood out about them, what's different about their program that you felt like it would be a good fit for you?

So I knew that I wanted to stay on the west coast.

It was really important to me to be like pretty close to my family.

It's about a, like a six hour drive back to Phoenix.

And the USCPA program has been around.

It's one of the older, oldest programs.

So it's been around for a long time.

I actually knew a few people who had graduated from the program, a couple PAs and I was just thoroughly impressed with how knowledgeable they were and how well prepared they were.

And these were like new grads.

The other thing that really attracted me was it's a 33 month program, so we're a little bit longer, we get more breaks.

So I do have a summer break after my first year.

So when I'm done with the semester, I have like four months off, which I will definitely need.

And we do have three more rotations.

We do.

Than like the tip the other programs.

So we definitely get more time off, which I know myself and I knew I would want like more time in between.

Cause you know, there's some programs that are 24 months and that's something that I would advise people on is like really self reflect and figure out what type of student you are and what's gonna work best for you if you have that choice.

I was fortunate and I had a Choice between like 27 month program, 33 month program.

And to me I knew like the longer program would be the better fit for me.

Yeah, enjoy those breaks while you get them because once you're in the real world, they're gone.

That's what I remember when I started working.

Looking back and being like, man, this three weeks at Christmas, I don't get that anymore.

It's gone.

So four months.

I know, right?

That sounds amazing.

Well, and I think this is actually like legit my last summer break ever before I'm like, I go back to the workforce.

Oh, and the other thing too about USC's program is that we actually, during didactic year, we take Spanish.

Medical Spanish.

Cool.

So we learn medical Spanish during our program, which is really important.

Even if like you're not super strong in the language.

I'm definitely not.

It's.

It's crazy how much I've been able to pick up and learn just with like interview questions for patients and be able to connect with your patients on that level is really important.

So.

Yeah, that's really interesting.

What has surprised you most about PA school?

Whether that's something difficult or not or easy or I don't know what has.

So I would say, honestly it's the fact that I thought, how do I say this?

I had a lot of self doubt going into PA school, especially since I didn't have like a biology undergrad.

I did super well in my postbac science courses that I take for, for PA school.

But I had this like understanding that it was gonna be like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna be behind because all these other super smart people that I go to school with did like biology or like chemistry or physics and the material, you'll be surprised with how much you enjoy the material.

And it's not that the material is difficult to grasp most of the time, it's just the volume.

So I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed learning like pharmacology and like how they work in the pathophys.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it and how it's just the sheer overwhelming like volume of information that is what really stresses you out.

So for anyone that feels like they're like, oh my gosh, how am I ever gonna understand all this?

Like you will because you'll learn to love it.

But it's just you gotta give yourself some time with how much they give you and expect you to know.

No, I completely agree.

It's not that hard.

It's just a lot.

And it is something that different than staying in a chemistry class where you're going, I have to learn this because someone's making me.

This is actually important.

Like it could affect a patient in the future, you know, so there's a little different outlook there.

But yeah, no, I completely agree with you there for sure.

What do you think there's anything you could have done differently to prepare yourself more for that or you just kind of got to go for it?

Okay, so this is a question that I like really like answering because coming into PA school a lot of people were like, oh, you don't need to study, like just enjoy your break.

Which I think for some people works specifically for my program.

I wish I had studied Spanish more the summer coming in just because it's a lot and I had taken Spanish like two, three years ago and so I didn't remember like everything.

So trying to catch up again is difficult.

But also I think it's really valuable to review like anatomy.

We I know every program is different.

Some do like an intensive like amp lab like the summer before they start, like real true didactic.

Our program has a course, Basic medical sciences.

It's a six credit course where we review like ever learned in undergrad for key pathophys chemistry.

So I think reviewing anatomy would have been helpful and I actually plan on doing like a post about this.

But one thing that I was grateful that I was prepared for is just having like a good amount of savings saved up before you start school.

Especially for those that are going out of state, moving to a different state for school.

Even if you think you're dead set on going to a school at home, you might get an acceptance like last minute at your dream school that's out of state.

And it's key to have expenses set aside for moving costs because you're until like the first week of school.

So that's something that I was really grateful that I had set aside because I do know some people that that was like a really big struggle is that they were like scrambling for money, like with moving expenses, putting down down payments for your apartment, groceries, just like school supplies, computers, iPads, like getting ready.

So definitely I would say like a year, year and a half before you even like, like if, because you're working towards this like two, three years before you or like a year or two before you actually apply, like start putting aside like money then to like make sure that you're set to go ready for school.

Yeah, the expenses can definitely sneak up on you with.

I mean, even just applying to PA school is expensive.

So.

Yeah.

Oh yeah.

Interviews.

I know it well and it's really difficult because most of us are in, you know, jobs that don't pay a ton because you're like subscribing, you're like, or you're an ER tech or you're an emt.

So it is difficult because you do already get paid like a little bit less.

But I promise, promise, promise that it is like so worth it because that was something that was really stressful is not only the cost of ends but like worrying about.

It was just nice to not have that as much that stress as much as like other people did when I was moving and getting ready for school.

Yeah, no, that's a really good tip.

Do you have any idea where you want to end up after school?

Like what you want to do?

So this is like part of the reason why I went into like wanted to be a PA is because I have like a short attention span.

I love everything.

I will say that my experience like being like quote born into medicine was like in the er.

Like I love emergency medicine.

That's like what I know very well or like what I'm experienced with.

And I love like the team aspect you get there.

I love the 12 hour shifts.

There's no call.

The PAs get to do really awesome procedures.

So that's also another reason why I went to USC's program is because it's a primary care program.

So like they really prepare you for primary care needs.

And a lot of emergency medicine now is turning into primary care because that's where people are going for primary care.

So I definitely would love to like go back to the er.

But then like, you know, we Just had a cardiothoracic pa, like, come lecture and she does, like, the coolest stuff.

So every time we have like a new lecture come in, whether it's like, you know, a psych PA or cardiothoracic, I'm always like, oh, wait, but I think I could do that too.

So probably.

Er, but we'll see.

We'll see what.

Where I go from there.

Yeah, you have time.

What advice would you give to someone who is undecided about PA school if they're just not sure if that's going to be the route they want to take?

So ask as many questions as.

As possible.

Shadow pas and shadow pas in different specialties.

Because you truly can't get a good idea of what being a PA is if you just go, like, one route you like.

I mean, you could go shadow derm PA and be like, oh, that's what a PA does.

And, like, maybe you don't love it, but not saying that during.

I love.

I actually shout out a Mohs surgeon.

They, like, do really cool stuff.

Yeah.

But I'm just saying that's not what, like, grabs you.

You could really be missing out on something that does grab you.

So, like, try to shadow eyeshadow to psych pa.

I shadowed emergency medicine, pas, family med, a derm.

Just so you get a better idea of, like, what to expect and then just ask as many questions and then honestly write down pros and cons lists.

Like, if you're debating between medical school and PA school, like, you need to physically write it down because that makes a huge difference.

Being able to organize your thoughts and truly figuring out, like, what works best for you.

For me, it was knowing that I could switch specialties, knowing that I would be out in the workforce sooner and.

Yeah.

So just asking anyone and everyone their experiences that are PAs or doctors or NPS.

Yeah, I agree.

But, yeah, tell us about your.

Well, where we can find you.

Which I'm assuming is your Instagram account.

But how can people follow along and ask you all their questions?

So I. I'm a slacker.

I haven't started a.

Like a formal blog.

I'm working on it slowly.

Understandable.

You're in school.

I don't understand how you do both.

I'm really amazed by, like, that's one thing that I.

So I started this account actually, a year ago last month, and it was mostly so that I could give other pre pas or, like, PA students like, advice or support.

It's really, really amazing.

Like, the Instagram, like, the medical community within Instagram is so supportive and, like, so resourceful.

And so I really have a lot of respect for the other PA students out there that just have these killer accounts and can manage it all, but I'm not quite there yet.

So my Instagram is where you'll mostly find me posting things and it's studying in scrubs.

And then I do have, like, you can DM me on there, lots of people that ask me questions or you can send me if it's a longer questions.

I usually prefer people to send me an email.

That way I can, like, sit down and like, type away on my computer because sometimes it's hard with your iPhones to type a lot.

So my Gmail account, it's studying scrubs Gmail.

So feel free to, like, contact me on either of those.

I'm sure people will take you up on that.

I work with a lot of people in mock interviews from California and a lot that want to go to USC or end up interviewing there.

And so I'm sure you'll get.

Yeah, it's a lot.

It's a great program.

I am, like, happy to talk about the program, give advice on, like, what my experience was.

But everyone's experience is unique and everyone's experience getting to PA school is different.

So it's always good to ask, like, multiple sets of people if you can that go to the same program or like, different programs just to get to, like, a good perspective.

But yeah, I'm like, really happy and I know that I ended up where I needed to be, so.

Well, that's awesome.

Well, thank you for coming on my podcast.

Of course.

And yeah, I just, like, encourage anyone that's listening and having, like, doubts about, like, whether or not they're a good applicant or like, you know, am I doing the right thing?

Feel free to reach out to me.

Like, I'm happy to share my story because I know exactly what you're going through.

I felt all those same things and I'm really enjoying and loving my experience and I really feel like everyone else can too.

So feel free to reach out.

It's very encouraging.

So that was the bulk of our interview, and I really enjoyed hearing Amber's background and her story, which I felt was very unique as what I would call a non traditional applicant.

Stay tuned next week for a big announcement.

I am so excited.

I've been working on something for a while now that I think will be very helpful and.

And I cannot wait to share it with you guys.

So next week, if you're watching this in real time or listening I'm gonna announce on Instagram on Wednesday, and I'm gonna do a live mock interview with Jamie, the PA Student, and then I will tell you guys all about it on Friday, so stay tuned.