Relevant posts about PA school

Useful posts... Any feedback? What do you want to know... email or message me on the blog.

The summer semester is almost complete and I feel like I've learned an incredible amount about the career of a physician assistant, the human body and disease, performing various physical exams, and pa school in general.

I feel very fortunate to have been selected in this class of students out of aprox 1500 applicants; and very happy that I chose UC Davis over the other potential schools.

Last week we had a guest lecturer who discussed ethics in health care and explained the decisions he has made in his career. He was open to answer any type of question that we had. He chose an interesting path where he started a corporation and is aligned with a physician and they opened their own practice. He is basically a 50-50 partner and as such takes on much more responsibility but also make more than a traditional PA. He also has contracted out his services to a few other companies where he comes in and works according to his contract. He doesn't receive any benefits but they cut him a check for his work like a typical contracted out worker. My point is that not only can you have autonomy in many diverse medical fields and practices, but as a PA you can also start a partnership and run your own business.......

First Semester of PA school

We are half way through the first semester of PA school. I am attending UC Davis which is a unique distance education school where they prefer students to stay in their communities throughout California and then come up to Sacramento for tests and extended lecture information and clinic experience. I just returned home after a long week where we had our first test. The class is Pathophysiology and it is deemed the "weeding out" class as you must get higher than 75% on both tests or you are booted out of the program. The test covers massive amounts of information and you don't know what will be asked so I had to prepare for everything. Obviously for a 112 question test only a sliver of the information is tested but like I said you have to prepare and study everything. This caused extreme stress and worries but come the morning of the test I felt well prepared. After I submitted my test the score of 86% appeared on my screen to let me know right away that I passed. What a relief and success. I like that in PA school competition for grades is finished and now its just learn the information to be a practitioner and prepare well for tests to show you know the stuff. Anyway now on to my other two classes which I have neglected and the next volume of info that I must know for the second test in a few weeks.

First week of class

The program has officially begun and I am swamped with material. PA school is a pursuit I have been focused on for several years and it was surreal being in the classroom. The first two days were an orientation with many documents to review, technology information, and q and a availability. The next few days we dove into the material and began preparing for our first exam...which is in two weeks. Pathophysiology appears to be a "weeding out" class with a 75% minimum grade required to continue in the program. We are covering a "typical" semester worth of material every two weeks. Its intense and anxiety promoting but it is assuring to think of the hundreds and hundreds who have come before me and passed and are now practicing clinicians.

Well back to the books. For those of you who are still in the process of preparing your applications and pursuing the pa path; keep up the hard work and achieve what you set out to achieve. I can't wait to have a fulfilling career that will enable me to critically think, help others, and provide a good lifestyle for my family and I.

PA school....3 weeks away

The summer class schedule has been released. I will be taking Behavioral Science, Health Assesment and Scientific basis for Disease. Very excited to know the classes, but not very exciting to buy the expensive books. We also received the full student class list and correspondence has begun. I think it will be very interesting to see how the group works together and gets to know each other.

I recently completed my application for the National Health Service Corps Scholarship (NHSC). It will take 3 to 4 months to find out if I receive the scholarship. My searches for school funding were a dramatic failure as I wasn't the "category" of an individual that the scholarships were looking for. Its a little frustrating because I know that there is funding and scholarships floating around I just wasn't able to find them. The school provided about $3000 in funding for me which was great and the student loans were all obtained with good interest rates.

I really don't know what to expect as school begins soon but I am excited to find out...

The heart of life is good...

Another anniversary of the life changing event that lead me to this change of careers has came and went (a day I will always remember); and the words to John Mayer "The heart of life" has been on my mind. Sometimes life sucks and people are idiots. Ill-doers (along with the well known triumph and disaster) are imposters and not worth your valuable time. Ultimately I feel undeniably sure that the heart of life or the purpose of life is still good. At times when you are down - there is only one thing that turns you around and lifts you up....Love. Love can come in many forms such as friends, family, and faith. In my rough times it was extremely hard for me to rid myself of anger and vengeful thoughts but ultimately it was allowing love to enter my heart and to change those other feelings into pity and sorrow for those that did me wrong.

A bright new day is upon me and now I have an amazing opportunity to become a PA-C. Life is good... You only get one chance to live...... Don't waste it. Take time to love and to let love into your heart; Don't forget - help those around you feel loved as well.

Can I become a PA?

I have had several people explain to me that they would love to become a PA-C but they feel that student loans, debt, age, lack of pre-requiste courses, etc are too much to overcome and that the idea is unrealistic. I have to say that absolutely the path to becoming a PA may be very difficult but all of these obstacles can be conquered. I can empathize with those that have these challenges to overcome. I certainly had a lot of challenges to overcome to get to where I am now. Financially it was a huge challenge to go back to school full time with a family. Mentally I felt like an un-responsible loser that wasn't living up to the role of a good provider and husband.

I can't say enough that you can overcome all of the challenges presented. Ultimately when applying and interviewing for school, those making the decisions will recognize and appreciate the character you have shown and will recognize you as a qualified applicant that will be able to handle any challenge that PA school will give you. The school wants and needs individuals that can handle challenges, that will not drop out of school, or make life difficult for them. They want those that have proven themselves. This is your chance to prove yourself. You may go through the hardest few years of your life but fight through them and let the refining fire mold you into a better individual.

Countdown until June is on

A few more months and I will be able to provide some informative posts about life during pa school. I have received packets of information from the program and it definitely seems more real. I really look forward to the experiences and I can't wait to begin. Looking back on the steps taken to get to this point is a bit overwhelming but it has been great. The more I work with and around PA's the more excited I am about the profession. It truly is a great career choice with many different fields, specialties, and areas to practice. At this point I believe I want to work 3 days a week in the ER and hopefully 1 or 2 days in oncology. The ER experiences have been great and the ER director has the intent to hire me upon graduation. Perhaps my mind will change after rotations....