Memorizing is not learning. In PA school that difference will find you fast.

Dr. Adam Rosh created Rosh Review, and this conversation is about how to actually study medicine. His whole approach is built around questions rather than passive review, because answering a question forces you to retrieve information, and retrieval is what makes it stick.

This is why so many PA students live in question banks. It's not because the questions are magic, it's because getting something wrong and then understanding why is the fastest way to learn.

For pre-PAs, start practicing this in your prereqs. Close the book and test yourself instead of rereading highlighted notes. Rereading feels productive and mostly isn't.

What we cover:

• Why memorization fails once the volume gets high
• Studying with questions instead of passive review
• How Rosh Review got started and what it's built for
• Connecting book knowledge to real clinical decisions
• Study habits pre-PAs can build before they're accepted
• Managing the sheer amount of material in PA school

Resources:

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

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

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

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

Mentioned in this episode:

CapYear Training

Get $200 Off CapYear Academy

"Is it too late to become a PA?" No. Here's where I think this profession is going.

Heading into 2022, a few things kept coming up in my inbox, so I made an episode out of them. Online and hybrid PA programs are growing. There's an ongoing conversation about moving the profession toward a doctoral-level credential. And after the pandemic, people are nervous about whether PA jobs will still be there.

On that last one, my honest read is that healthcare is not running out of patients. The demand for providers is not the thing I'd worry about.

On the doctorate question, that debate has been going for years and it moves slowly. Don't make decisions today based on a change that may or may not happen.

What I cover:

• Where PA education seems to be heading
• Online and hybrid programs and what they mean for applicants
• The doctoral degree conversation, explained plainly
• Job availability for PAs after the pandemic
• Why demand for providers isn't going away
• What actually matters for your decision right now

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

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

Mentioned in this episode:

CapYear Training

Get $200 Off CapYear Academy

You will have no income for two years and a lot of expenses. Somebody should talk about that.

Evan and Ginger are recent PA school grads who built a budgeting tool specifically for PA students, because they went through it and found nothing that fit. Their whole thing is knowing your actual numbers instead of borrowing a round number and hoping.

Standard disclaimer from me: I'm not a financial advisor and this isn't financial advice. This is two people who just did it sharing what they learned.

The piece I'd underline for anyone pre-PA is that the borrowing decisions start before you even matriculate. Where you live, whether you have a car, whether you take the max loan amount because it's offered. Those choices compound.

What we cover:

• Why budgeting in PA school is different from budgeting anywhere else
• The tool they built and what it tracks
• Understanding what you're actually committing to when you borrow
• Cost-of-living decisions that make the biggest difference
• Habits to build before you start school
• What they wish someone had told them

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

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

Mentioned in this episode:

CapYear Training

Get $200 Off CapYear Academy

Buying for a pre-PA, a PA student, or a working PA? Send this to whoever keeps asking what you want.

This is my 2021 gift guide, split by where someone is in the journey. Applicants need different things than students, and students need different things than a PA who has been in clinic for five years.

The practical stuff always wins. Good shoes. A blood pressure cuff that isn't garbage. Coffee. Anything that saves time. And for someone in the thick of applications or didactic year, a resource that actually helps them move forward beats another mug.

I also talk about building small themed baskets, which is my favorite move when you don't want to spend a lot but want it to feel personal.

What I cover:

• Gifts for pre-PAs still in the application grind
• Gifts for PA students surviving didactic and clinical year
• Gifts for practicing PAs
• Practical picks versus the fun ones
• How to build a themed gift basket cheaply
• Ideas that work all year, not just in December

Resources:

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

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

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

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

Mentioned in this episode:

CapYear Training

Get $200 Off CapYear Academy

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:

CapYear Training

Get $200 Off CapYear Academy

Graduating PA school is not the finish line. It's the start of a career nobody taught you how to run.

Jordan and Shane wrote The PA Blueprint to cover the parts that fall through the cracks after graduation. Job negotiation, career moves, money, and not burning out before year three.

I keep putting episodes like this on the feed for pre-PAs on purpose. If you know what the job and the career look like on the other side, your reasons for wanting this get sharper, and sharper reasons make better applications and better interviews.

On the money parts, they're sharing their perspective and I'm not a financial advisor. Take it as a starting point for your own research.

What we cover:

• What The PA Blueprint covers and why they wrote it
• The parts of a PA career nobody prepares you for
• Advancing without leaving clinical work
• Protecting your wellbeing early instead of after you crash
• Why new grads should think about this before they sign a contract
• What they'd tell someone still trying to get in

Resources:

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

Free Pre-PA 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

Mentioned in this episode:

CapYear Training

Get $200 Off CapYear Academy

Ethical questions are not asking you to be right. They're asking you to think out loud.

This is another live webinar session, this time focused on ethical scenarios and the MMI format. We ran mock stations with participants and gave feedback on the spot.

The MMI throws you into a scenario with no clean answer, on purpose. A coworker is cutting corners. A patient refuses treatment. A friend asks you to do something you shouldn't. What they're evaluating is whether you can see multiple sides, name the tension, and reason your way to a defensible position without panicking.

The worst thing you can do is answer instantly and confidently in one direction. Slow down. Say what makes it hard. Then decide.

What we cover:

• How the MMI format works station by station
• Ethical scenarios worked through live with participants
• A framework for reasoning out loud under pressure
• Why acknowledging both sides scores better than certainty
• Common mistakes people make in ethical stations
• Real-time feedback on real answers

Resources:

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

PA School Interview Course: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pa-school-interview-course

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

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

Mentioned in this episode:

CapYear Training

Get $200 Off CapYear Academy

Voicemail day. You asked, I answered.

This one covers four things that come up constantly. Whether a withdrawal on your transcript is going to sink you. When in the cycle you should actually apply. What applying really costs once you add it all up. And how to build a study schedule that survives contact with real life.

On withdrawals, short answer: one or two won't end you. A pattern of them will raise questions. Address it briefly, own it, move on. Do not spend a paragraph of your personal statement explaining a W.

On cost, budget more than you think. Application fees, transcripts, supplementals, and interview travel add up fast, and nobody warns you about the supplementals.

What I answer:

• How to handle withdrawals and bad grades in your application
• When to apply in the cycle and why early matters
• What applying to PA school actually costs
• Building a study schedule for prereqs and for PA school
• How to prioritize when everything feels urgent
• Whether to reapply or wait a year

Resources:

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

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

Supplemental Application Library: https://www.thepaplatform.com/supplemental-library

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

Mentioned in this episode:

CapYear Training

Get $200 Off CapYear Academy

Reading about interview questions is fine. Hearing people actually answer them is better.

This is from a live webinar where we went through real interview questions and real answers from participants, then talked about what worked and what didn't. That feedback loop is the whole point, because you cannot hear your own filler words and rambling until someone points them out.

A pattern I see constantly: people answer the question they wish they'd been asked. Or they give a perfectly nice answer that doesn't actually say anything about them. Specificity is what makes an answer memorable.

Also worth saying, everyone in that webinar was nervous. You are not uniquely bad at this.

What we cover:

• Common PA school interview questions, worked through live
• Real answers from participants and what I'd change
• How to be specific instead of generically pleasant
• Handling questions you didn't prepare for
• What nerves do to your delivery and how to manage it
• Why practicing with other people beats practicing alone

Resources:

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

PA School Interview Course: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pa-school-interview-course

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

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

Mentioned in this episode:

CapYear Training

Get $200 Off CapYear Academy