I dug up some old audio from an Instagram Live I did and turned it into an episode, because the questions people asked are the same ones I still get every week.

This one is all over the place in the best way. Prereqs, the GRE, study methods, what counts as healthcare experience, why I picked PA over MD or NP, and what PA school was actually like. No script, just answering whatever came in.

If you're early in this process and you're not even sure what questions to ask yet, this is a good one to have on in the background.

What I answer:

• How long to study for the GRE and what to use
• Whether it matters if you take prereqs at a college or a university
• Taking prerequisites over the summer
• Study methods for biology, chemistry, and anatomy
• Whether resident care assistant hours count as healthcare experience
• Why I chose PA over medical school or NP
• The hardest part and the best part of PA school
• How formal to be when you contact programs

Resources:

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

CASPA GPA calculator: https://www.thepaplatform.com/pa-school-caspa-gpa-calculator

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

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

Today in episode 49, I am sharing an Instagram Live from last year with you guys.

Lots of questions and answers.

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, Savannah here, your Pre PA pod.

Oh gosh, I keep messing this up.

Pre PA Club podcast host.

Whoa.

That's a lot harder than it seems.

But if we've never met before, I am a dermatology PA and I also run a website called the PA Platform and I host this podcast.

Thanks for listening and joining us.

This week I found some old audio from an Instagram Live I did, which was a question and answer session where people just hopped on, asked a lot of questions.

I gave my best answers and I thought that might be something that would be helpful to you guys.

So I'm going to share that today with you and I hope you find it helpful and that it answers some of your pre PA or what it's like being a PA questions.

And I need to be better about doing Instagram lives.

I just have fallen off the wagon when I was pregnant, to be honest, I just really did not want.

I was very swollen and I didn't really feel that comfortable doing live video.

But I'm somewhat back to normal.

Definitely not 100%.

But I need to do some more Instagram lives and I also need to just not care about what I look like.

So anyway, you guys can't see me if you're listening to this on a podcast.

But anyway, make sure you follow along on Instagram to make sure you don't miss out on any Instagram lives in the future.

But let's jump in to the Q and A and I'll see you guys at the end.

I was saying on my story earlier how I had just a crazy Monday and I don't know if anybody else had crazy Mondays, but mine was crazy.

I just saw a lot of patients and some of them were very complicated.

I did seven biopsies on one patient that I'm pretty sure are all skin cancers.

Lovely.

Jamie says she's so busy.

What are you on right now, Jamie?

She's.

If y' all don't follow.

Jamie, she's a PA student on rotations and she shares really great advice and sometimes does blog posts for me, which I really appreciate.

Cause she has great advice for you guys.

But 80 hour weeks in internal medicine.

Yes.

Last day.

Congrats.

That is my husband is.

If you don't know.

He's an internal medicine resident and that is his life is 80 hour weeks and working all night and working all day and never getting time off.

So.

Oh my gosh, eight days to prepare for your interview.

Is that a week enough time to prepare?

Of course it is.

There was one guy actually in my interview group, it was on a Monday and he got the call on a Friday, so.

So he had two days to prepare.

So be excited about your eight days.

But yeah, definitely enough time to prepare.

I would go on my website, watch the webinar, I would look at the list of questions on there and just get to practicing with whoever you can.

PAS friends, anyone who's willing to take the time to practice with you.

Just start thinking through questions and preparing what you want them to know before you get there.

Okay, got another question.

What did you use to help study or prepare for the gre?

Gosh, that was so long ago.

I did not do a great study method for the GRE because I only gave myself a week to study which was not wise.

And hey Taylor.

Yeah, let's do that tomorrow.

Jamie says the Princeton GRE book.

I used books.

I used a strategy book and a practice problem book.

So.

So first I would start with studying the strategy and then I would go do a practice problem and I did a lot of practice tests.

Jamie also mentioned the Magoosh app and the Magoosh program and I've heard great things about those.

They weren't around when I was in PA school but or applying.

So I've heard really, really good things though.

So that may be an option.

Vocab is the one thing that you cannot cram.

Like you just can't do it.

And so you really need an app or flashcards, something that will have you doing it constantly because that can kill your score.

Like Taylor said, great tip.

Get books from the public library.

That's what I did.

I used the CDs that came with them to do the practice test and kind of gauge where I was at.

But it saved money and I thought it was really helpful.

And they definitely had the most upgraded or updated books.

Sorry, long day again.

But yeah, but if you saw Taylor comment.

That's Taylor, my medical assistant.

I was wondering if she would join in here.

She should be well.

Well, I guess you're not studying yet since you don't have class yet.

But we used to do these live at lunchtimes and talk about her getting into PA school and we need to do them again.

I don't know why we stopped.

I Guess we got busy at lunch.

We started doing more lunches at our office, which we used to not do.

So I think we have them Tuesday and Wednesday, but maybe Thursday we'll do a live at lunchtime and update you guys on where Taylor's at and answer more questions together.

But, yeah, if anyone has questions.

Yeah, Taylor says life is busy, work is busy.

Yeah.

Today was, again, crazy.

I always say maybe I don't think tomorrow could be as crazy, but then I get there and it's more crazy.

So it's even better.

It's better if I just don't say that and if I knock on wood.

So I just shouldn't even go there.

But I would love to know what you guys are up to as far as.

Yeah, Jamie says, yay, Taylor.

Yeah, she's the best.

I'll be so sad when Taylor goes to PA school, but then I'll be really excited when she's a PA and we can go to conferences together and do fun things and then.

Jamie, you're almost a pa. How much longer?

When do you graduate?

Soon, I guess.

You have at least a little bit longer, but.

Oh, this is a hard question.

What is the best study method for biology and chemistry?

I don't know that I'm the best person to ask that question.

August Biology, I enjoyed.

I felt like I was interested in the subject, and so it wasn't that hard for me to learn because I actually wanted to learn the material and get a good grasp on it.

And I enjoyed it.

Chemistry, I did not enjoy at all.

I found it extremely, extremely difficult.

And, yeah, it was tough for me.

I think the best way to study chemistry is just to practice and to get help and ask for help when you need it, because it can be tough.

I've heard some good things about Khan Academy, especially when it comes to organic chemistry, because organic is a beast.

And it definitely kicked my butt.

I mean, my husband was so good at it and just got it.

He just understood it.

And I was the complete opposite.

I can remember coming out of a final and I thought that I had gotten, I don't know, maybe a 20, and I was crying and so upset.

And we took exams in different places and he called me and he was like, oh, yeah, that wasn't bad.

I did great.

How'd you do?

And I'm just crying because I did awful.

Luckily I passed, but with a curve.

But yeah, it was.

It was hard.

So I feel you on chemistry.

Let's see what Jamie says.

Practice problems?

Yes.

If the homework's not enough, do more on your own.

Yes, Khan Academy is good, but practice problems are what will get you through the test.

People run out of time on tests.

That's true.

That's never really been as much of a problem for me.

But yeah, definitely want to learn how to time yourself and actually get stuff out of it.

Let's see.

Aklectures.com saved me an organic chem, so that's a good thing.

I'm an inspiring physician.

Aspiring physician, maybe some autocorrect there.

I graduate mayor of the bs.

What are the best suggestions for prerequisites during the summer?

So anything that you have gotten a C or lower end you would want to retake and then anything additional as far as like an upper level science, biology courses, chemistry courses.

Anything that is definitely upper level and going to push your science GPA up would be beneficial if that's an issue.

And then other than that, just get out there, get some healthcare experience and make sure you apply really early.

Jamie just said that she would tutor everyone in chemistry.

Just kidding.

But yeah, definitely.

Chemistry takes so much practice and it's just its own beast.

I just feel like you either get it or you don't.

How did you learn all of the bones?

What's the best way to learn them?

For that, I would say memorization has to play a role.

Like you just have to learn it and know it.

But.

But it's also part of anatomy is almost learning the bone dance from Hannah Montana.

Everyone go look that up.

But also it's just like learning a different language almost for anatomy.

And you have to memorize it to a point, but also understand how things connect.

And y' all said the same thing.

You really.

Yeah, y' all get along.

Even though I've never met Jamie either.

But yeah, practice quizzes online, looking at pictures.

Do like coloring books.

Anything that will just help you get more and more familiar with the material.

And again, if you can make connections in anatomy, it'll help you to remember it.

So if you can remember how bones connect and the tendons that are there and the nerves and everything else that'll just be beneficial to you when you're trying to remember these things.

Does it matter if you take prereqs at a college or a university?

Depends on the program.

So most programs will tell you that they would prefer if you take your courses at a university, but that's not always feasible because sometimes with your schedule and trying to work and take courses, you have to take some classes at community colleges or wherever you can find time to take them online even.

And so maybe this is something that me and Taylor can talk about because she works full time as a medical assistant with me at our dermatology office.

But then after work, every single day, she goes and takes classes.

And the only place to do that is a local community college.

You'd want to check with the programs and just make sure that they're going to accept the courses that you're taking, ideally, and that should help.

But just get the classes any way you can get them.

And sometimes that is based on times or even price.

If it's cheaper to go to a community college, you want to try to avoid doing labs online if you can.

But again, sometimes that's not possible.

And you just want to talk to your programs and make sure that they accept what you're doing.

How long did you study for the gre?

I say for a week.

It was not wise.

I finished my undergrad, my undergrad stuff.

Let's see, my finals finished for spring semester, and then I took a week to study and I locked myself in a room and I studied for 12 hours a day.

My parents thought I was insane.

And then I. I took it.

Okay, Jamie is like, trolling me.

Let's see.

If you had to quit medicine because it was taken over by robots, what profession would you pursue instead, assuming there are no other career, Stealing robots.

Okay, so I was asked this question in an interview, but not with the robot part.

Like, what other job would I have?

And at that time, I said that I would open a wedding dress store.

And that is really what I said in my interview for PA school.

And they loved it, by the way.

So I had been watching a lot of say yes to the Dress at this point.

If I could have any other job, there's a lot of jobs I would like.

I would like to be an event planner.

My sister works in Atlanta and she used to plan all these really cool events.

And I think it's so cool.

And I would love to do that.

Oh, gosh, I'm getting caught up in my other professions.

Taylor knows I talk about other professions all the time.

Like, other things I would love to do.

There's a lot of things.

What hours is a resident care assistant at a nursing home count towards healthcare experience hours?

So this depends on the program and depends on what they're looking for and what your responsibilities would be.

So if you're just kind of talking to patients and talking to them or maybe transporting them, that's probably not direct patient care experience.

But if you're getting vitals if you are helping with activities of daily living and really assisting those people, that's more likely to be direct patient care.

So it's just going to depend on how you explain it and what exactly you're doing.

Wait, what exactly is the cherry?

Wait, really?

That is a test for PA school and for a lot of master's programs, and it has some vocab stuff and then like a math type section.

It's similar to the sat, but a little bit.

A little bit different.

Oh, thank you, Jamie.

I've passed.

So what made me choose PA over MD or np?

Thanks for following ebony.

I actually wrote an article about this for Doximity recently, and maybe I can link to that somehow, but I don't know.

I really was ready to work and I didn't want to be in school forever, and I didn't really want to commit to so many years of school.

And I did a lot of shadowing.

And I feel like it was very helpful for me because it showed me that I liked the PA profession and that I could see myself doing it and that it was something that I was very much interested in.

And so for me, I just felt like it was a really good option.

Go to school for a couple years, get out, see patients, and I've been happy with my decision.

I wouldn't go back and change it.

I mean, I think there are great parts about medical school I'm not as familiar with nurse practitioner.

I've worked with some NPs and been on rotations with some MPs and met some really great ones.

But for me, I wasn't interested in going to nursing school.

And you pretty much have to do that to become an mp.

So for me, I wanted to be trained in that medical model and to really get out there, but I also didn't want, like I said, to just go to school forever.

And so people talk about the lateral mobility of being a pa, and I think it's a great thing and a benefit.

And if I had to move for some reason, I have no doubt that I could get a job easily.

But at the same time, I think it's a little bit overrated because I do feel like most PAs don't really switch around specialties that much.

A lot of PAs, once they find somewhere where they're happy and something they like, they stay there and they may go to a different job in the same field, but it's not really like people are just jumping around all over the place.

Yeah, I would say that's my decision.

And I think that's a great question to ask of anyone who's a PA because it is such a, a big part of it.

And if you, I think if you consider going to PA school at all, you had to have considered going to med school too.

So anyway, what was my favorite part of PA school?

Oh, like academically or like for fun.

I have so many favorite parts.

So I really did like the cadaver lab.

I feel like it was really beneficial.

We had small groups working on cadavers.

We got to do a full dissection, which was really, really cool.

And I think as someone who works in a surgical field in dermatology, it really helped me to understand the body more and understand structures.

So I really liked that.

Beyond that, I made some of my best friends in PA school and we had so much fun.

Actually, one of them just texted me.

I was like, oh, I should turn that off because it's really nice because two of them live here and one lives in Houston.

I'm actually going to visit her in a couple weeks.

So yeah, I just, I love the friends that I made there.

And we did such fun things.

Like we went on spring break to my grandparents house in Mobile and stay at the beach and then we went, oh, thank you for my hair.

I actually got it done Friday, so that's probably why it looks a little bit better.

So thank you.

You have good hair too, Ashley.

But.

Oh, Taylor Swift.

Any Taylor Swift fans?

We went to a Taylor Swift concert and we got to shake Ed Sheeran's hand and we got to meet Taylor Swift's mom and it was just so great.

So I'm a huge Taylor Swift fan, if you didn't already know that.

But that was really fun.

We played intramural flag football together and we beat the PT team, which was a really big deal because they're just PT people and they are really good at sports and I'm terrible.

Like I'm so bad.

I was the worst player on our team, but that's okay.

Oh, I can stop talking about PA school.

What was the hardest part about going to PA school?

I would say balancing my time.

I was not super good at that at the beginning and not in the sense that I didn't really study enough.

It was, I studied too much and that I didn't take breaks and I was just way too intense.

So I would say if you go, just like try to be not as stressed out as me because yeah, I was just too intense.

I wouldn't do anything.

I wouldn't even go out to eat with my Family.

It was so lame.

No, I met Taylor Swift's mom, not Ed Sheeran's mom.

And I met her dad.

Fun fact.

Fun fact.

I have shook and shaked.

Shook Taylor Swift's hand.

I don't know.

At the Speak now tour.

And then I met her dad at that same tour, and then I've met her mom.

So we're basically best friends.

She doesn't know, but we are.

So anyway, how long did it take you to apply to PA school?

So I actually got in my first year.

When I applied, I applied to four different schools, and two of them I got rejected because I didn't have enough hours, which I knew ahead of time and was expecting.

But my thought was if I had to reapply, it would look better.

And then the other two that I did qualify for, I interviewed and I was accepted.

So I luckily got in my first year and I was able to start right away and just go straight in.

And it was great.

I didn't feel.

Sometimes people think you have to take a gap year because you're too young or not mature enough, but I felt mature, I felt ready.

I didn't have any issues.

And we had a good amount of what I would say younger or straight out of college people coming in to our PA school class.

So it was a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed it.

Ooh.

Tips for interview.

I love talking about PA school interviews.

I have a webinar, all with like an hour worth of tips, so you may want to watch that because I probably won't talk about them all here, but there is a webinar on YouTube that I did a couple months ago about that and then some blog posts on my website.

But tips for interviews.

What I tell everyone is just, you're going to be nervous, and they know that.

And so you've got to go in and act confident even if you don't feel confident.

So that just shows.

Makes it easier for you to show your passion and to show what you have to offer the school.

And one of the admissions directors at my program would always say, I'm looking for people who are great classmates and great colleagues.

And so thanks.

Thanks, Jamie.

But think about it.

I mean, they want people who are gonna be great members of the class, and then they want people that are going to be great PAs that they would want to refer patients to.

I think one of my biggest compliments is that my.

Oh, hey.

But I think one of my biggest compliments is that one of my teachers actually referred some patients to me and that just for her to have that confidence in me just makes me feel so good.

So that's what they're kind of looking for.

And then I think being able to know what you want them to know before you go into the interview, so that when you go in, you can take control of the interview and not leave feeling like you didn't even tell them anything about yourself.

Ooh, congrats on the interview.

But you really, you need to show them who you are as a person.

Like, they already know you want to be a PA and they already know you're capable of it.

They wouldn't have invited you for an interview if they didn't already know that.

Sometimes I feel like I need to just do, like, a motivational video for people to watch before they go into their interview.

But I think just knowing who you are and being able to say that this is why I want to be a PA and really be honest with that answer and be passionate and have personal reasons.

Anyone could go look up the PA profession and be able to tell me all the great things about it.

It's a great profession.

Obviously, that's why everybody wants to do it.

And so you need to be able to tell me why it fits with you and your personality and why you decided that this is something that you want to do for your whole life.

And you need to have the shadowing and the experience to back that up and show that you've done your research and you've done your homework and you're just ready to get in there and succeed and make a good impression and be a good reputation or be good for the school's reputation.

I don't know how to say that.

Oh, I love this tip from Jamie.

I think you said this on one of your Instagram lives.

She says, write down some questions on flashcards and how have your friends and family randomly ask you the questions.

You'll be doing dishes and then bam.

Why do you want to be a pa?

I think that's awesome.

Like, yeah, get your friends and family involved.

The more you practice, the better.

I mean, you don't want to sound robotic, but you do want to sound like you've thought about these questions.

You want to sound mature and have just very thoughtful, well rounded answers that think.

When I'm doing mock interviews, I try to get you to think beyond just the question and think about why they're asking you the question question and to think about how to give a very well rounded answer and not get caught off guard by what they're asking.

And some people get really Stuck on the wording of a question or feel like they have to word their answer in a certain way and you really don't.

Like, you just have to talk kind of the way I'm talking now, and you just have to kind of take away your filter and, I don't know, go for it.

So Jordan got accepted doing Jamie's tips.

So do it.

Do you need to be extremely formal while talking to the interviewer?

So I don't think so.

I think you have to be professional and be courteous and be, I don't know, not.

Don't say sucks or crap.

But I think in all, you really do just need to talk like a person.

If you're trying to come up with the perfect wording of something, it's just gonna look weird and then you're going to end up not saying what you wanted to say and not say what you mean.

And this is something, again, that I see in mock interviews just all the time, is people just kind of searching for these.

These words.

And you really like.

When I went in my interviews, even though I was super nervous and I was basically shaking, I just kind of said what I thought and I just was honest and I said my answers and then I stuck to them whenever they would question me on it.

And that's another thing.

Sometimes interviewers have this tactic where they try to push you and prod you and I don't know, and just try to get you flustered and get you distracted and all this stuff.

So that's normal.

And just know, like, if they're doing it to you, they're doing it to other people, too.

So it doesn't mean they hate you.

It doesn't mean you're doing a bad job.

I had an interviewer who was so rough on me, and she just.

Everything I said, she had to come back or would question me on it or push me, but I knew going in that was going to happen.

And so instead of freaking out and not being able to answer, just be like, hey, I got you figured out.

You're doing this to everyone, not just me, and move on.

So that's.

Those are some of my interview thoughts.

I feel like I have a lot of interview thoughts.

I have worksheets on my website, too, that you can fill out if you have an interview coming up.

I forgot about those.

But they help you think through some of the things.

But, yeah, you just have to, like, like Jasmine says, just roll with it.

Sometimes they'll ask you weird stuff, too, just to see what you do.

Taylor says, what's the hardest part of being a pa?

I don't know.

What do you think?

The heart.

What's the hardest part of working with a pa?

Taylor?

I don't know.

What's the hardest part of being a pa?

I think when people don't get better, it's very frustrating to me when I don't make somebody better and it makes me feel like I didn't do a good job.

And then I think also you just the logistics of working with people.

And sometimes Taylor will know this.

I get very frustrated with people who are late and people don't show up.

And yeah, that's on me, though.

I just.

That's something I need to work on.

Did I bring a copy of resumes, personal statement, supplemental essays?

So I had a copy in my car, but I did not bring them in with me.

And when I applied it was when CASPA wasn't even.

Well, it was online, but it wasn't.

They still sent out the application through the mail, so now they can access Sorry, my husband just called and then I hung up on him.

I don't know if that messed things up.

He's obviously not watching.

But yeah, you really don't have to bring anything unless it's updated is usually what I say.

So if you have an updated resume or updated transcript that you want to bring, go for it.

I have heard tips of bringing like extra letters.

Like if you have an extra letter of recommendations recommendation that you couldn't get what's the word?

Submitted because you ran out of space, you had already submitted too many, then you could bring that.

But you really do not have to bring anything with you at all.

Patient overload is definitely, well, I don't know.

I don't really feel that overloaded.

Well, today I did, but usually I don't.

Oh, thanks, sir.

Yeah, y' all are so sweet about my website.

Yeah, Reddit is awesome as well.

The Reddit pre pa, pre physician assistant thread, if you'd ever on Reddit, it's like a big forum, so it's definitely awesome and a great place to go, ask questions and get advice.

So how many letters of recommendations should I have?

You can enter up to 5 on CASPA.

Some schools only look at 3 though, so you have to kind of pick and choose.

But then it gets frustrating because you'll have ones that want a professor and then ones that want a PA and then ones that want all different stuff.

So you just kind of have to look at the requirements of each school.

Hey Skyler.

Yeah, congrats on on Gaining engaged.

That's awesome.

Yeah, definitely.

Check out the Reddit forum if you haven't there.

I have a list of PA blogs on my website.

I haven't added Jasmine's yet because she just started it, but I will get that done this week.

But yeah, if you are looking for PA stuff, there's a lot of stuff out there.

Now, who did I get my letters recommendation from?

So I had a pa.

It's really important to have one from a PA if you can.

I had a supervisor at the hospital where I worked as a cna.

I had a hospice supervisor and then I had a professor who did not know me at all because I went to UGA and the classes were 300 plus students and yeah, so that was probably not a very good letter.

I think it's fine if you had a B as long as that professor knows you well and as long as they can write you a strong letter.

So like, the more personal the better I would say.

Wait, why are you saying woo.

Yeah, Jamie, are you engaged yet?

Are there any laws that I feel limit the PA profession unfairly?

I feel like.

Wait, we have a mock interview coming up.

Yeah, this is a tough question.

Oh, we can't say.

So I don't feel like there are any laws that limit the PA profession unfairly.

But in an interview setting, the whole point of this question is to see if you understand.

Sorry.

To see if you understand that or if you've done your research on the PA profession and that you kind of have an understanding of it.

So I think being able to know your state or what state you're interviewing in, what their laws are and being able to kind of speak to those, if there is anything.

Like in Georgia there's an issue because the FDA changed the scheduling of some prescription pain medication.

And so then in Georgia they haven't caught up with that yet.

And so, yeah, that's an issue.

But I think more than that, it's just maintaining the autonomy for PAs and making sure that there isn't any legislation placed passed that will limit PAs in the future.

Okay, what is this?

I used to work under his wife.

Oh, this is about the teacher at a yogurt shop.

He's anatomy teacher.

He doesn't mind making a letter.

Okay.

Did he teach you?

I would only have a professor do it if they actually were your teacher.

If they weren't your teacher.

That's a little different.

That's just more of like somebody that knows you well.

But yeah, I think, I think unless, like if they want a professor that Taught you, I would just differentiate that.

But if it's something that you've just kind of worked with, I mean, as a supervisor, that's fine.

That works too.

Oh, looks like Jamie's getting a dog.

Now we can't get a dog because my husband's allergic.

One time we tried to have a foster dog, but that only lasted 24 hours because it just wasn't.

It just didn't work out.

So that.

Yeah, we don't do that anymore.

But I love my.

I love my parents dogs and my sister's cats.

Yeah, it was very unfortunate.

His name was Goggles and he was really sweet, but he didn't know his name.

So that was a problem when we took him outside because he would never come back.

And then he got like, super, super needy.

Oh, yeah, Rory Taylor's dog, Rory.

I took care of him and he didn't run away this time, so that was good.

Amen.

Any advice for planning on applying to PA school?

You just gotta get your ducks in a row, like, look at your application as a whole and see what areas you're missing and what areas you're weak in.

And then work from there to just kind of increase your skills and increase your competitiveness.

If something's weak, work on that.

It's just a step by step process.

Any advice?

Practicing sutures.

Bananas.

Shaved biopsies.

Okay.

I never found a great substitute for human skin for biopsies.

I mean, people say oranges and pig skins and I don't know, I just.

It's completely different.

I really like the suture board, honestly, the best.

And I feel like I had the best luck with that shave.

Biopsies are tough too, because skin is so different.

Like, when you inject it, you can actually get a wheel and then do the shave a little bit differently.

So if you're.

Are you thinking about derm?

Ashley, you should, because it's really great.

But if you get into derm, once you start practicing, like, you just kind of get used to it.

And a lot of our patients, I mean, if it was in a spot where they didn't mind and all that, it was fine.

And during surgery, I got a lot of suturing practice.

I worked with a breast surgeon, and he basically taught me to suture, and I kind of caught on pretty quickly.

I sew and stuff, so I caught on and he just kind of let me go for it, which was nice.

I mean, I loved it.

I did lose Taylor's dog one time.

Well, he ran away because she didn't tell me there was a hole in the fence.

So not my fault.

I got him back, though.

Well, he came back.

What do I think about optimal team practice?

So I think it's a good thing.

I think for me, it honestly just puts into words and is trying to put into law what I already do.

It's basically trying to get the decision making to be at the level of the PA and the supervising physician and not the state, which again, for me is not really a big issue because of what I do.

I don't really have any limitations in Durham, but I think there are areas that do.

So like in Georgia, PAs can't really deliver babies.

And so even if you go to California and do an ob GYN residency, if you come back to Georgia, they're probably not going to let you deliver babies.

And so the question becomes, if you went out there and you delivered 500 babies, why can't you do that here if your supervising physician trusts you to?

It's just a trust thing and it's something that has to be continually worked on.

What are the biggest things we should know about current PA issues and events?

You know, I think there's so much going on right now.

The optimal team practice is a great thing to know about, but also knowing about.

The NCCPA just came out and said they're redoing the recertification exam.

And this is something that's been a big debate, but they haven't said yet what they're actually gonna do.

And so that's a little frustrating and hard to follow because they made this big announcement but haven't given much detail on it.

So that's something to just keep an eye out for.

I love Google News.

Search for physician assistant and that's.

I'll use that a lot just to see what's going on, if there's anything new.

The AAP advocacy and news tab is really good just to keep up with stuff.

It's been two years since I've been in a classroom.

Should I do anything to prepare academically for PA school?

No.

I don't know.

I think you need to relax, but it's hard to tell you how to prepare.

It's definitely important to kind of know going into it that it's going to be a lot.

It's going to be like Jamie said, time management can be very important, but you can't necessarily prepare for that.

So I think it's more preparing everyone else and preparing your family and friends to know that you're just going to be really busy and knowing how to prioritize your activities and even taking care of yourself.

That's one thing that again, I don't think I did very well.

I just feel like I, I love to read and I never read a single book for fun in PA school, which I think is just ridiculous.

So like Jasmine says go on vacation, like really take that time to enjoy it before you get into school.

Because once you start, I mean it's full speed ahead and it's just.

Yeah, it's tough to have any free time.

Penns are in high demand.

However, does it ever continue that there is now such a large interest in PA that there may be too many or.

Yeah, supply is greater than demand.

Yeah.

So I think this doesn't really concern me.

I think there will be jobs because the residencies aren't really putting out.

The residencies for physicians are not increasing the amount of spots that they have.

And so there aren't more physicians coming out.

And so there's going to be a need for providers.

And that's where PAs come in.

And so I, I'm not really concerned with that at this point.

Now I will say I have heard heard in Florida that there's a little bit of an issue with derm pas because a lot of them want to work part time.

And somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but this is.

I was at a conference and this is what everyone was saying.

And so new grads are able to come in and get jobs really easily at lower pay rate.

So then it's like lowering the average salary for everyone else.

So that can be an issue.

But yeah, I don't think that there's gonna be a huge shortage.

You may not be able to get the exact job you want in the exact place you want right away.

You may have to get some experience first.

But once you have experience, I mean you're very.

I guess the Lord would be marketable to others as far as being able to move around if you need to or go to new jobs.

I agree with Jamie that it's really great to have somebody to do your laundry.

While in PA school, I lived with my parents for the first year and they did my laundry, they fed me sometimes my dad would even make sure gas was in my car.

They were extremely helpful.

And then I got married and I started doing all those things myself.

And again, ignoring my husband's phone calls while I'm doing Instagram live and he's at the hospital.

So Jamie says she's heard too, that Florida is not the best state to be a pa.

I mean, I think that there's some great people or great jobs and out there.

I think it's just like you said, there's a lot of competition with jobs, and so people are willing to pay or take less pay as a new grad to get those jobs.

So that just has to be something you're okay with.

And you have to look at cost of living and all those things and how they factor in when you're making those decisions.

Jasmine says in California, some new grads enter a fellowship for a year.

Yeah, so like PA residencies, PA fellowships, they're becoming a little bit more popular.

I still don't think it's something you have to do.

I think it's something that if you know there's an area you want to work in, then go for it.

But if not, like, you can get really, really great training on the job.

Oh, gosh, he should not join us.

He.

I don't think he knows I talk about him this much.

Also, he's supposed to be taking care of patients in the icu, so probably should.

I don't think he also knows what Instagram Live is.

Yeah, I've been trying to get my husband to start an Instagram account and start a blog and stuff, but he.

He's just not on it.

So that's okay.

Yeah, he's too busy.

He says.

What's a fellowship?

So a fellowship or a residency is like a one or two year program where you get extra training, basically.

So it's something that's required.

Residency is required for medical school, but it's not required for PA school or to be a pa. Oh, I'm sorry to hear you didn't get in.

Keep trying.

I'm thinking of taking eight classes to be an RN and then reapply in two years.

So, I mean, RN is great experience for PA school.

I mean, that's awesome experience.

But.

But then you do have to look at where your application is lacking.

So if it's grades that you're lacking in, I would go back and try to get more classes and higher grades.

But if it's experience, then doing something like RN would be a great option.

You just have to look at where your application is the weakest.

And I think we do this with studying where we try to focus on what we're already good at.

And you really need to take the time to focus on some something that you're not good at or you don't have as much of.

And beef that area of your application up before moving on to other areas.

Jordan, we got you.

We understand.

Oh, that's a good one.

Jasmine.

Yeah.

Contact the program and see if they'll give you any feedback.

Sometimes they'll just give you general information, which is a little bit annoying, but they might give you some tips and tricks for why you didn't get in.

And they won't tell me.

Oh, no.

Yeah.

Only applying to one school is tough, too.

Did you meet all the requirements, or do you feel like there was any area you didn't meet?

Did you get an interview?

Like, there's so many factors there.

Yeah, it's definitely tough.

Yeah, and that's true, too.

Like, I would.

Even if you can go to, like, an info session and try to get more information, ask more specific questions about you, especially if you're nearby, that would be helpful.

How do you guys have time to do this when you're in PA school?

I don't even understand Lack two points, Jerry.

That stinks.

That's true.

If they don't want to give you feedback, it may not be the best school to want to go to if they're kind of annoying.

But I do understand, like, being in one area and not wanting to go to a different area, and especially if you're already established and that's really where you want to go.

Mental break.

Yeah.

You need those in PA school.

I'm not here.

You're my hero, Jamie.

You really are.

Because this is, like, stuff that I wanted to do in PA school and I could never do it.

Like, I was so stressed out all the time.

I don't understand how y' all do it.

Yeah.

These programs, they're so.

And I don't know why they won't give information or give feedback.

And I know it's annoying.

You just have to keep trying.

I know it's so hard, but, yeah, keep trying.

Look at everything you can make better, and then go from there.

Jamie is in internal medicine right now.

Actually.

She's on her last day.

I can speak for her because she just told me because I asked that same question.

Yeah, everyone should go follow each other so that everyone is friends.

Oh, psych.

Psych is hard.

Well, it wasn't.

The test is really easy, but I did not have a great psych rotation experience.

So I hope yours is better, and I hope that you enjoy it.

Jamie.

Reapplicant.

Any tips?

So as a reapplicant, you want to be able to explain kind of what you've been doing over the past year, whether that's in your personal statement or in interviews, and be able to really show that you've matured as a candidate.

PA schools love the term a mature person or whatever.

Maturity.

And so you want to show how you've improved and what you've been doing since then to do better this year.

Oh, alcohol abuse clinic.

That's interesting.

So MPA school, actually one of my favorite parts was also we had to go to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting or some kind of support group meeting.

So I went to an AA meeting and it was actually so interesting.

Like, I actually really enjoyed it and loved it and just.

They were so welcoming and just open and it was really, really cool.

So if that's something you've never done, I would suggest doing it.

You can look up meetings and find open meetings and go to the them.

And it was a really, really interesting learning experience for me.

So I really, really liked that.

Yeah, reapplicants talk about progression and growth, for sure.

That's a nice schedule, Jamie.

My schedule wasn't bad.

I just.

I was on an inpatient unit for four weeks straight and that was just.

It was rough.

What was your college major?

So I. Oh, you sent me this in a message.

So I did biology as my major and it did not cover the main prereqs.

It covered most of them, but did not cover anatomy and physiology.

So that was really interesting because I had to use those just as electives.

Even though they were science classes, they didn't count towards my major at all.

They just counted as electives, general electives, the same as if I took art history or something.

So it was very interesting.

If I went back, I would probably be either a business or marketing major because those are things that I'm actually interested in and I'm actually not interested in chemistry.

Biggest mistakes when it comes to the interview.

Should I just read how to ace the PA interview and do mock interviews with friends?

That is a loaded question.

So I disagree with some of the things in how to ace your PA interview.

I think it's a great book, but it was around when I was going through the interview and I feel like it is outdated in some regards because PA schools become a lot more complicated and competitive.

And in the next couple months I might be doing something to fix that problem, but not yet other mistakes.

So people tend to be repetitive.

People don't really go in knowing what they want to say, and so they end up not really saying anything at all.

People only talk about their experience and don't talk about anything that makes them unique or anything that's personal to them.

And so those are the biggest mistakes that I see.

Also fidgeting and I do this.

I mess with my hair.

So in my interview I pulled my hair back cause I knew that I would play with it if it was down.

So just kind of going over those things.

Doing mock interviews with friends is great.

The only issue that is that they don't know what the PA programs are looking for.

They can give you feedback on if you're showing who you are and how you're answering, but they don't really know if your answers are saying what they need to say.

So those are just some things to keep in mind when you're practicing.

Let's see.

Oh, there's some cool mental health experiences.

Shadowing hours.

I had about 250 shadowing hours.

Wait, maybe.

No, I had 250 healthcare hours.

I had 200 shadowing hours.

I haven't heard from a school I applied to for about a month since I applied.

Should I send a follow up email or should I let it take its place?

Natural course.

Like you haven't heard anything at all.

If you haven't heard anything at all, like not even a confirmation that they have your application complete, I would contact them and just make sure they have it.

If you know that it's complete but you haven't necessarily heard about interviews or anything else, I would maybe wait it out a little bit longer.

Check the physicianassistantforums.com that's the most updated thing with people getting interviews and getting callbacks.

So if you go on there, no one else has heard anything.

I wouldn't worry about it.

But if you go on there and everyone else has heard, then it's probably time to contact them.

After I graduate in May, I plan.

Y' all are so much ahead of questions.

After I graduate, may I plan on taking a year off for prerequisites?

Shadowing?

Do it.

Yeah, that's a great idea.

I mean, there's no rush.

It's just you and it's almost better to take your time to get there.

100 Shyness hours on urgent care.

Should I look for another opportunity?

So yes, I agree with Jamie.

Diversity.

I would say thank you for complimenting my hair.

I would say try to get at least three different areas, whether that's hospital, clinic versus different specialties or working with different types of PAs to really show that you've done your homework.

Wow, that's a lot of hours.

What to wear?

I have a navy Suit.

But what type of shoes?

Comfortable ones.

So you don't want to be hobbling around.

You'll probably have a two tour or something to do.

So if you're gonna wear heels, make sure they're comfortable ones.

I don't even know if you're a girl.

Oh, yeah, you are.

But then if you feel more comfortable wearing flats, that's fine too.

Just look professional.

And a suit is perfect.

How many times did you reapply if you hadn't got it accepted the first time?

If it was me, I would reapply until I got in and I would reapply to probably a ridiculous amount of schools.

Grades.

Grades will get you.

That's.

I mean, GPA is such a huge factor.

You kind of have to just keep working towards that if that's what's holding you back.

Yeah.

It's still so early.

If you haven't heard, like, it's still so early in the process.

Don't.

Don't worry, Jamie.

There's still hope for you.

You can get in.

I'm dying to apply, but my weak points that are making me hesitate.

Is my GPA still working on hours.

Would you recommend a post Bacc.

B classes or accelerated science classes that are offered in my area.

They're a month long per class.

I would do whatever classes you're going to do best in, whatever you can get A's in and whatever fits with your schedule.

Don't overwhelm yourself trying to get those grades to the point where you don't do well in them because that can hurt your application.

Wow.

So many hours.

Work with an ENTPA right now.

Volunteered, shadowed, an orthopa.

Would that this be considered double dipping?

Okay, so if you work with an entpa, you can count that as your patient care hours, but you cannot count as shadowing hours.

You could take some of those hours out or maybe spend a day just kind of more shadowing them if you wanted to.

But yes, you cannot double dip in any way for those.

Yeah, Jasmine applied three times and she got in and she's awesome.

And you should, should follow her and you should also read her accepted post on my website.

Should I join a pre PA club?

My school doesn't have one.

You could join the pre PA club Facebook group and that's basically the same thing.

But we really do try to answer questions there and that's why we started it.

But yeah, if you don't have a prepay club, why don't you start one?

There's probably other people who want it too.

But it's not like a huge part of your, I don't know, application.

If you're not in a pre PA club, don't ask, don't tell us about the double dipping questions.

First time applicant.

But it's frustrating not hearing anything.

Yes, it is definitely about interviews.

Did any question throw you off and how did you handle it?

Let me think.

One question I had was, what's the most selfless thing you've ever done?

And that was like I was 21.

I'm not selfless.

I'm very selfish.

So that was a hard question.

I just talked about giving up my flight or my seat on a flight for somebody else.

But that to me wasn't a big deal.

Even now I don't know what the most selfless thing I've ever done is.

Do most schools seem to have expiration requirements for prereqs?

A lot of them do.

And this is another one where it depends on every single program because sometimes it's five years, sometimes it's seven, 10.

So you do have to kind of check each program.

Yes.

Shameless Plug.

But it's a really good group.

You're in it.

Price point is very important for PA school.

You should follow everyone else.

Ebony.

Yeah, they all want.

All the programs want different things and it's so it is frustrating.

Not for another Shameless plug but in our prepay club Facebook group, someone made a really good document.

It was not me, but it basically like is a spreadsheet on Excel where you can list out your stuff.

I feel like the way I'm sitting, my hands look really large.

I have really tiny hands.

Really.

But I also just tried to use my mouse to move something on my phone.

Is there any way to overcome a lower gpa?

Just take classes.

Just keep taking.

Keep taking classes.

I mean, that's all you can do and you'll get there.

If you have a low gpa, do they disregard your application or they consider you.

So if you do not meet the minimums, it is very unlikely that you will get an interview because what happens is they basically a lot of schools have a checklist and if you don't meet those things meet like the GPA in the classes, they.

It's not.

They're never going to read your personal statement.

They're never going to get to that point.

Taylor told me it's time for bed, but I might agree with her soon and this thing might kick me off soon.

Scholarships.

There are some out there apply.

I actually filled out FAFSA and I ended up getting A scholarship that I didn't even know I applied for.

It was awesome.

I got $2,000 a semester for a year.

So, yeah, just make sure you fill everything out and.

Yeah, and like Jamie said, a lot of people use FAFSA and Grad plus loans.

Yeah.

Where we're the Pre PA club.

Oh, Jasmine.

Yeah, definitely join Instagram.

Make sure you're following pretty much everyone who's commenting.

And then there's a lot of other people.

I probably need to do a blog post of awesome Instagrammers to follow.

I should do that.

I'll put that on the list.

Maybe even a podcast episode.

So that'd be fun.

Working in a hospital for 10 months for my undergrad internship.

Working for free, but getting tons of patient contact.

Do you consider.

So this is another where it depends on what you're doing and how involved you are with the patients and what your actual role and responsibilities are.

So just take that into account when you're explaining it on your caspa.

How old do you think I am?

I actually really want everyone to answer that and then I'll answer.

But yeah, it depends on.

On kind of what you're doing as far as if it's patient care, and some schools do want that to be paid patient care hours.

Does it take longer to be a surgical PA or is it the same as any specialty?

No, it is.

It's the same.

It may.

You may have to train a little bit more to get there, but yeah, so it's.

It's basically the same.

Are you talking about the Health Scholars Program?

So there is like the NHSC does a Health Scholars program for people working in, like, underserved areas.

And it's very competitive, but that's a good option for a scholarship.

Surgery is a specialty, but you can get, you can get hired just the same as everyone else.

I love these answers.

So somebody got right.

Let me see who got right.

Going to Gen.

Yes, I am.

Wait, no, I'm not 28 yet.

I'm 27.

I will be 28 in August.

No, not August.

What am I saying?

I'm so tired.

In February, I will be 28.

I know I look really young, so just imagine when I applied to PA school, I was 21.

So if I look this old now, like when I was 21, I seriously looked like I was 15.

It was ridiculous.

I still get carded at R rated movies, which is also ridiculous.

Nice.

2000 Hours.

That's awesome.

I will let everyone in the pre PA club.

I graduated from the University of Georgia for undergrad with biology major.

So I've been a PA for three years now.

I don't even know my own birthday.

Yeah, it probably is time for me to go to bed.

But this is really fun and I need to do this more and I also feel like I need to like, meet all the people that I talk to on here.

So I think I am gonna go to bed because I have to work tomorrow and I have to see, what, 30 more patients.

It's crazy.

My favorite study skill.

Study guides.

Yeah, this is gonna be a really great replay for people.

MPA school.

Yeah, I make study guides.

That's my thing.

I make study guides and then I don't study them.

I let everyone else study them.

The gist of my stats, they are listed somewhere on my website.

I'll try to do a post of them later.

I'm trying to go to AAPA in New Orleans.

Maybe.

We'll see.

It's.

I have it blocked off on my schedule, but if you'll be there, I'll be there.

I don't know, we'll see.

Yes, I create my own study guides.

That's what I do.

But.

Okay, I gotta go.

Bye guys.

Thanks for watching.

Sorry, I'm like, really awkward, but it's okay.

Everybody have a good night.

Alright, that covered a lot of random stuff and maybe I'm not as awkward as I was last year, but I probably am.

So thanks for listening anyways.

But we'll do some more Instagram lives in the future and if you have any questions for the podcast or on Instagram, just feel free to reach out and I'll see you guys next week.

Bye.