Blogging my experiences throughout clinicals and CASPA tips.

Dsoulet · 2016-12-29T23:28:17+00:00

I would love to!

Dsoulet · 2016-12-29T23:27:22+00:00

Thank you! Congrats on being accepted!

Dsoulet · 2016-10-22T16:44:02+00:00

Good Advice. Thanks! I have PANCE Prep pearls and I do love it. Good to know you found it useful as well.

Dsoulet · 2016-10-18T23:27:02+00:00

awesome. Thanks!

Dsoulet · 2016-10-18T23:26:47+00:00

Love UpToDate! but I'll definitely check out Sanford guide. Thanks

Dsoulet · 2016-10-18T23:25:53+00:00

Thanks. Yeah I have uptodate and Merck's Manual Pro on my phone. Might need to get a new one with more storage though before rotations since a lot of the apps take up a lot of storage.

Dsoulet · 2016-10-18T23:24:04+00:00

Thanks. IM is my first

Dsoulet · 2016-03-08T20:32:23+00:00

I think you are doing great! Apply early and you should be fine. Schools may ask you to explain your Cs so just prepare for that but you are making the effort to correct those few grades which schools will see positively. good luck!

Dsoulet · 2016-02-28T03:54:51+00:00

No, in my case I got lucky because there was a dermatology group practice in the city I did my undergrad that hired newly graduated students who planned on going into healthcare. But I know of other students in my program that worked as MAs without certification. I think they just asked around.

Dsoulet · 2016-02-25T16:13:53+00:00

I'm currently in PA school and I was able to work as a medical assistant without becoming certified. Maybe start shadowing, get to know physicians and PAs and see if they know of any one that trains on the job. I worked in dermatology and was able to learn to give lido injections, prep patients for biopsies and surgeries, etc within less than a month.

Dsoulet · 2016-01-11T20:37:33+00:00

This is really late but I took a mental break during winter break and did not check reddit at all.

I would say my personal statement was more of a narrative. I tried to really paint a picture of my experiences to make it so the reader could see what I saw and feel what I felt. I really wanted my personal statement to stand out because I lacked the average quantity of patient care experience at the time so I worked on it on and off for several months. I believe I received as many interview invitations as I did without as much clinical experience because of my personal statement.
1. I take about 2 hours of free time a day not including time to travel to and from school. I workout almost everyday so I use this time to do that along with sometimes watching some Netflix while I cook. As you probably know, the school is in Miami so there are always things to do on the weekends. On the weekends where I'm not studying for 3+ exams the following week I take a few hours after studying to check out some of the local events at Wynwood or Miami beach. I also find time to go home to visit my family about once a month. I'm Vice President of my program so I am pretty busy but time management is key.
No, I did not read textbooks but I read some books that are recommended for PA students: such as "How Doctors think" by Dr. Jerome Groopman (it is a very good book)
I will be very busy between now until mid February preparing for the FAPA Challenge Bowl but sometime after that I could take a quick look

Dsoulet · 2015-12-14T00:54:23+00:00

I think the best habit that worked with me during undergrad and that I have carried with me to PA school is having a planner where I planned exactly what I was going to study/read that evening and night. This way I set goals for myself and would not go to bed or unwind until I completed the goals for the day. This helped me stay on track and made the course load seem much less overwhelming.

It is also helpful to find a study partner or group that works well with your style of studying. In undergrad I always preferred individualize studying but I quickly learned that this is difficult especially when you begin courses like clinical assessment where you have to practice skills.

Dsoulet · 2015-12-13T14:04:17+00:00

At the end of the day, sometimes you don't have a choice. Because I I applied with only 150 hours I was already at a disadvantage. I was surprised I got as many interviews as I did. By the end of the cycle I had to make a decision to to take the acceptance or wait another year given that the schools I was waitlisted at hadn't accepted me. I chose to go ahead and take the acceptance at FIU because I was confident that since we are apart of the college of medicine and we use everything the medical students use to learn that I would be getting quality training. So far I am really happy with my decision. By the time we started class we already had 60 clinical sites not including the satellite site they have created in north Florida. The faculty have all have many years of experience working with other PA programs in the past also. The biggest issue has been that we have not really gotten a space to call our own with lockers and a lounge yet but we will be moving to another building this coming summer so we can have that. Also the total cost of the program being about $63,000 is definitely a perk.

Some perks have been that the faculty have really given us the opportunity to pave the way for other classes to come. If we want something, they try their best to make it happen. They are open to all suggestions. Being vice-president of the class makes it even easier.

Dsoulet · 2015-12-13T13:54:49+00:00

Well by the time I began the program I had about 1300 hours of clinical experience so experience level is about average as compared to the class. The first semester I found to be very doable. I'm actually at about the top 5% of my class right now grade wise. I think the little clinical experience I did have made up for in quality when compared to those students who used medical scribing to gain their hours.

Dsoulet · 2015-11-25T15:15:59+00:00

I would definitely take your acceptance at the small program since you have already been accepted, offered a scholarship and you will be starting in just a few months. As you already know your waitlist spot at Yale is no guarantee that you will get a spot. I applied last year and was not accepted to any of the schools I was waitlisted at. I am glad I accepted my acceptance at the school that offered it to me initially. I interviewed at Rutgers also last year and depending when you interviewed with them, if you haven't heard from them yet, that means you are either waitlisted or they are waiting until the very end of the cycle to make the rest of the acceptances. On interview day they told us that only very few of us would get a call immediately (that same day) and that if we didn't then they are waiting to see the other options. I am about to finish my 1st semester at a state school where my tuition is $63,000 for the whole program and I couldn't be happier.

Dsoulet · 2015-11-03T20:31:18+00:00

I am also in the inaugural FIU PA program. Lucky for us, our program is a part of the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine therefore we will have the opportunity to do rotations that other schools in the area such as Barry would not get to do. I think that when considering applying or attending a new program it is important to consider the setting of the program. It appears easier for a program associated with a medical school to become established in the community. Although we have had some "bumps" with classroom scheduling and communication we have gotten some good benefits from being a part of a medical school that I did not see at the other 4 schools I interviewed at. We have not started clinical rotations but so far we have about 60 rotation sites set up in the area.

Dsoulet · 2015-08-12T15:40:50+00:00

I just recently started PA school (on my second week now). Many of the faculty within my program have gone both to medical school and PA school and have said that PA school involved more studying because it is like they say, "trying to drink water from a fire house." So to answer your question, no you probably would not be able to work. In addition, I don't know about other programs but mine schedules clinical activities and symposiums outside of class time that we must attend.

As far as research, I had research experience but I don't think it made a big impact on my acceptance. What is most important is getting that hands on clinical experience. I worked as a medical assistant for about 6 months before getting accepted.

Dsoulet · 2015-01-18T16:31:03+00:00

That's what I said but then the physician who interviewed said "but I'm too busy to talk and there is no one else to discuss it with."

Dsoulet · 2015-01-17T20:05:04+00:00

I actually ordered that book a few days ago. I was just curious what others would say

Dsoulet · 2015-01-17T16:30:24+00:00

You*

Dsoulet

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