Meet Anna, our newest pre-PA coach.

Anna just finished PA school, which means she went through the back half of her program in the middle of a pandemic and then walked into a job market nobody could predict. She's joining The PA Platform as a coach, and I wanted you all to hear her story first.

We go through her application process, what PA school actually demanded of her, and how rotations and everything else got scrambled in 2020. Then we talk about the job hunt, what she did to land a position, and what she'd tell a new grad walking into the same thing.

Because she just did all of this recently, her advice is current in a way mine isn't anymore.

What we cover:

• Anna's application process and what worked
• The real demands of PA school coursework and rotations
• Finishing a program during the pandemic
• The job market for new grads and how she approached it
• What she'd do differently looking back
• What she'll be working on with pre-PA students as a coach

Resources:

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

Pre-PA Essay Review: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pre-pa-essay-review

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

Free Resume Download: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-resume-download

Mentioned in this episode:

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Are you ready to meet the newest Pre PA coach at the PA Platform?

Well, I'm going to introduce you to her.

Her name is Anna, She's a new grad and today I'm interviewing her about her PA School process and what it's been like as a new grad during the pandemic and finding a job and all that fun stuff.

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, Savann Perry.

Let's get to it.

I want to thank mypa Resource and PA School Prep for sponsoring the Pre PA Club Podcast.

So my PA Resource is a personal statement editing service that edits only PA school essays, only edited by PAs, and most of us have admissions experience, so I am one of the editors.

Definitely check them out if you need help with your content grammar flow, making sure that you are on track for turning in your application and you can use the code futurepa for a discount on any of their service options.

PA School Prep is an online course that focuses on the anatomy, physiology and med terms that you'll need for PA School to make sure you feel confident going into that first semester and that you are able to handle what PA school throws at you.

So check that [email protected] and also use the code futurepa for a discount there.

Hey guys, welcome to the podcast.

Your host, Savannah Perry here, Derm, PA mom, wife, blogger, whatever you want to call me, I am a pa.

I'm in Georgia and I'm so excited that you're listening because I love just getting to introduce you to new people and getting to meet and interact with people myself.

But I'm just grateful for you as a listener.

I've done some really great interviews this week and so those will be coming up in the next few months and I'm really excited just to share.

You know, I've had, let me think, I've had an RN to pa.

I've had a military spouse who just got accepted to PA School and be starting in January.

Who else have I talked to?

And coming up, we're going to talk some financial stuff soon, so lots of good stuff, stuff coming your way and as always, if there's something you want to hear about, something we haven't covered, let me know.

That's actually some of the people reaching out have said, you know, I've been listening to the podcast, but I haven't heard a story quite like mine or feel like they have something to add that would be valuable to other pre pas.

So if that's you, let me know.

Feel free to reach out on Instagram.

I'm HEPA Platform.

That's typically where we do all of our giveaways and fun stuff.

We have a book giveaway coming up soon, soon, so you probably want to follow along there.

But also on Facebook in our Facebook group.

The Pre PA Club is a great place to be as well.

And so I. I feel like sometimes I forget to tell you guys about some of the stuff we offer at the PA Platform.

So since Anna is going to be one of our coaches doing mock interviews.

If you haven't really explored the PA Platform website, it's.

We just have so much information on there.

We do regular blog posts, we do these podcast episodes.

A lot of these are YouTube videos.

This one will also be on YouTube.

We post on social media a lot, but really just trying to continue to raise awareness about the PA profession and present it as an option to people who may be interested.

If it's your thing.

Awesome.

Welcome.

If you decide you want to go a different route, that's cool too.

So it's a great community, the whole PA community.

But if you go to the PA platform.com, here's a few things you're going to find.

So we have the Pre PA blog section, and that's where you're going to find all of the accepted blog posts.

And those have stats from various people who've been accepted to different programs.

And if you've been accepted and want to submit your information, you can do it there as well.

Also blog post about all kinds of things.

GPA grades, prerequisites, letters of recommendations, supplementals.

If you have a specific question about something and you're struggling to find an answer, the best way to find it is just to Google specifically what you're looking for.

So if you Google the PA Platform supplementals, you're going to get a podcast episode, a blog post, and a video all about those things.

So.

So you can pick your poison and get that information the best and easiest way for you.

And honestly, that's how I find old stuff that we've done too, when I'm looking for it.

We also have the free download section.

And so in that section we have our PA school timeline application timeline to help you kind of organize the steps you need to be working on.

We have personal statement brainstorming worksheets, my interview worksheets.

We have a table, an Excel sheet that will keep track of your healthcare, patient care, volunteer shadowing, Experience.

It's set up exactly the way you need it for caspa so you can download that and record your hours.

We have our two week personal statement email course to help you write your personal statement in two weeks.

All of this is completely free.

It's just up there for you as resources.

So check that out.

May be helpful.

And then right now we're doing mock interviews and you can always use the code future PA for a discount on the PA school interview book.

The PA school interview course, which [email protected] or a mock interview or a pre PA assessment or help with supplementals.

But with our mock interviews, if you go back, you can actually see some examples or hear some examples of mock interviews that we've done on the podcast in the past.

But we spend a whole hour just learning about you as an applicant, going through questions, doing some feedback on those questions.

And with all these virtual interviews, I think this year it's a little bit even more important to make sure you're practicing on a virtual platform, whether that's with us or somebody you know.

I think if you test out your tech ahead of time, that's really important.

Alright, so I think, I mean, there's probably other stuff.

There's the PA program map, so you can see a map of all the programs in the United States.

We have the forum on there now where you can post questions.

So much stuff that I can't even remember.

But we're continuing to add to it too.

So if there's something that you feel is missing or would be helpful, please, please let me know.

Okay, so let's get into today's episode with Anna.

I'm gonna let her tell you all about herself and you're gonna hear more about her.

And she is just joining our team.

Be on the lookout for openings with her starting very soon.

All of our coaches are practicing PAs.

They all go through rigorous training where we have lots of videos and examples and a very set process to make it as personalized and specific and helpful to you as possible.

So she is excited to jump on board and I'm excited to have her.

Alright, let's hear from Anna, everybody.

My name is Anna.

I'm originally from St. Paul, Minnesota.

I ended up going to PA School at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York.

I did my undergraduate degree in biopsychology at Augsburg University in Minneapolis and I just recently accepted a job offer.

So.

Which is exciting.

We'll talk about that.

Okay, so you ended up moving for PA school.

Was that something you wanted to do or just ended up being the best option.

It was something I was definitely open to.

I applied to Augsburg's PA program here back home, but I didn't get an interview.

So I was very open to moving at that point too.

And I didn't really have any ties at home, so I was like, well, this is kind of the time to go explore the world a little bit.

So I applied to quite a few programs in New York and then a few programs in Virginia and ended up getting into Eastern Virginia medical schools and then Clarkson's.

And so I ended up kind of picking, well, do I want the beach or do I want the mountains?

So I chose the mountains.

There you go.

Okay, well, let's jump back a little bit.

Did you go into college knowing you wanted to be a pa or was that something that came later?

So I feel like my college experience was a little different just because I originally, I don't think I really knew what I wanted to do.

I knew that it was going to be healthcare related.

So when I graduated high school 10, 11 years ago, I was going for my paramedic stuff and then realized that wasn't exactly the perfect fit for me.

Ended up going into surgical technology.

Did that for a couple of years.

And there's kind of or that setting was where I really started working with PAs, pretty one on one directly a lot of the time in the or.

So at that point I decided I wanted to go back and finish my bachelor's and do PA after working with them and also seeing them as a patient for myself.

So that was kind of the deciding factor.

And just being surrounded by them all the time, they were awesome.

Okay.

So that, yeah, that's kind of like, I feel like how the PA professional is designed, honestly.

Like you kind of are in health care, but then want to, you know, bridge that gap to where you're able to do more type thing.

So what did that look like as someone who, like.

So you said you went back to school, finish your bachelor's, and then did you get in your first cycle?

I did, yeah.

It was looking pretty bleak there for a minute.

Both programs that I ended up getting accepted to were late start programs.

Okay.

I had applied to 19 programs.

Wow.

You know, I just kind of thought, I don't want to do this again, so I'm just going to put all my eggs in all of the baskets and see what happens.

Luckily it worked out, but yeah.

So if you went back and did it again, do you think you would apply to 19 again or would you apply to less?

More?

I think I would have narrowed my search a little bit.

It was a bit expensive to do a lot.

Yeah, I don't know.

It's tough.

I think I would have looked more into the programs themselves.

At one point.

I was just.

If I qualified, I was applying.

Just.

I wanted it so bad.

So I think in the past, me should have probably researched the programs a little bit more.

That way I could have narrowed down at least Maybe down to 12 or something.

Yeah.

Cut a few out there.

Okay.

Were there any red flags on your application, like, anything you were worried about or that came up even during interviews?

Yeah, I had.

During my.

When I was doing my surgical tech program.

That time frame.

I was also taking a few courses at the community college, and I had to take a medical leave.

I found out I had a bone tumor, so I had to take a medical leave.

Had a bunch of W's on my transcripts, which just destroyed my gpa, so kind of having to explain that.

But also I made up for that when I went back to do my bachelor's degree, so making sure that I was getting, you know, mostly A's, if possible.

Not.

Of course, that's not always possible, but.

Yeah.

So my.

I don't remember what my NGP.

I think my NGPA was like a 3.4 or something.

But initially it was.

When I first went back to my undergrad, it was at, like, a 2.4.

So you're able to bring it up, though, and show.

Show improvement, show an upward trend and all that?

Absolutely.

And I think that's what programs like to see.

That's what I've been.

That's what I've heard.

That's kind of why I was nervous about it when I went into my interview for PA school, but also not because I had a. I had a very good reason.

I had all the documentation for it.

Yeah, that, you know, life happens and so can't really avoid it.

Yeah, I mean, that's.

I mean, I can't really imagine how hard that was at a young age, but that gives you a different perspective as a patient going into medicine.

Any.

Anything we go through that requires, like, more care than normal.

So what was the most difficult part of the application process for you?

I would probably say the personal statement.

I had a lot that I wanted to express, and I wasn't exactly sure how to approach, you know, the structure, the way it should have been formed.

You know, should I be telling this, like a story?

Should I be telling this?

I just was kind of unclear.

I had to do quite a bit of Research and just in terms of what do PE admissions like to see in terms of structure things?

So I think that was difficult.

I took a couple months with like, probably 15 different drafts and finally picked one and really honed in on that and spent quite a bit of time editing and sending it to the writing center at my university, you know, doing what I could to have it edited as much as possible.

Okay, cool.

So that.

Yeah, I mean, the essay trips up a lot of people and it's just.

It's hard to fit everything in to such a short space.

That's so meaningful.

Um, so, yeah, definitely a difficult, difficult part.

And then when it came to the interviews, I mean, did those go well?

Did you feel like they went well?

How did that go?

I.

So both programs that I got into were the only two interviews I ended up getting.

But they always say it only takes one.

Yeah,.

But both interviews went very well.

I thought I.

Both programs were awesome.

I think they both had great things to offer.

I felt comfortable at the interviews.

They weren't.

You know, you go online and you read about people's horror stories of, you know, these really tough interviews, really tough behavioral interview questions.

And mine were not like that.

They were very.

Just truly wanting to get to know who you are, why you want to be a pa, what can you bring to the program, you know, what makes you stand out, and really just wanting to see where your passions lie.

And I really, really appreciated that From Clarkson and EVMs, I thought both did a really nice job.

So when it came down to deciding, besides location, which is an important factor, that was my most important factor, to be honest.

But besides location, I mean, was there anything else?

Like, did you get a feel at the interviews or anything that kind of made you lean one way or the other?

Yeah.

So when I went to Clarkson's interview, that was my first interview, I just felt very at home there.

The atmosphere of it's a very small town, it's rural, it's a rural program.

So they focus on rural practice.

That's kind of the model that they trained us under.

And I really enjoyed that.

It was a small class size.

You get really one on one attention.

And I really could see that through the professors and the students that were already there when we were talking to them during our interviews.

Whereas with EVMs, it was a much bigger program.

I think they admit like 60 or 70 people in a class.

And now they had really, really beautiful facilities and really high tech stuff and great rotation sites and, you know, it looked awesome.

But I think for me, I Just really, I learned better one on one and I learned better in a smaller environment.

So that was also.

That's probably the biggest factor was the class size and just the one on one attention.

Yeah.

Okay, cool.

See a little different there.

So once you got to PA school, how was it?

I think so.

A lot of people, I feel like are starting PA school right now.

And so this is when I'm getting messages that it's like I didn't realize how hard it is and like it's hard to explain.

I feel like it's just very hard to explain how difficult it is that's.

Without scaring people.

Yeah.

There's so many factors that go into it.

I mean, you're a student first and then, you know, if you're coming from out of state or you had to move for your program so you're away from your friends and family, that adds difficulty to it.

Oh yeah, you had to do that.

Yeah.

You had to move.

Right.

So I just heard a lot of factors that, like outside factors that just made that transition really just difficult in general.

Like, I managed very well, but I mean, it was still hard.

I know people in my class had kids and people were married and you know, life stuff is there.

So it's tough to enter such a rigorous academic program when you have a lot of outside factors as well.

But I thought the didactic year, I think was by far the more intense of things.

You're.

Yeah, I mean, I was studying non stop.

It's just Monday through Monday.

Yeah, it never stops.

I saw a video the other day that somebody did on Tick Tock actually, and I was a PA student and she was talking about how much she studied and somebody in the comments was like, it is not physically possible to study that much.

And I was like, she's not lying.

Like, all you do is study it.

Like it really is all you do.

Yeah.

I love.

Because you.

You're not only studying for your exams, but then you, you know, and I'm sure it's like this on all PA programs, but you.

We had other assignments that we had to do.

We had cases that we had to work through and write papers on and projects and our master's project.

Like you're learning skills and like practicals and all that too.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

So.

It's a lot.

It was a lot.

But you know what?

We all got through it.

Yeah.

That's like something like I have friends that are interested in PA school and they're really intimidated by it.

And I'm like, I totally understand that.

Fear.

I felt that way even going back and thinking if I had to do it all over again, I would still be nervous.

But at the end of the day, our whole class made it through.

We all graduated.

We're all alive and well.

And it goes by so quickly too.

Like if you can just hang in there, that hard day or week or moment will pass and I mean then there'll be another hard one.

But like it just goes so fast.

So fast.

We were always told the days go by slow but the weeks go by fast.

And that was kind of like a internal motto that I always had to have in the back of my head to just get me kind of through it.

But we, I mean as much as we were studying and we studied all the time, I mean we still, I think the majority of my class, we still made time to have a little bit of a life.

Now it was very, very little, but it was a life.

We were able to, you know, go.

We were by the mountains, we would go hiking on the weekends if we could or we would, you know, go into Canada because we were 30 minutes away from Canada.

So I mean it was, I mean we still made time to de stress.

And I think that's really important too to just remember that you need to take time for yourself when you're in PA school because it's very easy to forget.

Yeah, I forgot.

I didn't make time for myself and it was like over at a blink of the eye and I looked back and I was like, oh, I just didn't really do anything.

I mean I did like.

I mean me and my classmates did some fun things but like just self care wise like reading and like hobbies and spending time downtime with like other friends and family were not my priority then, so.

Right.

Yeah, it's hard.

It is hard.

I think it also like depends on what area you're located in.

But since we were so rural it was, we didn't have a whole lot of things to do in town and like one thing that I wish that I would have done more was work out.

Yeah, just, you know, I just.

We didn't have a real, like we had our university gym.

But it wasn't what I, what I'm used to from coming.

I'm from the city.

So it wasn't, you know, my Lifetime Fitness, LA Fitness, whatever kind of fitness it was.

It was just, you know, and you're so busy and you by the time you feel like you should work out, you're so exhausted that you don't even want to at that point.

And I think that would have been just better for my own mental health at that point, for sure.

Yeah.

People who listen to the podcast have probably heard me talk about this, but I had two best friends in PA school, and they.

They made me work out, and they were the only reason I did.

And we.

I mean, even then, we would only go maybe twice a week, but it was like, we need to do this.

Like, we've got to go to the gym for 30 minutes, even if we're just walking the track.

Like, get.

Like, just take a break.

Like, be active because we sit in a chair for eight hours a day.

Like, we need to do something.

I remember that all too well.

Yeah, those are the not fun days.

So what?

So then clinical year, how is that?

Where did you have most of your rotations in that same area or did you go different places?

Yeah, most of mine were in the north country area.

That's what they call it up in very up north New York.

Most of mine were up in that area.

I did have a pediatrics rotation that was down closer to New York City, but they have rotation sites pretty much all over the state of New York, which was nice if you were able to secure your own rotations, like back home or something.

They tried, but it all depends on that hospital or that practice's affiliation, if they're willing to take a new affiliation or whatnot.

I tried coming back home.

It didn't work out, but I was still able to get the same electives that I originally wanted.

I just did them somewhere else.

Gotcha.

Okay.

How did or did Covid affect y' all at all?

Oh, yeah,.

You made it through.

You made it through when we graduated on time, which is a blessing.

I know that there's a lot of PA students that are not as fortunate for us.

We.

So our program does our didactic year, our clinical year, and then at the very end, we do this thing called summative phase, which is about five, six weeks, where we just.

We're supposed to reconvene on campus and just kind of hone in on everything, study for our boards, test out of all of our things that we need to test out of.

And so when Covid hit, I believe it was March 13, was the very last day of our last rotation.

And then we were supposed to go on spring break for a week and then come back for Summative phase.

Well, the world shut down on, like, March 14, so we weren't really sure what was going to happen, so they told us to go home.

You Know, go on spring break, but bring some study materials in case it gets a little extended.

But we'll more than likely still see you on campus.

Well, then, like, three days later that the whole campus shut down for the rest of the semester.

So we ended up doing everything, everything on Zoom.

So we were doing our practicals on Zoom.

I luckily got to use my boyfriend as a patient for both things.

But I know some people had to use stuffed animals or pillows or just something because they just didn't.

If they were quarantined and they were by themselves.

We had to take our exams on, you know, like, a secured sort of program.

Our graduation got canceled.

Our white coat ceremony got canceled.

So a lot of exciting things for our class just really down the drain.

But it was hard to.

That was kind of.

It was kind of a hard pill to swallow as that was happening.

But our program did a nice job for trying to recognize our class in terms of.

We did graduate, they earned a long white coat, those kinds of things.

So they ended up doing a virtual long white coat thing, but they made it into a video rather than a live session.

So they had mailed us our white coats, and we just took a picture with it on, and then they did a traditional white coat ceremony over a recorded video.

It was sweet, and it was.

It's better than nothing.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That is.

That is hard.

And that's what I mean.

My class was weird because we did graduation in May, but we weren't really done until August.

And so it was, like, fake anyway, but, like, we still had that, you know, that ceremony.

So it's.

Right.

Yeah.

So did you stay in New York or did you go home?

Well, so I had gone home for spring break, which then turned into me staying home for a month and a half, probably a little bit longer than I was probably home for almost two months.

I had already graduated the program and everything before I went back.

I only went back to New York to pack up my apartment and take my boards, because that's a whole nother can of worms.

That happened to a lot of us was our boards got canceled multiple times because the testing centers kept closing.

Or, you know, they.

At one point, they completely closed, and then they kind of reopened, and then they were trying to space people here and there.

As far as how many people could be in the testing center at one point.

Not everybody's got canceled, but mine got canceled, rescheduled, I want to say, four different times, which is.

That's crazy.

Yeah.

Thinking, oh, my gosh, where am I?

And the problem Was when you would go to reschedule your boards, There would.

Be no opening, there's no spots.

Yeah.

The whole United States is trying to find a place to take your board.

So I even tried finding places back home, and luckily I was able to.

The last time I had to reschedule, I called every single day, making sure that my spot wasn't going to be taken away from me.

But, yeah, I think that was probably the most stressful thing was just taking the pants and making sure that we could actually take it.

Yeah, that's a. I've thought about.

I mean, I've heard a lot of people having to reschedule their gre, but I didn't even really think about or hear too much about pants.

And gosh, that's awful.

Because you're, like, ready to take it.

Like, by the time it comes, you're like, I'm ready.

Let's get this done.

Yep.

Covid's like, never mind.

Just kidding.

Also, you have to wear a mask the entire time in this tiny cubicle.

That was.

That's terrible.

I hate wearing masks.

I wear them, but I hate them.

So.

Yeah, yeah, same.

They're obviously not comfortable, but I mean, like, you know, I was just.

I remember walking out of my pants and, like, feeling how hot my face was just from wearing my mask and breathing so heavily.

Yes.

Like, sweating all day.

Oh, my God.

Yeah.

But it was okay.

Yeah, you survived.

Oh, that's exciting.

So, okay, then we have job search.

Had you looked for jobs pre Covid or like, you were waiting?

Yes.

So I started my job search really early.

I wasn't exactly sure how I would go about it, knowing that I was going to try to come back home.

And so I started job searching back in, like, November.

Just as far as, like, putting my feelers out and kind of seeing, you know, can I get in touch with any recruiters?

Can I get in touch with the old hospital I used to work at just to see if they have a specific process of how they do things, how they do the whole getting a job thing as a PA So I started reaching out in November.

I had two interviews pre Covid, so back in January, and then they kind of just went away.

Like I was supposed to have, you know, more or.

And then Covid hit and, you know, pretty much everywhere.

I feel like in Minnesota went on a pretty significant hiring freeze.

Yeah.

So I.

And I know a.

That were furloughed as well and then eventually let go.

Right.

That was definitely not easy.

So pretty much after I didn't really hear back from those interviews that I was applying everywhere at that point.

I mean, in Minnesota, so to speak.

But as far as like specialty wise, I was like, I'm just trying to get my foot in the door.

And you know, I think medicine everywhere is interesting.

So I could, I could liking something short, you know, even if it's not my dream job, it's something to get my foot in the door.

So I was reaching out to recruiters, reaching out to just HR in general, trying to find something, and it was not easy.

A lot of places just were not hiring.

And then the other aspect of it was I'm a new grad.

And now, like, while I think I'm very flexible and you could mold me into whatever provider you need me to be, you know, as kind of a strength, a lot of the employers are viewing that as a negative sort of.

And kind of the way I was explaining it to a girlfriend of mine the other day was, you know, we graduated, we're new grads.

We also graduated during a pandemic.

And now we're also having to compete for jobs towards experienced PAs that have all jobs.

And it's just, just not a good place to be.

And I think this whole job thing for everybody has just been a nightmare.

Yeah.

So, like, your classmates have had similar experiences.

Yeah, I know a lot of my, I know most of my classmates that stayed in New York, most of them actually got a job in New York, which is awesome.

Yeah, A lot of us that moved out of state have been having some pretty significant issues with just trying the.

I, I'm a big unfortunate.

It's the whole, like, it's not exactly what you know, it's who you know.

Yeah, it is.

I mean, that's true in medicine.

So I, you know, so I had gotten the contact information for.

I ended up getting two job offers, which is awesome.

I am extremely thankful for that.

But both options were through personal contacts.

So it's tough when you don't know anybody and.

Or if the people that you do know aren't hiring and now you have to search elsewhere.

So.

Yeah, yeah, it's hard right now.

So this is, I guess, a very hypothetical question.

Well, first of all, is Minnesota like a PA friendly state?

Or.

I would say, well, they're getting, they're getting more PA friendly.

They actually just passed the Minnesota PA law where they got rid of the supervising physician.

Oh, wow.

Okay.

So they're pushing us more into being on the same playing field, I would guess, as nurse practitioners.

Cool.

Which is great.

That's Great.

Yeah.

Okay.

Awesome.

So, like, looking back, and this is.

So I was talking last week to a PA who worked.

She was a new grad in August, like, last August, and she was working the ICU in New York City, and, like, had been on the job for six months.

And then Covid hits, and so we were talking about the craziness, and I asked her, like, if you knew what you knew now that, like, this was gonna happen, like, would you have still done the same thing?

Like, would you have still gone to PA school knowing that the job market would be.

Because I'm sure when you entered school, same as me, like, everyone's like, oh, there are plenty of jobs.

Like, PAs are in such high demand.

Like, it's definitely.

Healthcare right now is different.

So.

Yeah.

Would you.

Do you think you would have done the same thing or.

Yeah.

Yeah.

As far as being a pa?

Absolutely.

I think being a PA and the things we can do is just incredible.

I think the teamwork and the collaboration with your physicians and just the impact that you really can have on your patients, I think it's absolutely worth it.

It's a bit of a struggle bus right now, but I think it's gonna get better, and I think things will calm down eventually.

But I think I would do the same thing again now.

What I.

There's certain job things that I probably would have approached a little bit differently, but as far as going to PA school.

100%.

Yeah, that's.

Yeah, I think it'll get back to, like, normal or.

Or a new kind of normal.

And, like, I think it's interesting because I think some of those.

Some of the PAs who have been furloughed or let go may not go back.

You know, so hopefully, once that position is back open, maybe new grads will have an easier time.

I don't know.

It's hard to say.

New York is really friendly in the.

Definitely PA friendly, but definitely more friendly towards new grads.

That's something I have noticed as far as, you know, when I was trying to make the decision, am I going to move home or am I going to stay in New York?

I mean, there's critical care, icu, surgery, ed that you could get in.

I'm not gonna say easily, but easier than I would say Minnesota.

Yeah.

Places in Minnesota really want you.

The struggle that I have kept finding was they wanted you to have either.

Like, if I wanted er, I'd have to have a residency or I would have to have, like, three years of, you know, ER experience or something of the sort, or lots of places.

I did my elective in hematology and oncology, and that's something I think down the road that I would still really like to go back to, but with them as well.

In Minnesota, a lot of the places wanted primary care or internal medicine for a couple of years before you get into that, which I.

Looking back, I actually think that's okay.

Yeah, for me, personally, I think that's a.

But I think, yeah, Minnesota's kind of goofy in some things.

Yeah, it's, it's, it's.

It's interesting right now, but congrats on the job.

So that's a good thing.

But if anyone has questions, is there a way that they can, like, contact you or.

Yeah, my email is probably the best bet.

And I can.

If you want me to just give it to you.

Yeah, I think I have it.

So, yeah, if anyone has any, any burning questions, I'll send them your way and then kind of go from there, so.

Well, thank you for sharing your insight.