Almost 2 years of preparation led me to the morning of my first pa school interview. Here's what happened:
In late August I received an email with an invitation to interview for the program in September. I can still remember the excitement when I read the words: " Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected to interview on (blank day at blank time) for a seat in the class matriculating in 2011. Please report to .....
((What a relief and what excitement filled my body. I knew that I was not yet accepted but after 2 years of diligent work the vision had a glimpse of reality. ))
Living in California I soon began researching flights to Florida. I decided that I wanted to arrive a few days early to make sure no flight cancellations or delays disturbed the interview and also to give myself time to investigate the area and envision what life would be like for me in this new area. Could I possibly move my wife and kids to this city and feel comfortable/safe??
I arrived in Florida, picked up my rental car, and headed for the hotel. After dropping my things off at the hotel I immediately drove to the campus where my interview was to be held. I saw some students outside the building and I took the opportunity to ask them some question about the school and the area. I had a lot of time to spend before the interview and I was prepared. I was able to see a couple of sporting events, go to the beach, visit other popular tourist attractions, meet people, and look at housing options and the potential communities where I would be living.
Before coming to Florida I prepared for the interview by putting together a binder folder with plastic inserts of potentially important information to review and have with me for the interview. I included documents of the school with its mission statement and school overview, notes on items I wanted to focus on or emphasize about myself during the interview, letters of recommendation, documented clinical hours and patient care experiences, school transcripts, etc..
The night before the interview I sat in the bed and went over the items in my binder specifically the items I wanted to focus on in the interview. Previously I had read other PA blogs that described the type of questions to be prepared for. I read through the questions and imagined how I would respond to each question.
The morning came and I took time getting ready, went to the hotel lobby for a nice breakfast and drove to the campus. I quickly realized that there was going to be four people interviewed. I was the only male candidate. The other women were professionally dressed and seemed prepared. We were given a small folder and escorted to a different room.
THE INTERVIEW BEGINS
We were given 10 minutes to write a brief essay. It was early and I am a slow writer so this was a challenge. It felt like 1 minute went by and we were asked to stop writing and turn in our essay. In another room was an interview committee of a few of the faculty members waiting to drill us individually. I was the third of the four candidates to be interviewed. Each individual interview lasted about 30 minutes and the committee remained in the room and talked amongst themselves about the individual (making a decision) for another 30 minutes. So about 2 hours had passed from the time I wrote the essay until the moment I was walking into the interview room. I was asked why I want to be a PA? Why do I want to go to this specific school? Do I feel prepared to handle the rigorous schedule of pa school? I was also asked several questions stemming from my previous answers. I made good eye contact. I was sincere with my answers. I tried to show some humor and normality about myself but most importantly I went back to what I had prepared, making sure I focussed on why I felt I was prepared and ready to begin.
As I was talking each committee member had paper and they jotted notes while I was talking. The answers I gave I felt went very smoothly, the committee members seemed to be in a good positive moods witnessed by their smile and overall I felt I did everything I could. We were given a tour of the campus by a few of the current students and that was it... the interview was over.
Two weeks later I received the phone call congratulating me as I was accepted into the program.
I was offered interviews to several schools but I decided I was satisfied and excited about the first school I was accepted to. I really didn't want to pay all the costs to fly and stay somewhere when I felt good about the first school. I did go to one other interview and the interview was pretty similar. I was asked many of the similar questions and at the completion was given a tour of the campus.
I was very nervous going in to the interview as I didn't know what to expect. Hopefully my experiences can give you some answers on what it will be like.
