Another test. Great. Do you actually have to take it?

The PA-CAT started showing up in my inbox constantly, so I went to the source. Johnna Yealy, PA-C, was involved in creating it, and she explains what the exam is, why it exists, and what it's trying to measure that GRE scores and GPA don't.

We also brought in a student who had recently sat for it, because a test creator and a test taker give you two very different kinds of useful.

My practical take: only a subset of programs require or accept it, so check your list before you spend the money and the study time. Don't take a test nobody on your list wants.

What we cover:

• What the PA-CAT is and what content it covers
• Why it was created and what it's meant to predict
• Which programs use it and how they weigh it
• What the exam day experience is like from a student who took it
• How to decide whether it's worth it for you
• How to prepare if you do need it

Resources:

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

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

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

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

Mentioned in this episode:

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Okay.

For today's topic, it's something we've talked about before, but it's new.

We keep getting questions and so I went to the source to get the answers.

We're talking about the PA Cat.

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.

What is up, guys?

Savannah Perry here, your host of the Pre PA Club podcast.

We are going on.

This is, I think, episode 200, which is so crazy there.

That's a lot of episodes.

I appreciate everyone who has been listening for a long time as well as any new listeners who have happened to find the podcast.

I really just hope this is a resource that is helpful to you if your preferred way of getting information is by listening.

I love podcasts.

I love audiobooks, so that's why this was created.

A lot of these episodes are on YouTube too, if you prefer watching and want that kind of interactive experience of hearing and seeing.

But I think that this audio version is just more accessible and easier to use.

If you're like me, you're always listening to something while driving or doing laundry or cooking.

So hopefully it's helpful if you have been listening for a while.

I would so appreciate a five star review wherever you're listening, which helps other people find the podcast.

And your feedback is very valuable to me.

We're not high tech.

I am not great with technology, but we do the best we can.

So.

All right, let's get into talking about today's subject, which is the PA Cat.

You may or may not be aware of this.

If this is the first time you're hearing about the PA Cat, let me tell you about it.

So it's a new standardized test that has been introduced in the last couple of years and, and is now being adopted by more programs, required by some, recommended by some.

And it is a knowledge based test based on the prerequisite topics that are typically required for PA school.

If you go back to some of the previous episodes, you will find more in depth discussion of this and I'll try to link to those in the description because today what we're doing is we're actually going to hear from one of the creators of the PA Cat, which is really cool.

So I think, you know, standardized tests are tough, they're stressful.

But if there's evidence and science behind why a test is important, we have to think about that.

So Jonna Yehle is here and we're Going to hear from her in just a second.

And she was one of the co principal investigators who researched the development and implementation of the PA Cat.

She has been very involved with PA school academia.

She is a program director at the University of Tampa.

And she's just awesome.

You're gonna really enjoy this.

And she's very honest.

I love it.

She did her dissertation work on what makes someone successful in PA school and found that there really wasn't anything that we could prove and that puts students at a disadvantage because we can't say, you know, if you have this GPA or these grades or this amount of experience, you'll be able to do well.

But we want to be able to say that.

So that's the goal of the PA CAT in a nutshell.

So we'll get into that in just a second.

And if you're looking for study resources for the PA Cat, Roche review has a PA Cat study QBank that they have put together with Exam Master who created the test.

They've done other tests like the pharmacy pcat and so you'll hear, we'll talk about that Exam Master a little bit.

But that's a good resource.

Roche Review is basically what everyone uses in PA school to survive and what I'll be using to review for boards very soon.

So great resource if you are needing a study guide for the test.

All right, let's hear from Jona and then after we hear from Jauna, we're actually going to hear from a student.

So this is going to be a little bit longer episode.

But I also have a student who in the pre PA club wrote this great post just basically saying, hey guys, I took the PA cap.

It wasn't as bad as I was expecting and I think it was actually helpful.

And so I reached out to her just to get that kind of positive experience and so that she could share with you what she meant by that and why she felt like it was a helpful test.

So let's hear from Jonna first.

My name is Jona Yihle.

I am the program director and department chair at the University of Tampa Physician Assistant program.

I didn't start my life there.

I started my life in Tennessee.

Not really sure what I was going to be when I grew up.

So I got the psychology degree that everybody gets when you're not sure what you're going to be when you grow up.

And I started doing crisis work and when I the ers doing crisis work, I was like, wow, the medicine side of this is really a lot more cool.

So I became a nurse and I did trauma ICU for about 14 years and then I just wanted to do more.

So I went to PA school, trained in the medical model, and they asked me to stay in my program and teach a class.

And then six months later I was the program director.

So that's kind of how that all fell together.

That's impressive and exciting.

Were you interested in academics before then or did you kind of find that along the way too?

Yeah, no, I just literally fell into it and then.

But I really, I found it intuitive putting together curriculum, putting together policies, that kind of thing.

And I'm kind of bossy, so being the boss is a good thing.

And I'm kind of a nerd, so it just combines everything together.

So I knew I would stay in education.

So I got a PhD in global health research education.

Cool.

Okay.

So it does seem like a lot of people in academia move around.

So this is a different program you're with now, correct?

Correct.

Yeah.

So I've been.

I started at Bethel University in Tennessee and then I went to the University of Tennessee Health Science center and I was the founding director there.

And then I worked at the University of Oklahoma for a bit to help them out in program evaluation and then came down to Tampa to University of Tampa to start that program.

And this is home now and hopefully this is where I'll retire.

I don't want to start another PA program.

It's a lot of work.

People I think, don't realize how much work it is, but I've talked to enough founding directors to know that there's a lot.

And it takes a lot of time and effort and patience.

That and Florida is nice.

So being that we're in smack dab in the middle of application season right now, what do current applicants need to know?

So coming from a program director, some of the questions I'm getting a lot, as someone who kind of just educates and talks about the process a lot is should I contact the schools and ask them if they have my application, should I be working on my application, those types of things.

What would your, you know, blanket advice be to those people who want to email you every day?

Don't email me, don't email me.

Most schools have have a dedicated admissions person that's to answer all their questions.

Email that person for sure.

But what I generally tell applicants is each program will have a website that tells what their preferences are.

So if you look at their website and all of their students are 82 year old blue avatars and you're not Then you might want to try to find the school that matches more closely to the things that you are.

Whether it's a lot of healthcare experience, military experience, whatever it is they list that they want.

Those are the schools that you need to apply to and apply to more than one.

You know, apply to six, seven or eight, because you're going to get a good education where you go, wherever you go, just be willing to branch out.

And those are kind of the two main things is find the one that fits you.

And then as far as starting the application, start it.

You know, the minute that CASPA opens, put your application on there.

You don't have to worry about, wait to finish prerequisites, etc.

Just get it, get everything uploaded and go for it.

Yeah, I mean, those are both good, very good tips.

Since you've been so involved with starting so many programs, what, how do you decide what makes a great applicant?

Because it seems like every school has a little different requirements.

There's different prereq requirements, different timelines, different testing requirements.

What goes into making those decisions?

And is it always really up to the PA program or is some of that on a university basis too?

That's a good question.

Some of it is university basis.

Some universities will have, they'll have a requirement that all graduate students are.

All incoming graduate students have to take the GRE whether the program wants to use that test or not.

Or they may have minimum GPA requirements coming in the door.

So that you certainly have to work with your institution for those type things.

The other part of it really is that PA educators over time have what they think the perfect applicant looks like.

But there's really no evidence based research that says yes.

If the student has these grades and takes these courses and did this for healthcare experience, then 100% they're going to be a great student.

Because there's other factors that go into that.

Their life experience, their resiliency, things like that.

It really depends on the people at the table.

I know when I set up my program and admissions requirements, I brought in folks from across the university, the faculty that were coming in and we talked about what do we, what do we want in an applicant?

And what we wanted in an applicant is different than what other PA programs may want in an applicant.

So.

So you have a little bit of the personality of the program and the program leadership coming out through those preferences for the applicant.

Interesting.

Okay.

And, and that's where I think, you know, like you said, it's hard to pinpoint that perfect applicant because there's so much variety in course rigor at an undergraduate level and a lot of different factors that go into.

I do not envy you and your position and having to figure all that out.

And so the way we actually connected was because you were really involved with actually creating the PA CAT or the research behind it.

And tell me a little bit about kind of how that came to be and what your thoughts, thoughts are on the test as far as PA admissions.

Sure.

Yeah.

So, as I mentioned, I got my PhD and my PhD dissertation work was taking 10 years of data from a university and trying to figure out what predicted success.

And success is generally measured by passing the pants because that's really the only outcome that we have.

So I did my research and what I found through the literature review is there's very few surveys or studies out there and the only thing consistent is the inconsistency in what they found.

So once, you know, one study says, oh, it's the science gpa, another it's the verbal score on the gre and other it's the anatomy.

I mean, there's just no consistency about what prerequisite knowledge or GPAs actually predict success in PA training.

One of the recommendations I made then from my dissertation work was that we have a PA specific college entrance exam because we see the grade inflation.

We know that a 4.0 from one place is not a 4.0 from another and it's not a 4.0 from another.

So it's all.

It's very difficult to compare apples to apples when you're looking at applicants.

So that was just one of the recommendations I had at the final, final paragraph.

And one day I got a call from Exam Master and said, hey, our clients are begging us for an admissions exam.

They tell us that's the one thing that they really need because applicants are going up.

And as you know, the research is inconsistent about what's going to be predictive.

Are you interested?

And I was like, yeah, absolutely.

I mean, it was my dissertation work, of course I'm interested.

So that was five years ago, I think, by now.

And we put together a research protocol, got IRB approval and did a pilot with the exam.

I didn't write the exam.

I am not a test writer or a psychometrician.

There are folks for that, lots and lots of folks that were on that side of things.

And believe me, the test goes through all kinds of wizardry and stuff to make sure those test items are valid.

But my part was the research part.

So we did pilot the test with 12 different programs.

We had in the final research over 400 students who had taken it.

And we looked at endpoints of the didactic gpa, the EPAC rat, and now we have a few students that have actually taken the pants.

And what we have found is, along the way, at all of the outcomes, the PA CAT was more predictive or more highly correlated with those endpoints than any other admissions characteristic.

Interesting.

Okay.

So basically, if people can show that they did well on the PA cat, which is the prerequisites essentially, for PA school, they are more likely to do well in their PA program and on boards, hopefully, while we're getting there.

So correct.

Interesting.

Okay, you said that in, like, one sentence, and I said it in, like, a paragraph.

Well, people ask me a lot, so I have to explain kind of how the test fits in a lot.

And then, of course, it gets compared to the gre and will it replace the gre?

Should I take both?

Should I take it?

What are your thoughts on the gre?

I feel like it's very controversial, so.

I had to take it twice.

Yeah, well, I had to take it twice.

It's a really hard test, but it's a general test.

It's a test of math and verbal ability, basically.

And it's just not been consistently shown to be predictive of your success in PA training.

I mean, there's a reason that medical school has their own exam and dental school has their own exam, etc.

Because it's.

The GRE just doesn't really translate well to success in health professions.

We've seen.

Ten years ago, 85% of PA programs used the GRE, and that number is steadily declining.

I don't want to say what it is right now because I'm not certain, but it's a lot less now than it used to be because they recognize that it just isn't helpful.

So I suspect that over time, the GRE will go away for most PA programs, except those institutions that just make them do it.

And I. I do suspect that the PA CAT will kind of start taking its place in the meantime in the next few years.

For applicants that want to apply to multiple programs, they may have to take both exams.

Yeah, and I agree.

It's just really interesting.

So I applied to PA school 10 years ago this year, which is crazy.

But I just.

I've.

I've been talking with a lot of other PAs and students, and I would have guessed that 10 years later, the process to become a PA would be more standardized than it is.

And it seems like it's become less Standardized.

My husband went to medical school, and it was pretty consistent across the board, just the process and requirements and testing.

Why do you think that is?

And do you think that over time it may become standardized and we're just kind of still a new profession figuring it out?

Yeah, Good question, too.

Yeah, we talk about this a lot.

The thing is that every program kind of has its own autonomy to do what it wants to do, which is a good thing.

That's not bad at all.

And PA programs are in liberal arts colleges, and they're in academic health science centers.

So they're in multiple different types of universities.

So that makes it a little more difficult to standardize.

And the other thing two is we.

We still truly don't know which prerequisites are the important ones.

We know what we think they are, but we don't know exactly what they are.

So that's one of the things that I'm hoping comes out of the PA cat is that we can drill down on exactly which of those prerequisite science categories actually contribute the most to being successful in PA training.

Yeah.

And.

Okay, do you have.

Do you foresee or think about the PA cap?

And this is me just kind of spitballing and thinking about it, but I was think of it as being a beneficial thing or an advantage to maybe applicants who had those rough semesters at the beginning or are career changers.

And coming back for some of those low GPAs can be really hard for students.

And because, I mean, you guys have to have a way to weed out applicants.

You can't look at 5,000 applications completely.

It's impossible.

So, I mean, my thoughts are the PA CAT may be a way for them to really show that knowledge and understanding of prerequisites versus, like you said, the inflated grades or a mistake in the past.

I mean, is that.

Do you think schools would ever think of it like that?

Like, okay, you know, yeah, their GPA is lower, but look how good they did on this test.

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

I mean, that's the thing, is we, as an admissions committee, we look really closely at the transcript, and we can find those semesters where somebody bombed.

And then we look to the personal statement to see if they explained it or not.

And then if you had the PA Cat on top of that, and they did very well, and then they explained, hey, my dad had a stroke, I had to go home, take care of the farm, whatever that makes sense.

But then you came back and you studied for this test and you did well.

Or, on the other hand, if there's a certain student that we truly want in the program for other compelling reasons and they didn't do well, then we can go, okay, look, you need to do some tutoring, and you need to do some brush up before you get here.

We'll start working early on that process because we really think you'll be a great PA but your science knowledge isn't where it needs to be.

So it can work both ways.

It can either show that somebody has the knowledge that you hope they have but did poorly undergraduate, or it can show that someone's not quite where they need to be, but you really want them in the program, so you're going to work with them to get them where they need to be.

Interesting.

Yeah, I hadn't even really thought about it from that sense.

But I think one thing that sometimes students don't understand is that you guys, as programs, really want students to be successful.

And that's the thing I saw in my program is, you know, they wanted us to be successful and they wanted to help us.

When I failed my first pharmacology test, my advisor was extremely helpful.

And I'm actually having lunch with her tomorrow because now she's a great friend and colleague, which is just the cool thing about the PA community is that it is so close.

And so I think students sometimes need to remember that, like, everything I feel like you guys are doing is in their best interest.

And I don't know if you get, you know, on the other side that feeling.

Like students feel frustrated at times, I'm sure.

But, you know, I think.

I think you guys have a hard job of trying to make all that happen.

It's.

I always say it's not us versus them.

You know, I mean, like, we're all in this together, and we really invested in the success of our students because their success is our success.

So, you know, and ultimately, it's.

It's about the patients they take care of.

Yeah.

And I just remember one student I went to school with.

He struggled a lot during didactic.

He was kind of had a history.

He was a paramedic for, I think, 20 years, and he ended up never passing.

The pants took it, you know, the max amount of times, all of that.

And that is just so sad.

And, you know, I think, like, when I.

When the PA cat first came out and I was learning about it, like, honestly, he's who I thought of first.

And I was like, I wonder if we had this test, if that would have been more of an indicator of your training or education.

May or may not be where it needs to be to complete PA school.

And so I think if you could have that as like you said, a research evidence driven test to say this will show whether or not you are ready and able to complete PA school in the pants would be so helpful.

So which now we have it.

How many schools are using it now?

Do you know?

I feel like it's still.

I was just looking at that.

It's about.

There.

I believe there's 11 or 12 that are requiring it and another 20 or so that are recommending it.

And then there's a ton that are, are anxious to implement it next semester.

So I know of course the pandemic put everything on hold and push some things back for people too.

I want to hear a little bit about your program too.

What are some things.

I feel like online a lot of programs kind of run together with the mission statement and the curriculum and stuff.

What are some cool things or things that the students love about your program that people would want to know about?

The University of Tampa.

Yeah.

So the background, I'm not actually in our lab, but one of the things that's really cool about our program is that the institution really put a lot into it on the front end.

So they built us our own simulation center which is amazing.

We don't share it with anybody else.

It's totally ours and our students have a lounge there and I mean they're pretty much there 24 7.

So there's all, there's that.

I mean the environment's nice, the physical facilities really nice.

But beyond that we are a very high touch personalized program.

So I spent four hours today in the lab teaching suturing with six other faculty.

So literally every single student had one on one faculty time.

The new students are in their physical diagnosis course and again every single one of them had one on one feedback from their faculty, which is just amazing.

We try to stay current.

Obviously everybody does.

But in doing that we are able to add an ultrasound training course which not everybody's able to do right now.

So that.

And then we've.

We've been very fortunate even in the time of COVID to have really great clinical placements and clinical training sites.

So they haven't lost out on their clinical training either.

So those are, those are kind of big things.

Yeah, those are things and those are things that are hard to sometimes decipher unless you talk to a student or able to go to an information session.

So that's awesome.

Well, thank you so much for your insights and your time and I'M sure a lot of people will be interested in researching the program and your admissions contact person will probably get lots of questions too.

Not you, but them.

No, it's okay.

I always try to respond to those emails, but the admission person is.

Is better.

You'll have better luck with them.

I'm sure.

Your inbox is flooded.

Okay.

I hope you enjoyed part one, and that should give you lots of insight to the admissions process as well as the PA cat.

But really, what goes into developing requirements?

Now we're going to hear from a student, Neleema Goyal, who completed the PA Cat and what her experience was.

Well, I'm a future PA student.

I was born and raised in Michigan.

I've been a part of the medical profession for about five years and I've had a variety of clinical experiences.

I then went on to complete a special master's program at Wayne State University in Detroit.

And then while completing that program, I worked as a clinical research assistant, an HIV tester and counselor.

Most recently though, I've been working.

I've been working as a medical scribe at a primary healthcare facility and I plan on probably just doing that until I start PA school.

Nice.

Sounds like lots, lots and lots of experience.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What was your major?

I majored in biomedical biopsychology and cognitive neurosciences.

Yeah.

Interesting.

Cool.

Okay.

Well, what, what brought you to the PA profession?

How did you figure out that what you wanted to do?

Well, I feel like I always wanted to be part of the medical profession.

I was pre med in college.

I actually didn't even know the PA profession existed.

So I'm really glad that there's a lot more awareness about it and that all that's changed now.

But ultimately I think it was when I was working as a medical scribe that I was able to work with PAs and understand their scope of practice.

And I felt like their responsibilities and lifestyle more aligned with what I want to.

What I would like to see in a career.

So that kind of, it kind of made me want to change my, my career choice.

And I really enjoyed how PAs have the flexibility and the lateral mobility with changing specialties.

And especially while working as a scribe, I noticed I really enjoy that aspect.

So I think it was about three years ago that I decided to change from pre med to pre pa and I've just kind of been working towards it since.

Nice.

Okay.

So did you apply, I guess this last cycle?

I did.

I applied this last cycle.

That was my first cycle.

Okay, what was.

What was applying like for you?

Like each cycle and kind of what were the outcomes?

What, what went well, what didn't?

That kind of thing?

In the spring when I first applied, I applied to like 18 schools based on my GPA and pre med requirements.

I think I was just really trying to like, I was spreading myself really thin.

I was like, I want to get into PA school the first time.

So I applied to every school I could and it was a lot to try to keep up with every school's deadlines and requirements.

And I missed a lot, actually.

I didn't even.

Like, some of the schools told me they wouldn't accept my prerequisites because of.

I use some of my graduate level courses to.

So I just didn't.

I feel like I didn't do enough research to find out which school would accept which one of my requirements or what I needed.

So I think that kind of set me back the first cycle.

The second time though, I definitely did a lot more research the first time than the first cycle.

I made sure that I narrowed my list to 12 schools.

I did a lot of research on the schools.

I made sure that, you know, I created more of a spreadsheet with the deadlines and what each school wanted and I took the classes that I needed.

A couple of my classes had expired or they're just a little older.

So just to kind of refresh my knowledge, I retook like microbio or medical terminology to make myself more competitive.

And I also got the clinical experience of working as a medical scribe.

I volunteered more to try to improve my myself.

So after the first cycle, I was waitlisted.

I had two interviews and I was waitlisted at both schools.

And this time I had two interviews and two acceptances.

So you get choices?

Yeah, yeah, it was great.

Um, can we talk about scribing for just a second?

Did you work with like a specific company?

I know there are a few like main companies out there, but then I'm sure there's things outside that.

Did you work with a specific company or anything?

I did.

I started out working for physicists, so they.

And then I did the emergency department and then they offered a really cool like travel Scribe opportunity.

So I traveled to, like, different rural areas in America and they kind of worked towards building a scribe program.

So I trained other scribes and got to work in different areas.

And it was really cool to see different medicine in different parts of the country because it's very different, even though you wouldn't think it would be.

And then from there, I was able to work in like a lot of different outpatient, like urology, orthopedics, family med, allergies.

So that it was such a great experience.

That's really unique.

I've actually never heard of that.

I mean, I've heard travel nursing and travel PAs and stuff like that, but never travel scribe.

Yeah, it was really cool.

It was like a month at a time.

Yeah.

Awesome.

Okay, cool.

Okay.

So in your application process, when we originally connected, you said you took the PA cap.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That was scary.

But okay, let's talk.

Let's like really talk about that.

So.

Because that's.

I mean, at this point, like, well, PA school applications are not very standardized.

So like you said, there's tons of different deadlines and requirements and all of that.

And we all know that.

But over the past year, the PA Cat has definitely been something that has been talked about more.

But I feel like there's still this air of mystery around it where everybody's like, should I take it?

Should I not?

What is it?

What's going to happen?

And so what?

Why did you take it?

So my main reason was Central Michigan, and I live in Michigan, was one of the schools that was like, for sure requiring it.

And it was one of the schools that, you know, I felt would be a good fit for me.

And it was like close to home.

So I didn't want the PA Cat to be the one of the reasons why I didn't apply.

And actually like Covid and all this pandemic, it kind of gave me some time.

Like I was furloughed for my job.

So it kind of gave me some time to be like, you know, I have the time.

I should just go for this test and look, look into it.

So I decided I'm going to take it.

And it was.

It was a fairly new test, so there wasn't that much material, and it still is.

But I used that.

That was my main factor why I wanted to take it.

But I used the Exam Master, which is the test.

That.

Which is a website that offers the test.

They have, like, the test itself is like $228 and they offer.

And it covers like anatomy, behavioral sciences, biochemistry Biology, chemistry.

Like, like, I think it has seven different topics.

And I was really nervous because, you know, it's the.

They didn't have many testing resources, but I went through like my, my school notes.

I use my school notes.

And the exam master offered.

They, they had some practice questions for each section, so I Bet I getting 500 per questions.

So in conjunction with my school notes and.

Yeah, so it actually was a lot.

And, and using those practice questions, I just kind of studied.

So it worked out.

Yeah.

Okay, so where did any other program really have like say anything about it, do they recommend it or anything?

Or is it really just that one.

Right now program that I applied to that told me that they would, you know, they would look favorably upon it was Rocky Vista in Colorado.

They said that if you take it, we will look towards it and it will be helpful.

So I definitely think that helped in my interview process.

What Western Michigan, the school I'm be attending in the fall.

In my interview process, they asked me like, what I had done with my time.

And I did tell them, you know, I know it's not a requirement for your school, but I did take the test.

And I do think that, you know, just taking that extra leap to, to take, you know, take on this test that might become a requirement for future schools, I think, you know, they, they, they liked that and they thought it was something that it was challenging and different from other application applicants.

So that definitely probably was unique.

So I feel like most people are trying anything they can to stay away from it versus being like, oh yeah, let me take this test and see how I do.

So when.

So the PA cat, it is a standardized test.

Just.

I'll give a little overview if anyone's like, what the heck, there's another test, right?

Since we didn't go over that too much.

But I've talked about a little bit before and it's kind of.

It's designed as the PA school equivalent to like the mcat.

So it's compared to the gre, which is non specific, non knowledge based.

The PA CAT is knowledge based.

Like you said, it covers those subjects that are typically the prerequisites for PA school.

But I think that's what makes it scary because anytime you add chemistry to something, it's automatically terrifying.

So had you for the subjects that were on it, were those things that you had taken fairly recently or did you have to go back and like really do some review on them?

Most things I taken within the past like two to three years, but I think it was like chemistry I like, there was a lot of stuff I did not remember.

So I had to really pull out those notes and like a lot of my work school notes.

And then like I said, the exam master kind of has like, they could have like a PowerPoint presentation.

So they just go through a brief overview.

And I kind of just took notes on that by the side and use that.

But I mean, a lot of.

Yeah, so I. I did have a lot of.

It was stuff that I did not remember.

Okay.

Was it when you got to test day, was it harder than you were expecting, easier than you're expecting?

What was your test day experience like?

I definitely thought it was.

I mean, it was very comparable to the practice test, which I thought was.

A lot of it was over my head.

So I thought a lot of it was like the microbiology questions.

Some of them would ask you, like, what medication do you prescribe?

And then an anatomy question would be like, what nerve innervates this?

And in my head I was thinking like, I think I would know this when I'm a pa, but right now I don't.

So I definitely thought a lot of it went over my head.

So I don't know if they just try to test your like, general basic knowledge to see like, you know, if.

If you know, if you just to see your basic primary knowledge.

But I'm.

I have to say it was a lot more enjoyable to study than the gre.

Cause I'd taken that two times before and I felt while I was studying for the PA Cat, like this is so much more aligned with what I want to do in the future.

And it was like, enjoyable because it's subjects that you know that you will use in the future.

And it made sense.

So although I got frustrated at times, I definitely felt more motivated study for it than the gre.

Yeah, a little more useful than.

Yeah, that stuff for sure.

So as far as the PA Cat scoring and out, it may have changed since you took it, but did you get a score?

They gave me.

I did get a score, but.

And it was.

And they broke it down to percentile.

So they gave you like you're in the 25, 50, 75 or the highest percentile.

And they would tell you where your score lies in that percentile.

So I was lucky enough that my score was in the higher percent highest percentile.

But I was hard to tell how you know, what gauge it.

Like, because I think the amount of people who took the test was also very low.

Yeah.

And so I don't know how they.

Based on the Scoring.

But, yeah, from how I felt to what I scored, I would say, you know, like, believe in yourself, and you're probably gonna do better than you think.

Yeah.

It made you feel like you knew something.

Yeah.

I was like, okay, maybe I know you.

Maybe I caught on more than I thought.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

That's what I mean.

So that's the way it scored, from what I understand is kind of the same scoring method as the pants, because that's how it is for.

So you have all of your different subjects, and you get.

There's like.

They don't tell you what passing is.

Like, nobody knows.

Right.

Which is kind of weird.

But there's a range that's basically passing.

So there's not necessarily, like, a good score, if that makes sense, because you're compared to your peers.

So that's what we would get.

Like, each section, like, cardiology, pulmonology, whatever, breaking down into percentiles, and it would show where you stand on that subject compared to everybody else in the.

It's like a range.

I think they do, like, three months who took the test or something, but they use the same one, so.

So, yeah, so I think it's similar.

So that means you probably did actually know something, because somebody's got to be the low person, too, so.

But no, that's awesome.

If you could.

Okay, so before we get to that one, do you feel like going back and reviewing all of that for the test has prepared you more for PA School in any way?

I definitely.

I mean, I don't even know if I would really remember most of that stuff.

I.

You know, I feel like almost you're constantly reviewing.

Some of it forgets.

But I think it gave me the confidence to know that I didn't forget everything from undergrad.

Like, I think a lot of us, or even from my graduate classes, I think a lot of us think that we memorize, we cram, and we regurgitate, and then you forget.

But I think once you start going over your notes and you're like, oh, I remember that.

And you just need to reinforce it.

And that was one of the top things I was worried about starting pay school.

I'm like, I don't think I remember anything.

How will I start from scratch?

But I think reviewing for this test made me realize, like, it's not completely from scratch.

I'm just building on my knowledge.

So nice if you could go back and do anything to prepare again.

How long did you take to prepare?

Actually, I took, I think, eight, six to eight weeks.

I Mean, definitely I did it.

I didn't do it right.

Because I was studying for the GRE too.

Oh, gosh.

Because.

So that was not a good.

Like, I took the GRE first, and then I studied for the PA Cat.

So I definitely would be like, that's not a good idea.

Just focus on one test at a time.

But I think I.

So it was like eight weeks, I would say.

But without the GRE sitting, I'd probably say six weeks.

So I did take the six weeks because I would.

There are like, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 subject topics.

So if I could do it again, I'd probably want to spend at least a week on each topic and probably more than a week.

Like anatomy and biology are more.

And microbiology are more emphasized.

Maybe spend two weeks on those topics.

So if I would definitely go back and spend, like, Maybe even like 12 weeks, I think I would say for the whole test, that would be a lot more.

And now there's a lot more resources.

I saw that there's something called the PA Dog.

That's like, something you'd pay for to get those resources.

So I would definitely spend a lot more time on those resources if I could go back.

I think I just, like, I kind of crammed it and, you know, I was lucky that I had just taken anatomy, so that was on my side.

But, yeah, no, I think I like that.

I think it helps you stand out to schools.

And I mean, that's something I've been talking to students about almost as a strategy, like.

Right.

If a school does require it, they may end up getting less applications.

And so.

Right.

And like, that may be a way to make yourself more competitive too, so.

But yeah.

Would you change anything in your preparations besides lengthening or spending more time on those subjects?

No, I think, you know, like, the exam master was a great resource and just kind of taking the time and really going through, like, they have a lot of questions, actually.

So if you just go through all of them, I think I would definitely, definitely recommend that.

And I mean, that's just my time and lengthening is probably the only thing I would change.

Gotcha.

Well, now that you are officially accepted to PA School and have a start date in sight, I know you said you're still working, but are you doing anything to prepare for PA School or just kind of taking it easy until then?

I think everyone I've just been talking to, you know, kind of told me just kind of take it easy and don't go crazy about preparing.

And yeah.

So I'M just trying to, like, I'm just working and then I'm, you know, now that I got the vaccination, I'm thinking about traveling somewhere and just kind of enjoying until I start.

Yeah, perfect.

Yeah, it'll.

It'll be a whirlwind once you start, so that's.

I'm all for that.

Do you have any ideas?

Since you've gotten experience in a lot of different areas, do you have any ideas about where you'll kind of end up or want to work in the future?

I have no idea.

I think I know what I don't like, so that's good.

But I mean, I have no idea what I would like to do.

I think I'm going to keep myself open to ideas and when I rotate and just kind of see what I kind of gather from there.

Yeah, I mean, that's what PA schools for, to figure it out, so.

Well, thank you so much for volunteering to come on and share your experience and.

Yeah, thank you for having me.

Yeah.

I have your email if there's any other place to find you if anybody has questions, but I do have an.

Instagram account more personal.

But I want to start like a more professional one once I start PA school for sure.

Okay, well, let me know what it is and we'll definitely get it included and make sure everybody knows where to find you too.

Yeah, for sure.

Thank you so much.

And that's it.

So I hope that was helpful.

You can find more information about the PA Cat at the links in the bio, things I've written on the blog and on the PA Cat website.

If you have any questions about any of that, feel free to reach out on Instagram going to the PA platform or send me an email info@thepa platform.com and I hope that was helpful.

I hope it makes it less scary, but stay tuned and we'll see what happens.

See you guys next week.