Five hundred hours of patient care experience. Accepted anyway.

Jana Brown got into the joint MPH/PA program at the University of North Texas Health Science Center with about 500 hours of PCE and not a lot of community service on paper. What she did have was leadership. She was president of the Pre-PA Club at Texas A&M, and that's the piece of her application that stood out.

We get into why the quality of your hours matters more than the raw number, and how running a pre-PA club can do more for you than another 500 hours of doing something you hate. Jana also walks through the actual mechanics of running one, including point systems to keep members showing up, social events that work, and how to get program directors to come speak to your group.

If your school doesn't have a pre-PA club, consider this your blueprint for starting one.

What we cover:

• Getting accepted with roughly 500 patient care hours
• The joint MPH/PA program at UNT Health Science Center
• How leadership experience can carry an application
• Quality versus quantity when it comes to PCE
• Running a pre-PA club: point systems, events, and keeping members engaged
• Getting program directors to speak to your group

Resources:

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

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

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

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

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You ask me about derm constantly, so here's the whole picture.

I've been a dermatology PA for over five years. I work part-time now and see about 25 patients a day. My days are a mix of medical derm, skin checks, biopsies, and cosmetic procedures - and yes, I do most of it independently.

The part I underestimated going in was the learning curve. Dermatology is pattern recognition, and patterns take reps. My first year I looked things up constantly. That's normal, and any specialty you pick will feel that way at first.

If derm interests you, shadow it. Then shadow something else. Clinic flow differs enormously between specialties and you want to know what kind of day suits you.

What I cover:

• My current schedule and patient volume
• Procedures I do regularly, including biopsies
• Medical versus cosmetic dermatology
• The diagnostic learning curve as a new derm PA
• Moving from a packed schedule to a saner one
• Why shadowing multiple specialties matters

Resources:

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

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

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

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

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Meet Julia, one of our mock interview coaches and a new PA in pediatric endocrinology.

Here's the part I love: she didn't want to work with kids. She was pretty sure peds wasn't for her. Then she did the rotation and everything changed.

That happens constantly, and it's the best argument I know for going into clinical year with an open mind and for shadowing widely before you apply. You cannot know what you'll love based on what you imagine a specialty is like.

We also get into her application, the patient care experience she built, and what got her through the harder parts of school. And since she coaches mock interviews, she has a clear read on where applicants tend to lose points.

What we talk about:

• Ending up in pediatric endocrinology by surprise
• Why shadowing broadly matters more than shadowing a lot
• Building patient care experience before applying
• Getting through the hardest stretches of PA school
• What she sees applicants get wrong in mock interviews
• Her advice for people applying this cycle

Resources:

Mock interview: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/mock-interview

PA School Interview Guide: https://www.thepaplatform.com/physician-assistant-school-interview-guide

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

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

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There's a new admissions test in the mix, and I went straight to one of the people building it.

Scott Massey is a lead researcher on the PA-CAT. We talk about why it exists, what's on it, and what programs are hoping it does. The short version of the argument: the GRE was never designed to predict how someone does in a PA curriculum, and the PA-CAT is meant to test the science content you'd actually use.

Right now only some programs are using it, so this isn't a thing you need to panic about. But if you're applying in the next couple of cycles, check your program list and know whether it's required before you're surprised in June.

What we talk about:

• Why the PA-CAT was created
• How it's structured and what content it covers
• Comparing it to the GRE as a predictor
• Which programs are using it so far
• What this could mean for future applicants
• How to find out if a program requires it

Resources:

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

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

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I found Hands of Esperanza recently and immediately wanted to tell you about it.

It's a PA-run medical mission organization working in Guatemala, and what I love is that it isn't just clinics and go home. They're doing community development work too - building stoves so families aren't breathing smoke indoors, and putting together a multi-specialty medical center that stays after the volunteers leave.

Ashley and Erin came on to talk about how the nonprofit started and what led them there. If you've been looking for a way to use your training that goes beyond a job, or you're a student wondering how PAs end up doing global health work, this is a good place to start listening.

What we talk about:

• How Hands of Esperanza got started
• Medical mission work in Guatemala
• Building stoves and why respiratory health improved
• Creating a lasting multi-specialty center
• How PAs and students can get involved
• Doing this work responsibly instead of as a photo op

Resources:

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

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

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

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

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Still staring at a blank document where your personal statement should be? Same. Everyone starts there.

So I made a checklist. It's a framework for getting from "I have no idea what to write" to an actual draft - what to brainstorm first, how to structure it once you have material, and the mistakes that show up in almost every first version.

I also put together a two-week email course that walks you through it day by day. Two weeks, a draft in hand, well before deadlines start applying pressure. Both of those are free.

The hardest part of this essay is starting. Once there are words on the page, editing is just work, and work you can do.

What I cover:

• Brainstorming before you try to write anything
• A checklist for structuring your essay
• Common mistakes in first drafts
• Why the opening paragraph gets rewritten last
• Using the two-week email course to stay on pace
• Getting outside eyes on it before you submit

Resources:

Free personal statement worksheet: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-personal-statement-worksheet-download

Free personal statement email course: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-personal-statement-email-course

Personal statement guide: https://www.thepaplatform.com/pa-school-personal-statement-guide

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

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Nora found out she was pregnant right before starting PA school.

That's the kind of timing that makes people assume the plan is over. It wasn't. She started anyway, and she's doing well - not because she's superhuman, but because she built a support system and made some hard calls about what she could and couldn't do.

We talk about how she told her program, what accommodations looked like, and how she manages studying with a newborn. Her honesty about the hard parts is the best thing in this episode. She doesn't pretend it's easy.

If you're worried that life circumstances disqualify you from this path, they usually don't. They just change the logistics.

What we talk about:

• Finding out she was pregnant right before starting school
• Telling her program and what came of it
• Studying and attending class with a newborn
• The support system that made it work
• What she'd do differently
• Advice for students who become parents mid-program

Resources:

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

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

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

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

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Mentioned in this episode:

CapYear Training

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PA school will happily eat every relationship you have if you let it.

I brought on a licensed therapist to talk about how to keep the people in your life close while you're deep in a program that demands most of your time. Her advice is refreshingly unglamorous: communicate what's coming before it happens, and let small gestures carry the weight when big ones aren't possible.

You don't need a free weekend to keep a friendship. You need a text that says you're thinking about them. Twenty minutes of real attention beats three hours of being physically present while mentally reviewing pharm.

This applies to partners, parents, friends, and honestly to yourself too.

What we talk about:

• Why relationships strain during intense training
• Setting expectations with people before school starts
• Small, consistent gestures over grand ones
• Communicating when you're overwhelmed instead of disappearing
• Protecting a few things that aren't school
• Knowing when to ask for professional support

Resources:

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

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

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

Free personal statement worksheet: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-personal-statement-worksheet-download

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End of the year, which means it's time to get your act together for the 2020 cycle.

CASPA opens in April. That sounds far away and it isn't. Right now is when you should be pulling together your patient care hours, healthcare hours, and shadowing hours - with dates, supervisor names, and contact info. Doing that in June from memory is how people end up guessing.

Start your personal statement now too. First drafts are always bad. You want the bad draft out of the way in January so you have three months to make it good.

I also cover the PA-CAT, a new standardized test in its research phase that could show up as a requirement at some programs down the road. Worth knowing about now.

What I cover:

• What to do before CASPA opens in April
• Gathering hours, dates, and supervisor contacts
• Starting your personal statement early
• What the PA-CAT is and where it stands
• Setting up your program list for the new cycle
• Planning your year backwards from submission

Resources:

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

Free personal statement worksheet: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-personal-statement-worksheet-download

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

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

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