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....

A Change in Plans

Recently I was offered a seat at a pa program that I have decided I can't turn down. I had all sails set to move across the country to begin a new life at a great pa program with my family but things don't always go according to plan.

I am very excited for the new opportunity and I can't wait to begin.

So my advice is the same as before. Take time to select several programs to apply via CASPA, prepare yourself to become a qualified candidate, prepare well for an interview, and then hope that you are selected and let your heart and wisdom guide you to where you need to go. Good Luck!!

Changing Careers

I recently took a chemistry class with someone that says she wants to be a doctor. The college we were taking the class at is medium sized junior college. The "future doctor" works 40 + hours a week at a low paying job, lives at home with parents, spends a lot of time with boyfriend, takes 1 or 2 classes a semester earning average grades, no time for homework or career preparation etc..

Heres the problem: She is not on the right path to become a doctor. Everything that she is doing may be good things; However, they are not the things to allow her to become a doctor.

I think this happens a lot to people that want to change careers. They have the desire to do something they really love and they take passive steps towards achieving the goal but they do not immerse themselves in the dream and they eventually fall short.

What is to happen to this student. Well likely it is going to take her years and years to finish a bachelors degree, if she even finishes. What happens if her boyfriend wants to get married, have children etc?? Why not take out loans and take advantage of cost savings while living at home, stop working 40 hours a week, focus on taking large class loads (15 credit hours a semester) and living at the library to study and earn high marks. Volunteer and network with physicians in the area, spend time with love and dating but focus on the goal to become a doctor.

It doesn't matter what you want to do, just take the right steps. Make long term commitments that are worthwhile and that make fiscal sense. Earning a higher salary in a few years by taking on debt rather than taking a decade to achieve something living paycheck to paycheck is not fiscally sound advice. She told me that she had to work so many hours to survive, but I'm sorry what you are doing is suffocating your dream.... GO FOR IT

Are you the person that has tried to learn a new language, perhaps bought a book or software, tries for a few months.... Or do you change your lifestyle and make time for what you want to do????

Physician Assistant

So the other day I received an email from the program director at the pa school I will be attending. The email was a brief salutation and provided some basic information for the new class. A website was created where we can get to know each other before school begins and communicate about different things such as where to live, good schools for children, etc.

I also received another invitation to interview at a good school. I had given up on the last 2 schools that I applied to that I never heard from but now there is only 1 school I haven't heard from. I mentioned before but I applied to 13 schools, 2 of which I didn't complete secondary applications as I realized I didn't want to attend their program and didn't really want to pay the fee for the secondary application. 3 schools I was officially rejected from, the other 7 schools I was invited to interview but I chose to only interview at 2 of them. I was happy with the first interview and I immediately made the deposit to attend the program. I would have really liked to interview at the other schools but the cost to travel and interview was high and I felt good about the program in Florida. This last school I have been teetering whether I want to interview but I probably will forego and set all sails towards Florida. I just want to get started, live in a place comfortable for my family, and have great experiences and many learning opportunities.

Funding pa school

This post was added to my E-Book. I compiled a complete "to do posts" into an E-book on how to get into PA school.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/63188497/PA-E-BOOK

There is also a link on the main blog page in the right corner....I have helped many people get into school and after a few thousand hits and requests I created an ebook. Enjoy.