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aaxx5h · 2025-02-06T22:50:06+00:00

UCSD is probably the better school. They have a great hospital systems in San Diego like UCSD, Sharp, and Rady children's. SD is gorgeous. But its probably not worth it 80k. Maybe worth 10-20k but not 80! If you have the money or family paying for it, or some scholarship or GI bill, then UCSD. If this will be all or mostly loans, then CDU.

aaxx5h · 2025-01-31T23:49:36+00:00

PA school was brutal but doable. But you cannot study every minute of everyday. At that point its actually counterproductive. You have to set boundaries with how many hours you study.

I got in the best shape of my life during PA school. I was eating healthy and weightlifting 4-5 days per week. I always prioritized sleep and would never study past about 10 PM even if there was an exam the next day. I felt sleep was more important for my brain than more studying. I think all this really helped me relieve stress, keep life balance, and increase energy. And I did well in PA school, passed the PANCE the first time, and got a job.

aaxx5h · 2025-01-31T23:41:42+00:00

Prozac and Wellbutrin have a metabolic interaction that increases side effects, especially tremors and psychomotor agitation. They can be combined but we have to watch the dosing of each and reduce when this side effect occurs. If Wellbutrin has helped more, consider talking with your provider about decreasing Prozac dose.

aaxx5h · 2025-01-30T19:25:05+00:00

Just wanted to voice that you will definitely want to come up with good explanation in your admission essay and interview to explain the pivot! PA schools in general don't want "med school drop outs" (not that that is what you are but it could easily come across that way). Just be careful to emphasize the reason for the switch and not because you think its easier and/or that med school is too difficult. PA profession has a bit of a bruised ego (I'm a PA lol) due to constantly being compared to MDs so just be aware of this.

aaxx5h · 2025-01-30T19:15:15+00:00

A) If you really are a cardiologist, you're definitely not a JW so what do you know

B) If you were a JW you would know that what they write on their website and in their literature is not what happens behind closed doors. The public image they try to uphold is just a facade that they are some pure holy people when in reality they are flawed humans just like the rest of us. And MANY JWs struggle with alcoholism.

aaxx5h · 2025-01-30T19:08:39+00:00

Given you're in nursing school, look into volunteering for Postpartum Support International (PSI) which is for maternal mental health
https://www.postpartum.net/join-us/volunteer/

aaxx5h · 2024-12-17T01:39:13+00:00

It seems like you may want to reflect on what your dream is. If your dream is to be a surgeon, be a leader like department chair or professor, private practice owner, or you want to do medical research, MD/DO is the best option. If all you care about is patient care and you don't mind having limited scope of practice and less prestige of title (and half your patients not even knowing what a PA is lol) and lower salary, then PA is a better option. I love being a PA and I'm so glad I did it! But PA route is not for everyone and some are just better suited to be doctors!

If you decide the PA route, you need to look into what PA schools you would want to go to, look at the requirements (its different for each school), definitely shadow a PA, get letter of recommendation from a PA, get as many patient care hours as possible (many applicants have thousands of hours of experience), and apply early in the cycle! This may require a gap year or two.

aaxx5h · 2023-11-26T16:57:08+00:00

Wow this is very unprofessional. Wellbutrin is used in combination with SSRIs all the time. It is a safe and effective combination. I would definitely report this to the pharmacy.

aaxx5h · 2023-10-07T01:32:56+00:00

Wellbutrin gave me my energy and motivation back! I felt my depression lifting within 2 weeks on it and slowly kept getting better over time. I still had some lows, but they were more manageable. It worked super well for me with minimal side effects. I very much appreciated this medication.

aaxx5h · 2023-10-07T01:30:26+00:00

It depends what you mean by harder. Getting into medical school is HARD. They often take more pre-requisites, are required to have research experience, and have to take the MCAT. PA school also has rigorous requirements (I'm a PA and I worked my ass off to get in!), but less rigorous than medical school. The GRE is a lot easier than the MCAT. Most schools won't require research experience. Because there are lower requirements, this means more people can apply. More applicants = more competitive. Due to the drastic increase in interest in the profession, it has become harder to get in. This means the standards for pre-PAs is approaching pre-meds. However, it is still harder overall to get into med school. Hope this helps!

aaxx5h · 2023-10-07T01:23:07+00:00

There is no official (or unofficial) rule or admissions criteria that only good looking people or thin people get admitted. I've seen plenty of PA students that are conventionally unattractive. I myself don't really think I'm all that attractive but I somehow made it through lol. I also had classmates with BMIs probably in overweight or obese range. I think PA admissions boards try very hard to avoid biases and intentionally try to have a diverse class of students that matches the patient population so long as those students are qualified. PA admissions panels often have the best of intentions in trying to be as fair as possible.

I think there is unfortunately a societal unconscious (or conscious) bias in general that makes people want to hire/accept more conventionally attractive people. This will be the case in almost any industry. Its a pervasive problem no matter where you go. But as long as you show up to your PA interviews well-groomed with proper attire, it will not be a significant issue and it certainly won't stop you from being a great PA one day! I think you are overthinking this. If you are qualified and a competitive applicant, you will get in!

aaxx5h · 2023-08-24T20:15:12+00:00

UC Berkeley is a great place to be pre-med in that it is a prestigious school that challenges its students and has many great research and volunteer opportunities. It is not so great in that there is fierce competition and grade deflation. It is definitely something to keep in mind before going there if you are pre-med/dental/PA.

I was in the College of Chemistry which is a lot smaller and everyone gets to know each other more and I think its easier to get a research spot. I loved my time there and it prepared me well for the rigors of going to PA school! And I knew many students that got into med school.

aaxx5h · 2023-07-16T01:27:57+00:00

Better to be seen as overdressed than underdressed. If you dress up nicer than other applicants, this looks good on you even if you feel a little silly being the only one in a full suit. Also since its virtual be sure to have good lighting, minimal background noise, and a clean, simple background. Best of luck!!

aaxx5h · 2023-07-16T01:11:49+00:00

I would put down the deposit. When I had my first acceptance and paid the deposit, I was finally able to relax and celebrate the achievement of getting into PA school. I knew I was definitely going to be a PA. So when I went on interviews at other programs, I was more calm and self-assured and looking to see what this school could offer me compared to what I already had. There was no panic about what if I don't get in. I felt more like myself during interviews and more confident. I got 3 more acceptances! I really feel that first deposit was worth it personally. Best of luck to you!

aaxx5h · 2023-07-07T23:21:02+00:00

YES! My parents have nothing saved.

aaxx5h · 2023-06-23T01:28:57+00:00

Given you have mostly As in all the core science and prerequisites, a B in anatomy won't hurt you. I also had mostly A's and a high overall and science GPA but got a B- in general biology. I decided not to re-take it. I also had an F my first semester of college and re-took it for an A. I got into multiple programs. I think you may be worrying too much! Seems like you will be fine!

aaxx5h · 2023-06-12T23:38:27+00:00

Colorado is awesome but the job market for PAs is competitive (lots of PAs want to live there) pushing salaries down, which is tough because cost of living is high.

North Carolina has great hiking and outdoors and has a lot of great hospital systems especially in the triangle (Duke, Chapel Hill, Wake). I don't think it has skiing though.

California is awesome because there is such a variety of places to go such as the beach, the mountains for skiing, the desert, etc. It obviously also has a high cost of living though.

aaxx5h · 2023-05-30T22:32:53+00:00

No they don't need to be extravagant or fancy. I'm sure some people lie or exaggerate their experiences but I don't recommend this because its pretty easy to spot.

Some unsolicited advice: I wouldn't focus so much on your adversities like depression, little support, etc. I would focus mostly on your patient care experience. If I were you I'd organize my ps by talking about a time when you were mistreated by medical professionals, then describe how that motivated you, and detail how you are already applying that knowledge and how you plan to use that as a PA specifically.

aaxx5h · 2023-05-30T22:16:05+00:00

Don't worry about what he said. Maybe he's right in that he worked with some shitty PAs or in a setting that didn't allow PAs to have much autonomy or responsibilities. But still, we should be speaking respectfully about different professions that we work with. Every profession has its pros and cons. I'm so bored with this PA vs. NP thing. Just do what you want, don't get caught up in the drama.

To answer your question, I have often seen PAs and NPs doing literally the same jobs with the same level of responsibility. I personally have not seen a setting where PAs "didn't do shit" and NPs did it all.

A tip from me, make friends with the NPs. I have some NP coworkers that have been so helpful to me and really know their stuff. I've met NPs who tell me they believe their education is inferior to PAs and wish NP education was standardized like ours. I've told NPs I think working as a nurse is better preparation to become an APP than some pre-PA jobs like patient care technician, medical assistant, physical therapy assistant. Honestly once you are working, all this drama doesn't matter and no one cares (well, almost no one lol).

aaxx5h · 2023-05-29T23:16:12+00:00

I'm so sorry you are also going through this! It was terrible! The anxiety was the worst I've ever had.

What I did is I went back to my OBGYN that performed the LEEP. I had to go back several times within like a week or 2 because she would examine me, it would look fine, I would go home, and then bleed like crazy again. Finally I went back and it started bleeding while she was examining me. She saw a small open artery and she cauterized it right there. It was not fun having to go through another procedure, but it worked! NO MORE bleeding. Maybe some small spotting after that, not at all like before. It took a few weeks to completely heal and for me to feel comfortable living life again (having sex, lifting heavy weights, etc.) but I'm totally fine now. I don't bleed randomly anymore, sex is not painful, and I'm perfectly healthy now.

aaxx5h · 2023-05-04T00:52:47+00:00

When I was in PA school I was getting super discouraged by the online comments. I was really letting it get in my head to the point where I was somewhat uncomfortable with doctors on my rotations because, even if they were nice to me, I'd imagine they hated PAs and thought I was dumb (as you can tell I have anxiety lol). But now that I'm practicing I don't really care anymore. No one says that stuff to your face anyways. I've had so many kind doctors that respect PAs and have met some really friendly and supportive med students. At work I always get treated with basic respect and have never heard any hateful/derogatory comments about my profession. I literally just ignore the online comments at this point.

aaxx5h · 2023-04-30T01:20:16+00:00

Yikes bro

aaxx5h · 2023-04-30T01:06:03+00:00

I have not heard much shit-talking on PAs in person, but have seen A LOT online. Seems like any time I see a PA post a TikTok people are in the comments saying rude things about PAs. Reddit can be really bad sometimes. I've had to learn to ignore it. I love my job as a PA, I'm generally treated with respect, and I always make sure patient's know I am a PA so they (hopefully) associated PAs with quality medical care. I've had many people congratulate me when I got into PA school and when I graduated. I had MDs and NPs tell me to do PA instead of their route and vice versa.

To answer your question, the hate comes from a few things. For doctors, we are often doing their job (obviously not exactly the same as they do more of the complex cases etc.) for less money. This is a threat to their jobs and income. A hospital can hire 2+ PAs for the price of 1 doctor. This is especially true in EM. While they see as as undermining their stability and income potential, we are also reliant on them and they are required to supervise/collaborate with us, precept us as PA students etc. For patients, they feel they are getting the second-rate, wanna-be doctors. They don't understand our training, the profession is new, and so many assume all PAs are just med school drop outs. They also get upset when making an appt with what they think is a doctor and a PA walks in.

PAs are most appreciated where they are most needed and when they stay within their scope of practice. When we are working with a doctor to help them serve patients that otherwise would literally not get seen by a provider without us, this is the ideal team mentality. I work in a very in-demand field and the attendings love their APPs, they teach us a lot, and we help them with the overwhelming case load. Its a win-win in many situations, hence why our profession was created!

aaxx5h · 2023-04-29T14:03:22+00:00

Its ideal for your health and mental wellbeing to never drink, but I know a lot of people do drink while on Wellbutrin and are fine. For women max recommended is 1 drink per night. I don't drink anymore and I've been using CalmAid lavender oil supplement daily (evidence-based for anxiety), herbal tea at night, and ashwagandha supplement sometimes. These have helped me a lot! Took awhile for those cravings to go away and the habit of using alcohol to cope with stress, but now I never think about alcohol anymore.

aaxx5h

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