Thirteen years into a successful sales career, she started over.

Emily spent thirteen years in medical device sales before becoming a PA student at Wake Forest. She was around medicine constantly in that job, and the thing she kept wanting was the part she wasn't allowed to do: actually take care of the patient.

What I appreciate about how she talks about the decision is that she didn't romanticize it. She researched hard, sat with it, and eventually weighed the risk of regret against the comfort of a stable paycheck. Then she went and retook science courses and built patient care hours from scratch, which at that stage of life is not a small thing.

If you're mid-career and wondering whether it's too late, this is your episode.

What we cover:

• Leaving a thirteen-year career for PA school
• The moment she realized sales wasn't going to be enough
• Retaking science prereqs years after undergrad
• Building patient care experience as a career changer
• Weighing regret against stability
• What she'd tell someone stuck in the deciding phase

Resources:

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

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

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

Pre-PA Academy: https://prepaclub.thepaplatform.com/landing/academy

Mentioned in this episode:

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Today we're hearing from Emily, a first year PA student at Wake Forest.

She previous to going to PA school, worked within a medical device company and has a really interesting background.

So I think you're going to enjoy this interview.

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.

Foreign.

Hey guys, welcome to the Pre PA Club Podcast.

Thank you so much for listening and tuning in.

I have a sidekick today helping me record.

You want to say hello?

Hello.

But this is Savannah Perry, your Pre PA Club podcast host, the creator of the PA Platform website and a dermatology PA in Georgia.

And we're getting into this busy holiday season.

It's also, you know, that time where.

A lot of people are still waiting to hear back if you are still.

In that waiting phase.

I've put a bunch of posts up on Instagram lately about what to do if you haven't heard back from programs yet or you're on the wait list.

Just to give you some insights there, we have some blog posts as well.

And I want to remind you that a lot of these episodes and other videos are on our YouTube channel.

So if you go to YouTube.com thepa platform, you'll see find all of that you can subscribe and that link will be in the description so that you don't miss out on any videos.

And if there are any videos you would like to see in the future, please let me know.

All right, we are about to jump into our interview with Emily and this is, this is great.

Like I'm positive she interviewed so well for PA school just based on our conversation.

But you know, I think talking about career change, she's in her 30s.

Like she made that decision to kind of step out and make a change, which can be difficult.

So we talk about all that.

She's also on Instagram heunconventionalpa if you want to give her a follow and follow along with her journey and I think you're really going to enjoy it.

Also wanted to mention, since we're in November, there is, I guess it's not a holiday, but Black Friday is coming up and we always have a huge Black Friday sale.

We have some really cool stuff planned.

So make sure you're following along on social media and on the newsletter so you don't miss out on that.

And if you need help with something ahead of time, a mock interview, essay revision, you can use the code futurepa for a discount on [email protected] and that code also works on the Personal Statement Guide and the PA School Interview guide.

So any questions about those, feel free to email me and we'll jump into hearing from Emily.

My name's Emily.

I am a career changer.

So I spent like 13 years in the medical device world and then decided to go the PA route.

So it took me a long time to get here and to make the decision to take a different route.

But it's been a wild ride.

And PA school is just as wild as they tell you.

Yeah, it's hard to describe until you're there.

It really is.

Yeah, for sure.

But what got you into medical device sales?

Yeah, so that's a great question.

So actually I should back up a lot farther.

So in college I didn't know what I wanted to do, so I did a business major, double majored in marketing and international business because I figured those were good general degrees.

I could pretty much do anything with those, or so I thought.

And then by the time I was done in college, I was like, well, what now?

And that was kind of when I realized, but I want to go into health care.

And I just consciously made the decision at that point, like, need to exhaust all my options with the degree that I have before I get into more debt, trying to figure out what I want to do with my life.

What made you have that feeling that you wanted to be in healthcare?

Yeah, so I grew up a gymnast, so kind of like health and fitness was always.

That was just my world and that was where I was comfortable.

But no one in my family had been in healthcare.

My mom was a teacher, my dad was in business.

So just not a lot of exposure, I guess, at the time.

And I had the thought that I wasn't very good at science.

So yeah, that's such a common belief that I hear from people just that I'm not good at science.

I can't do science.

And I think that's so interesting to hear because I don't know, there's so many factors to it and maybe some of it, I don't know, like you can like something or even not like something and be okay at it because I definitely don't like chemistry and I was not good at it.

But you and me both did it made it.

Kind of thing.

That's really interesting.

So.

Which I may have said, I don't know if I've ever said on the podcast before, but I. I wish I was a business and marketing major, which is so funny.

Yeah, that's what.

One of my.

One of my really good friends in college was a PR major, and my sister was actually a business major.

I think her, like, focus was more kind of HR stuff, but they were always doing the coolest projects.

And I was sitting there studying for test and not doing cool project, and I thought it was awesome.

So slightly jealous of that.

Yeah.

And I'm definitely not going to knock the business side of things.

Like, I did enjoy my time on that side.

Yeah.

And it's applicable.

I'm pretty much into anything you go into, and I enjoyed it.

But I think kind of speaking to my journey, I held a lot of different roles throughout my time.

You know, I worked with some of our outside sales teams who are actually in the doctor's offices.

I spent a lot of time talking to patients.

Eventually kind of got a little burnt out from that side of things and transitioned into, like, a data analyst role.

And I loved that, too.

But what I kind of realized along the way is that I really just enjoyed my job the most when I was talking to patients and it didn't matter if they were yelling at me because they were upset about their insurance not paying for something or whatever it might be, but I just really enjoyed my conversations with the patients.

I transitioned back into a role where I got to work directly with patients and then also with doctors as well.

Well, I want to hear a little bit about how you got into medical sales and specifically devices.

That's really interesting to me.

And I really enjoy talking to our reps, most of them, about kind of their backgrounds.

And they have such different backgrounds, like different majors.

Some are science, some are business, some are completely random.

So I think it's always interesting, kind of like how you ended up choosing to go that route.

And then I think devices is even a little different than just being around for, like, medicines.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I don't know if I just got lucky or what, but.

So I grew up in Iowa, like central Iowa, and there's a medical device company that was based in Minneapolis at the time, and they're a huge, you know, worldwide company.

So I was familiar with the name and I was like, well, let me just look online and submit an application and see what happens.

And it just so happens that they had some openings in Los Angeles.

And being from the middle of the country where I'm not surrounded by any sort of water, I was like, yes, I would love to live by the beach.

Wow, that's.

I know.

But yeah.

So again, I think it was a little Bit of luck.

But again, for me, it was part of that.

Well, let me see if I can meet myself in the middle where I can use my business knowledge and also merge it with healthcare in a way that I could potentially see myself enjoying.

Okay, so clearly you're not afraid to make a move and change, which is awesome.

At what point in your first career did you start to think, I want to do something different or maybe feel not completely satisfied in that role and start thinking about other things?

Yeah, I think it was always kind of in the back of my mind.

And I think if you talk to a couple of my past roommates, they will validate that.

There's been, like, various times throughout my life where I'm like, I really should just make the leap.

And I've thought of.

I thought about doing everything.

You know, I definitely did my due diligence and explored different healthcare options.

So like nursing or dentistry or you name it, I probably considered it.

So it was always kind of in the back of my mind.

But for me, the big thing was, honestly, money.

I support myself, or I've supported myself for a long time, and any extra schooling, any.

My undergrad, you know, it's all stuff that I have to pay for, and it's not cheap and it's not getting any cheaper.

So I just was not comfortable making that type of investment for something that I wasn't fully sure that I wanted to do.

So it took me more than 10 years to get to that point.

But I came across the role of a PA in my most recent medical device job.

That was probably like three or four years ago.

Three or four years ago, when I was working directly in the office and in the hospital with patients and everything, I was like, wait, what is this?

And what do you do?

And how did I not know about this?

So I just started my whole researching process over again.

Because I was familiar with nurse practitioners and I'd considered it, but it wasn't the direction I wanted to go at the time.

I did a lot of compare, contrast just to understand some of those differences.

Yeah.

And I think when.

Well, my old medical assistant named Taylor, she's in PA school now.

And y', all, you remind me of her because.

And kind of her thought process because it took her a few years to really like.

She.

It was like in the back of her mind, she kind of started the process of thinking about it and then, you know, took a little while.

Because I think part of it, too is you had a good job, like a good paying job.

A good job, and so that's a big, big change too.

It's just kind of, you aren't necessarily, I mean I still think you're taking a step up, but almost like also kind of going laterally too.

So, okay, when you decided this and you're kind of like, okay, I found va, this sounds like a good option, what things did you have to do at that point to move towards that goal?

Yeah, I think as any of your listeners know, there's so many things to do, but for me, you know, I was past my 10 years in college so any sort of hope that any prerequisites would still be valid was not non existent, so.

And you probably didn't take too many sciences.

No, I didn't.

The only science course I took in undergrad was zoology.

Well, that's good for your science gpa.

Yeah, yeah, that's a plus definitely.

So I retook, you know, the basic maths and all of that and then of course like started taking all the sequences of science courses.

But it was something that I had to do at night after.

I had to make sure that it was after 6 o' clock so that I didn't get pulled back into the hospital for something.

Thankfully our community college offered courses later in the evening that I could still attend while not compromising my job.

That's a lot.

How long did that take you?

About three years.

Okay.

Yeah.

And there was a point like in the last year where I ended up quitting my job and just going to contracting to give me a little more flexibility to get some of those higher level courses that you know, they're not going to give you at 7:30 at night.

More limited.

Yeah.

So was your experience, did that count for patient care and healthcare experience?

Yeah, so that's a great question because I tried to do as much legwork as possible.

I tried to find anybody who might have had like a similar background and I really didn't find anybody.

So I to get up on myself, I had to email these schools that I was interested in and kind of get a feel for whether it was something that they would consider because obviously it costs a lot of money to apply, you know, and I didn't want to apply when this was going to be my primary source of like patient care, you know.

So, you know, some schools said yes, some schools said no.

And some schools said well it's a depends, it depends what you put on your application.

And I was like, okay, okay,.

I explain it.

Yeah, yeah.

So there was a lot of legwork that went into that and some of them, I.

You know, some of the ones that were like, maybe yes, maybe no.

Some of those I weeded out, and some of them I took a shot, so.

Okay, interesting.

Um, so you kind of had some experience, maybe, and then I just asked that.

I actually have a.

He's now a manager, but he was a rep when I started seven years ago.

And he's always kind of said, like, I've always thought about going to PA school, and we've talked about it.

That's interesting.

I partly asked because of that, and be like, I'm gonna pass that long term.

Yeah, definitely.

But when you started looking at programs, what were you looking for?

Did you have specific, you know, things that kind of were on your list or what were your priorities there?

Yeah, so for me, coming out of undergrad, my GPA was like, right at a 3.0, pretty much.

And even, like, retaking some of my undergrad classes, plus the additional science classes wasn't really going to move the needle a ton.

But I did take a lot of classes, ended up getting it to, like, a 3.3 for my cumulative.

So I.

You know, you do so much research along the way, and, you know, after I had narrowed down the location kind of of where I wanted to go, I started looking at those schools that might consider, you know, something less than a 3.6.

But really, I looked at the range of the classes that they had accepted, because I figured even if I'm on the low end of the range, like, at the low end, it's still within the range.

So, you know, I am a big believer that, you know, these schools are looking for people with diverse backgrounds.

So, you know, if you're at the low end of the range or not even in the range, if you bring something unique to the table, I think you have just as good of a shot as anyone else, because you're going to bring a different perspective.

Yeah, that's a great way to look at it, and that's what I encourage, people.

If you meet the minimums, you're competitive.

But looking at the averages and stats from past classes can tell you a lot about the students that they're looking for in the class that they're looking for.

But just so listeners know, I mean, y' all would be surprised at some of the applications that I see for that are getting interviews that aren't a crazy high gpa, that are just over the minimums, or have a bunch of kind of issues in the past.

CDs, FS withdrawals.

Those things don't necessarily mean that you don't have a shot at all.

So I think it's encouraging for you to share your story and how it worked out for you.

So how many schools did you end up applying to?

That's a great question.

And I figured you were going to ask this, and I knew I should have looked it up.

I think it was.

I think it was around, like, 15 or 17.

I was very determined.

First shot, do it.

That's it?

Yeah.

I mean, I'm in my 30s.

I don't got time to waste.

What were there.

How did that.

How did that turn out for you?

Better than I expected.

I think a lot of people feel that way.

You know, you kind of shoot your shot and hope it works, but you never quite sure.

So I ended up getting.

I.

Again, I should have looked this up, but I think it was something like nine interviews.

I got a good amount of acceptances.

I think I got, like, one.

Was it, like, one after the interview that was declined and I was fine.

I.

That interview didn't go well, and then a couple, like, wait lists.

So I, you know, it turned out a lot better than I thought.

Did you go to all of your interviews on Zoom?

I did.

Oh, nice.

So you were in the.

This was last cycle.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So you're like the first experimental Zoom interview class, which that's somewhat transferred to this cycle.

There are some schools trying to do in person, and then I think there are also schools just waiting to see what they're going to be able to do, to be honest.

And some schools are doing both.

But that's nice, because that actually.

I mean, that may have made it.

So you could go to more interviews.

Yeah, it makes it a lot easier.

I know you don't get to see the area, but.

Yeah, make it easier.

I've also moved, like, everywhere I've moved.

I've never seen it before, so I was fine with it.

Go for it.

Okay, well, the other thing.

So I applied also to places I could see myself living, and that was, like, multiple places across the country.

So I was.

I would be fine with wherever.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, with.

You were in a unique position because you had a choice to make, and you got.

You.

You were kind of in the driver's seat, and that's not always the case.

I mean, sometimes you get that acceptance.

You go.

You do what you got to do for a couple years.

But what at that point drove your decision in choosing which program to attend?

Mm.

Well, you know, as much as I like to plan ahead, sometimes these wait lists don't allow you to plan too far ahead.

So I did end up getting off the wait list for my current school, and I felt like it was the best fit for me and somewhere that, like, it was kind of a pipe dream, you know, So I was more than happy to just change my plan and that's where I was going.

So.

Had you already accepted somewhere else?

Okay.

Yeah.

And that.

That is also fairly common, just again, so listeners know.

And this is something I'm getting a lot of messages about.

Probably like three a day right now where, you know, I'm.

I got accepted somewhere.

I'm waiting to hear back from somewhere else.

What do I do?

Did you do anything while you were on the wait list?

Did you contact the school or anything?

Or just kind of wait to see what would happen?

A lot of it was just wait and see what happens.

I think, see, probably early in the spring or like, at the beginning of the year, I may have sent, like, one update just with some additional, you know, healthcare patient care hours that I had accrued, and that was it.

Okay.

And then you're able to get off the waitlist.

So.

And then just also so people understand that is.

That just shows, like, how fluid this application process is.

Because the school that you had accepted a spot at, there was probably someone on that wait list who was waiting and then got your spot, and then you took Smile.

So, like, it's just a constant kind of ebb and flow between programs, which is why it is so hard to predict what's going to happen.

Yes.

Happen throughout time.

So.

And you want to secure your spot.

So just make sure you got a spot.

Take it.

Yeah.

Okay, so now you are in school.

When did you start?

Let's see.

We started at the beginning of June, so we're finishing our second unit.

We're about two weeks away.

So the pressure is building.

Yeah.

How is it so far?

I know it's new, but is it everything you expected and more, or hanging on by a thread?

Yeah, hanging on by a thread.

I'm gonna have to say.

Not gonna lie about that.

Yeah, it gets better.

Yeah.

I mean, you know, through didactic.

It gets better.

The thing is, is, like, you know, I enjoy everything that we're learning, and I think this has been said over and over again.

It's just a lot of information.

Yeah.

And you're just feeling like you don't have enough time to learn at all.

Yeah, it's.

It's a lot and it.

But it just flies by.

And if you've put it, I mean, Everything you've put in to this point will.

You'll be fine.

You'll do great.

Like, it makes sure that you're ready and that you can handle it, so.

And you know you want it.

Yeah.

And that.

That holds, too.

All right, well, if you could give a tip to someone who is, um, we're gonna do two tips.

So, number one, someone who's in a career right now, that they're, like, kind of thinking about PA, but also they feel comfortable, um, what would your advice be now?

Um, I would just say do.

Do the exploration.

You know, I can't tell you whether to make the jump or not because certainly nobody could tell me whether to make the jump or not.

That's kind of a conclusion I had come to on my own and in my own time, even if that took more than 10 years.

But the thing is, you know, when it came down to it, when I got to the point where I was like, okay, Emily, you've got to stop, like, doing this oscillation.

You gotta make a decision.

My question to myself was, is it something that I'm going to regret if I don't do it?

And my answer was yes.

So at that point, that was kind of when I started formulating my plan.

You know, it may have taken three years for that plan to come to fruition, but it was a plan, and we got here.

Okay.

And then looking back at your application process, since it was pretty fresh, what just.

What would you have done differently?

What did you find helpful?

What would be your advice to people going through that now or in the near future?

Yeah, let me think about that for a minute.

That's a good interview tactic, by the way.

I. I probably would have done a little more interview prep.

Kind of like, in PA School, we do a lot of role playing.

So if you're not comfortable with it, doing interview prep is a good way to start getting comfortable with it.

So I think I would have spent a little more time on that.

I did read your book, and I did do the interview course.

I loved it all, and it was very helpful.

Um, I think just having.

Or I actually did the coaching interview too.

Like, the helpful too.

Yeah.

But you really can't practice enough because when you get in that moment, you're so nervous, and it's like you blackout.

It's so true.

You really do.

There are things I don't remember at all from my interviews.

Other stuff, like, stands out, but there.

I mean, definitely stuff I don't remember.

So.

Yeah, and that's what people get worried about.

Them being too robotic or sounding rehearsed.

But I think it's just.

You got to practice kind of vocalizing things and, like you said, feeling comfortable with it and adding zoom.

For a lot of people, I do this a lot, so to me, it's pretty comfortable.

But for a lot of people, that's like, an uncomfortable situation too, which I know last year was just all, like, stress levels raised more than normal anyway.

So.

Yeah, are y' all normal in your class, or have they, like, class in person?

Yeah, I mean, so thankfully, when we started and pretty much up until now, we've all been in class, we.

We do have, like, a dual campus, so we have professors on each campus, so there's always a professor in the class with us, but sometimes we're doing the whole teleconferencing thing.

But Covid is rearing its ugly head again.

So we've had a few more webex things just this past week than we've had before.

But hopefully we'll still get to just stay in person.

Fingers crossed.

Everything is.

I know.

I hope.

Yes.

Well, tell everybody where they can find you and follow along and kind of connect with you.

Yes.

So I am horrible at social media right now, and I'm not gonna lie, I'm probably gonna remain that way.

So I attempted to start an Instagram account, like, specifically PA before school, and then haven't kept it up.

But you can always follow on there.

It's the unconventional pa and then email's usually the best way to reach me.

So I can give that to you, maybe, or I can say whatever works.

Is it on your Instagram?

No, but I can put it on there.

Okay.

And if you give it to me, I'll put it in the description because everything will be there for people to, like, find you too.

Okay.

Yeah.

Been checking my email, but I've been trying to avoid social media because it's just a black hole.

Yeah.

That is.

Understand that's what people can keep up accounts during PA school.

Like, you guys are crazy.

How do you do that?

I don't know.

I don't know.

Yeah, but you'll.

You'll do great.

You'll be fine.

Where do you have plans for after PA school?

Where do you kind of see yourself ending up?

That's kind of up in the air, so I don't know.

I mean, I'm originally from Iowa, so I could see myself going back there, but I've lived, like, lived in Los Angeles, and then I've lived in Dallas and everywhere, so pretty much wherever I can find a job I'm happy with.

Do you know what specialty you want to do, or do you think you'll do something kind of related to your medical devices or go opposite?

I don't know.

I'm open for whatever.

I have a feeling it's not going to be pediatrics, but I'm still open.

There you go.

Good attitude.

Awesome.

Well, I'm sure everyone will find you.

And thank you again for reaching out and being willing to share your story.

Yeah, thanks so much for having me.