Pediatrics List of Most Commons for Physician Assistant Students

Most Commons in Pediatrics

• Most Common Congenital Heart Lesions
• Left-to-Right Shunts (Breathless)
• VSD (Ventricular septal defect) - 30%
• Right-to-Left Shunt (Blue)
• Tetralogy of Fallot - 5%
• Most common cyanotic heart anomaly with R-L shunt
• Common Mixing (Breathless and blue)
• Atrioventricular septal defect (complete) - 2%
• Coarctation of the Aorta - most common site is ligamentum arteriosum
• More common in males than females (3:1)
• Pathognomonic signs: rib notching on CXR, “three sign” on CTA

20 Phone Apps for Physician Assistants

20 Phone Apps for Physician Assistants
With the immersion and implementation of EMR,  medical phone applications has drastically changed - for the better. As a physician assistant or PA student, you will tasked with “keeping up with the Jones’” in order to monitor the progress of your patients and keep patients interested enough to want to monitor themselves. Products like the Apple Watch and the FitBit have already proven that patients want to monitor their vitals, we just needed a better, easier, and more efficient way for them to do it. I have found the following applications interesting enough to implement into my own practice, but I have not listed any applications for studying here. Instead, these apps offer a variety of services and resources available to you for your patient interaction and monitoring. Take a look at some of them and let me know what you think. If you have found an app that you think is better than some of these listed, let me know in the comments section and I’ll definitely check them out. Thanks for reading!

Orthopaedics List of Most Commons for Physician Assistant Students

Most Commons in Orthopaedics

• Compartment Syndrome
• Most commonly occurs in lower leg following tibia fractures or crash injuries
• Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injury - most commonly injured knee ligament
• Osgood Schlatter’s Syndrome - most common in adolescents that are overactive (too many sports)
• Patellofemoral Pain: most commonly caused by anterior knee pain syndrome, chondromalacia patella, patellofemoral osteoarthritis
• Fibromyalgia - most common cause of chronic, widespread pain in the US

Neurology List of Most Commons for Physician Assistant Students

Most Commons in Neurology

• Tension Headache - most common type of headache
• Episodic Tension-Type Headache - most common headache subtype (<15 days monthly)
• Migraine - most common recurrent headache disorder
• Medication Overuse Headache (Analgesic Rebound) - most common cause of migraine-like and “mixed” headaches that occur > 15 days per month
• Epilepsy - most common in childhood due to perinatal injury, infection and genetic factors and old age due to stroke, tumors, or dementia
• Seizures
• Most common toxic causes of seizures: drugs, alcohol, and medications
• Most common metabolic causes of seizures: hypocalcemia, hypoglycemia, hyponatremia, hypoxia

From International Student to Physician Assistant

From International Student to Physician Assistant

Updated: 07/08/2016

You may be an international medical graduate (IMG), a caribbean medical student, or a student from a foreign country (outside the United States) wanting to attend physician assistant (PA) school. While it may seem daunting at first, do not be frightened by the lengthy application process or by the worrisome anecdotal stories you may read about online.

You will need to prepare your materials before throwing an application together. Many international students and international medical graduates see medical school residency matching as a barrier to becoming a licensed provider in the United States, which is why they choose to become physician assistants.

Gastroenterology List of Most Commons for Physician Assistant Students

Esophageal adenocarcinoma is the fastest growing cancer in the United States. In total, it affects about 1.5 million people per year worldwide and 38,000 in the US alone. There has been a 6-fold increase in the last 3 decades, accounting for 60% of esophageal cancers. This is one puppy you don’t want to mess with; don’t even get me started on colorectal cancer!

Gastroenterology accounts for 10% of the PANCE, so make sure you pay attention during this part of your didactic phase! Knowing that, you had better take a step into gastroenterology with your thinking cap on ready to learn about new disease and therapy that can affect the way you provide care everyday.

Most Commons in Gastroenterology

• Heartburn (pyrosis) - most common symptom of esophageal disease
• GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) - most common disorder of the esophagus
• Ulcerative Colitis - most commonly affects young adults in 2nd and 3rd decade of life, but 2nd peak in 7th decade
• Most common in N. America, England, N. Europe, and Australia
• More common in industrialized countries
• More common in higher socioeconomic status
• Important: Ulcerative colitis increases the risk of colorectal cancer
• Crohn’s Disease - most common between 15-30 years of age, though can present at any age
• More common in industrialized countries
• More common in higher economic status
• Most common in N. America, England, N. Europe, and Australia
• Skip areas common: The most common distribution pattern of Crohn’s disease is ileocecal, which involves the distal portion of the small intestine (terminal ileum) and the proximal large bowel (40% of patients)
• Most common skin lesions in IBD: pyoderma gangrenosum and erythema nodosum

Where to Buy Your New Scrubs

If you were planning on purchasing a new pair of scrubs soon and you can't decide if the Grey's Anatomy brand made your butt look too big or you just didn't want to spend all the money buying new ones period, look no further.

FIGS (Fashion-Inspired-Global-Sophistication) offers scrubs for men and women and will donate a set of scrubs to a healthcare provider in need for every set of scrubs sold. How cool is that?

Clean scrubs reduce the hospital-acquired infection rate by 66%, something we can all take a lesson from, regardless of the country you live in. The medical uniform provides any healthcare member a sense of professional identity and belonging, fostering more caring and committed individuals that take pride in what they do. Any physician assistant knows the value in being part of the team, and what better way to give the opportunity to so many across the world, than by purchasing your scrubs through the Threads for Threads program? Okay, so I got completely sucked in when I saw the video. You should watch it if you haven't.

Seriously, though, buy them for work. Buy them for clinical rotations. Buy them for anatomy.

Tops: $25-30
Bottoms: $30-35

10 Most Helpful Study Tips for Physician Assistant Students

10 Most Helpful Study Tips for First Year PA Students

The way you studied in undergrad may not always be the most effective or efficient way of studying while in PA school, as I have learned. As you begin your journey, or if you are already well on your way, you might find a few of these study tips helpful to increase the breadth of knowledge you are able to digest.

Anytime I get bogged down in the amount of material we are required to know for an exam, or how uneventful a lecturer may make your Friday morning at 8:00 AM, I just remember that I am learning this information to help save someone’s life one day. We can never forget that. What may seem unimportant or like “useless” information will probably be the most important thing you’ll learn your entire career and it could potentially mean the difference between life and death for a patient. The day that you decide that it is acceptable to receive poor grades in a course “as long as you pass” is the day you have failed your profession.

Hematology List of Most Commons for Physician Assistant Students

Most Commons in Hematology

• Iron Deficiency Anemia - most common cause of anemia
• Anemia of Chronic Disease - most common cause of normocytic anemia
• Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency - most common RBC enzyme defect
• More common in males
• Highest frequency among Mediterranean regions, Africa, and China
• Most commonly seen in tropical geographic areas prevalent for malaria
• G6PD “A-” is the most common variant
• Sickle Cell SS disease - most common and most severe of the sickle cell disorders
• Warm-antibody AIHA (autoimmune hemolytic anemia) - most common of all AIHA
• Immune Hemolytic Anemia - commonly DRUG related
• Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)
• Acute ITP - most common in children, preceded by viral illness, self-limiting
• Chronic ITP - most common in adult women (20-40), idiopathic, not self-limiting
• Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP)
• Most commonly acquired due to an inhibitory antibody that blocks ADAMTS 13 activity
• Hemophilia A and B - most common in males
• X-linked recessive bleeding disorders

Pulmonology List of Most Commons for Physician Assistant Students

This topic deserves an introduction. Why? Because it is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. How many of you have ever heard of Lung Cancer Awareness Month? Exactly. That’s probably because Breast Cancer Awareness Month probably stole its light in October. Unfortunately, breast cancer does not cause the most mortality in the United States, lung cancer does; that goes for men and for women. Why is this? Probably because there is not a unified and inexpensive diagnostic screening method for lung cancer as there is for breast cancer. Lung cancer causes almost double the number of deaths per year as breast, colon/rectal, and prostate cancers. Nonsmokers living with smokers have more than a 30% increased risk for developing lung cancer, regardless of whether or not the smoker is physically smoking around the nonsmoker or not. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables may protect against the development of lung cancer in smokers. However, high dose supplements of beta-carotene (also found in carrots) has been shown to increase the risk for lung cancer and is not recommended. So there you go. I have increased your knowledge about lung cancer in a matter of a few minutes. Hopefully now you will remember that every november is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and that you will remember to include lung cancer in your differential and to screen folks for it when necessary.

Most Commons in Pulmonology

• Cough - Most common complaint seen in outpatient setting
• Dyspnea (difficulty breathing) - common complain at emergency department
• COPD - most common respiratory disease; 3rd leading cause of death in US
• More prevalent in males
• Most common cause of COPD - cigarette smoking
• Most common bacterial pathogens in COPD are: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis
• Asthma - most common in children
• More common in male children
• Prevalence changes to adult women after puberty
• Most common in Caucasians
• Most are categorized as moderate persistent
• More common in obese individuals
• Most common Interstitial Lung Diseases
• (1) Usual Interstitial Pneumonia (idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) - idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP)
• (2) Sarcoidosis - idiopathic, granulomatous
• (3) Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (HP) - known cause, granulomatous

Cardiology List of Most Commons for Physician Assistant Students

Dear Readers,

Below are the most commons in cardiology that I’ve put together from this block. I’m sure once I enter rotations I will be adding many more. Can I just say that one of my biggest pet-peeves right now is the incorrect pronunciation of medical terms? For example, angina. This word has been produced in two ways by various professors, but there must be a correct way to pronounce it, so naturally, I looked it up. “An-jen-uh” is the correct pronunciation, while “an-jine-ah” is colloquially used, but incorrect.

Cardiology Most Commons

• Most common pathologic process of the pericardium - Pericarditis
• Most common etiology of Acute Pericarditis - coxsackievirus A and B
• Most common cause of death in the U.S. - Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
• Coronary microcirculation disease more common in women - this is why CAD affects more women than men annually
• Exercise electrocardiography less accurate in women
• More women die each year of CAD
• Most common cause of sudden cardiac death: ventricular fibrillation
• Most common cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes: hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM)
• Hypertension
• More common in women as age increases
• More common in men in young and middle aged people
• More common in African Americans and lower socioeconomic groups
• African Americans develop at earlier age compared to other races
• Secondary HTN - more common in children
• White coat HTN - affects more treated women than men
• HTN is the SECOND most common cause of CKD

Anatomy Tips and Tricks for Physician Assistant Students

Anatomy can be a doosey for everyone, so don't let it get you down if you're having trouble. A few mnemonics and acronyms can be your savior if you are really struggling. Just make sure you have them straight and practice saying them out loud. Remember that sometimes, the most silly or inappropriate mnemonics or acronyms can help you recall the toughest things! Be creative and have fun with anatomy, it will help it stick. Some of my acronyms and mnemonics may not be helpful or useful to you if you don't understand them, so try making your own. When in doubt, draw it out! Drawing vasculature or nerves from beginning to end can take some time, but can be worth it in the long run. Typically, I would draw out sections of vasculature or nerves and then go to the lab to identify them. It really helped me solidify relationships.

When I was in anatomy, I would read the lab manual the night before, taking notes on things I thought were important for the lecture test. To my surprise, much of what I originally thought were minor details, were actually very helpful in locating structures for the lab exam. Knowing relationships between structures can aid your learning in anatomy, because if you can find landmarks like nerves, vessels, or bony structures, you can often figure out what something is.

For your practical, if your school offers any old exams, you might make a list of all of the terms that have been tested on in the past and their occurrence. You and your classmates might also join Quizlet and start your own flashcard deck. Our class created decks for each exam that helped to quiz when the lab was closed. Creating tables with muscle origins, insertions, and actions will also help reinforce your learning. Remember, teamwork makes the dream work!

If you have anything to add to this list, please leave it in the comments section below. Thank you all for reading! Much thanks to the UT Southwestern PA Class of 2015 for their help.

Helpful Links

• Free Online Anatomy Practicals
• Virtual Cadaver Lab
• BioDigital Human
• The Skeleton Dance - for help with bony landmarks
• Shoulder Articulations
• Brachial Plexus Parody
• Drawing the Brachial Plexus in 37.6 Seconds

Upper Body

• Suprascapular nerve/artery with the superior transverse scapular ligament (bridge)
• Army goes over the bridge, Navy goes under it
• = Artery superior to ligament, Nerve inferior to ligament

Letters of Recommendation & Physician Assistant School

Letters of Recommendation & Physician Assistant School

Last Updated: 08/03/2015

As a pre-PA student, you should have someone review your completed letters of recommendation to determine if they are strong enough for admission, utilizing resources such as The PA Platform, which provides pre-PA assessments, supplemental application reviewing, letter of recommendation reviewing, and mock interviews. When in doubt, ask!

Savanna Perry, PA-C, is the founder of The PA Platform and started PA school at the Medical College of Georgia in May of 2012, now known as Georgia Regents University, graduating in August of 2014.  She has assisted with multiple interviews and knows what it is like to be on both sides of the interview process. She works at a Dermatology office outside of Augusta, GA and has come to love the PA profession even more while learning all of the advantages of becoming a PA. She has always enjoyed helping other people to achieve their dreams, and that is her primary goal with her site!

Please use referral code: DoseOfPA for a special discount on The PA Platform for any service(s).

If you’re new to applying, there are many important factors that can go into a letter of recommendation (LOR) or reference. I’ll discuss a little bit about each one below.

Tips:

Physician Assistant School Interview Questions, Essays, and Scenarios

Physician Assistant School Interview Questions, Essays, and Scenarios

Last Updated: 04/06/2016

Getting the Interview

If you are lucky enough to get a call for an interview, you should gladly accept and never reschedule an interview. Sometimes programs can take rescheduling an interview as an insult because you are putting other things in your life before PA school. If they have multiple interview dates, it’s always best to choose the earlier ones, especially if they are on a rolling admissions basis.

Interview Tips

You are far better off knowing who you are and what you bring to the table. Most PA schools want to know why you want to be a PA, what sets you apart from other students, and make sure you know your own strengths and weaknesses. The number one reason PA admissions committees say students did not score well on interviews was because of poor answers to interview questions. Practice! Practice! Practice! The second and third reasons were not being “likable” by faculty/students and having a sense of “entitlement” based on their resume. Hardly ever was being inappropriately dressed an issue. Poor interpersonal skills can actually be your pitfall in an interview, which is why it’s good to always relax and pretend you’re back in your clinical setting talking to patients. Make your interviewer feel comfortable and talk to them without being a complete robot. Always stay current on the PA profession and health care in general. You might read the latest issue of JAAPA or PA Professional. Know how you fit in with the programs mission statement (know it) and culture. When you get to the interview, always show up early and be welcoming to other students arriving. Say hello to everyone you meet and actively try to remember their names. Engage with others and don’t be shy.

The Tour

Occasionally, some schools will offer a tour of their facilities. While on the tour, be actively listening to what the tour guide(s) has to say. If you have a question, feel free to ask after the tour guide has spoken. Try to ask meaningful questions, but keep them to a minimum, if possible. You don’t want to ask a question after each area you visit. You also don’t want to see uninterested in what you are seeing. Plan ahead for tours and wear comfortable shoes or bring an umbrella/raincoat if it might be raining.

The Individual 1-on-1 Interview

These are examples of questions taken from PhysicianAssistantForum and other sites listed in the sources section. This list is not all inclusive and is only meant to be a guide for general questions that could be asked in a traditional 1:1 interview with you and an interviewer at a school. It’s always a good idea to prepare for an interview, so I would suggest first writing your answers to each of these questions. Later on, you might practice with another person while not looking at your written answers. You should remember, generally, your answers to questions like this. Similar questions might be asked in your interview and you’ll need to know how to respond quickly and succinctly.

• Tell me about yourself.
• What is a physician assistant?
• Why not medical school? Why did you take the MCAT (if applicable)?
• Why physician assistant and not nurse practitioner?
• Why do you want to be a physician assistant?
• How long have you wanted to become a physician assistant?
• How does a physician assistant fit into the healthcare model?
• How do you see the healthcare system changing in the next 10 years, and how will it affect PAs?
• What is managed care and how has it affected physicians and PAs?
• What is the most important factor between a PA and his/her supervising physician? Why?
• If you had to be a member of the healthcare team other than a PA, what would you choose?
• Who is the most important person on the healthcare team?
• What part of becoming a PA and practicing medicine as a PA do you look forward to most? What parts will give you the most difficulty?
• How has your background prepared you for the intense physical and mental training to become a PA?
• What have you done to increase your chances of being accepted to a PA program?
• What do you think are the 3 most important aspects in evaluating a PA program? What about a PA student?
• Where do you see yourself in the next 5-10 years?
• What is a dependent practitioner, and how do you feel about practicing as one?
• What are the most significant issues PAs currently face and will have to face in the future?
• What are good qualities of a physician assistant?
• What does the affordable care act mean for the future of physician assistants?
• What are the trends and directions of healthcare in our country?
• What are the difficulties/challenges you’ll face when you work in your profession?
• What was the name of the interviewers you met already today?
• What is your favorite hobby?
• What is your biggest weakness?
• How has your previous clinical and non-clinical experience prepared you for a career as a medical clinician?
• Why do you want to leave your old job/profession to become a PA?
• Why should we accept you?
• What was the last movie you saw?
• Did you have any trouble finding us?
• Have you ever seen anyone die?
• Should physician assistants change their name to “physician associate?”
• Should be PA education be standardized to a master’s degree?
• Should PAs get reimbursed the same as physicians?
• What do you think of HMOs and PPOs?
• What are three things you want to change about yourself?
• Do you think PAs and NPs are in conflict with one another?
• Do you think social security should cover all senior citizen’s healthcare costs? Should there be limits?
• What would your best friend say about you?

Ethical Interview Questions

• Your supervising physician or fellow PA are drunk at work, what would you do?
• What would you do if a physician gives you orders that you know will harm the patient?
• A patient is sent home at the end of a long day, but you gave him a medication he is allergic to. Your supervising physician says not to worry and that he’ll be fine. What do you do?
• You have a Jehovah’s Witness patient that needs blood, but you know religiously they cannot accept it. What would you do?
• You know it is unethical to treat your own family, but if it were allowed, would you do it?
• What would you do if your patient is diagnosed with syphilis, but doesn’t want to tell his wife?
• What would you do if you saw a classmate cheating on an exam?

Behavioral Interview Questions

• How do you handle stress?
• What do you do outside of work or academic studies?
• What accommodations do you need to successfully complete this program?
• What will be your hardest class if you are accepted?
• What will you do if you don’t get in this year?
• What would you do if a patient adamantly refuses to be seen by a PA?
• What was the worst or most disappointing experience of your life?
• What’s the hardest/most difficult thing you’ve ever done?
• What is your biggest accomplishment?
• What would you do to solve the “ER” problem?
• Do you prefer to work with others or by yourself?
• Why did you choose your undergraduate major (especially if non-science)?
• Describe a time when…you used teamwork to solve a problem.
• Describe a time when you were criticized unfairly and how you handled it.
• Describe the most stressful work or academic situation you have ever been in and tell us how you dealt with it.
• Describe an interaction with a patient that made an impact on you.
• Tell me about a patient you had...

You may or may not be asked about your status of acceptance to schools if you interview later in the cycle. If you were accepted to another program prior to interviewing at another school, it would be helpful to let them know during your interview or in your thank you letter. You’ll also want to let them know that although you’ve been accepted, you came to the interview because you are very/more interested in this other program. They might turn the interview around asking other questions like:

• Why our program versus theirs? What do we offer that they do not?
• Why not attend a program closer to home?
• If you applied to other schools, how did you come to choose those other programs?
• Why primary care? Why underserved populations?
• Where do you want to work?

Practicing the Interview

As a PA applicant, it is always best to practice for the interview (note: this is different than preparing for the interview) If you want to practice going through questions and receive feedback about how you answered or your overall performance, use resources such as The PA Platform, which provides pre-PA assessments, supplemental application reviewing, letter of recommendation reviewing, and mock interviews. Having a certified PA listen to your spiel about why you want to become a PA can actually help you shorten it, strengthen it, and supplement it with useful information, rather than rambling on. They’ll also be able to tell you if you make subtle tics, such as biting your nails, shaking your leg, or wavering side-to-side. You can help decrease your anxiety for the big day by practicing your interview skills, rather than preparing what you’re going to say for each question.

Savanna Perry, PA-C, is the founder of The PA Platform and started PA school at the Medical College of Georgia in May of 2012, now known as Georgia Regents University, graduating in August of 2014.  She has assisted with multiple interviews and knows what it is like to be on both sides of the interview process. She works at a Dermatology office outside of Augusta, GA and has come to love the PA profession even more while learning all of the advantages of becoming a PA. She has always enjoyed helping other people to achieve their dreams, and that is her primary goal with her site!

Please use referral code: DoseOfPA for a special discount on The PA Platform for any service(s).

If you still feel lost and want to prepare more, there are several books out there to help, including How to Ace the Physician Assistant School Interview or The Ultimate Guide to Getting Into PA School by Andrew Rodican. Just keep in mind that admissions committees are highly aware of books out there like this and will often choose questions that are not from these books. They’ll also be expecting your answers to be similar if they do ask a similar question, so make sure you have your own answer and you’re not copying someone else's. You can also check out the sources section at the end of this post. I took some, but not all, questions from these links.

One thing to remember is that from the moment you walk in, you are being interviewed by everyone around you (students, faculty, professors). Don’t bad mouth other programs while talking to other applicants, don’t be so dominating on tours where you talk the entire time, and you definitely don’t want to repeat your interview from previous years. Take time to think out thoughtful answers, rather than just answering quickly with something that doesn’t make sense. Don’t ever worry about how the interviewer is behaving/acting. It’s not uncommon for them to act uninterested or be jotting nonsense to try to trip you up. Never say anything bad about any other health care professionals (including MDs, DOs, PAs, NPs, etc.) Show up early and introduce yourself to everyone. Show you want to be there and are willing to get to know people. Always give a firm handshake. Make sure you don’t say, “umm” or “uhh” too much during your interviews. Always make eye contact and don’t hunch over in your chair.

Interview Questions for the Interviewer

Most of the time you’ll be asked if you have any questions for the interviewer. It’s crucial to have a list prepared beforehand so that you can quickly ask questions you’re genuinely interested in knowing about. I would print this list or copy the questions down in my padfolio and when they ask about this, I would pull it out and go from that list. You don’t have to ask every question, but this list will get you started and thinking.

• Are there on-campus living options? How close do most students live? Do you do roommate matching?
• Are there reviews for clinical rotation sites from previous students?
• Are there rotations available in pediatrics or ob-gyn?
• What is your attrition attrition rate like? Why have students left the program?
• Are all professors practicing PAs?
• What is the student:teacher ratio?
• How available are staff and faculty for questions or help during the day?
• Is there a free clinic or student run clinic where students can practice their newly learned skills prior to graduation?
• Do students have access to cadaver labs 24/7?
• Where can students study on campus?
• Why do you think your PANCE rates are so high?
• Why is this program so successful?
• What can be improved about this program?
• What has been improved and implemented in previous years?
• What is the highlight of this program?
• What does your school do to prepare students for the PANCE?
• When is the next ARC-PA visit?
• Why did you choose to teach?
• How long have you practiced before teaching?
• Why is your school on probation (if applicable)?

Questions for Current Students

If there is a preceding event to the interviews, such as a “meet and greet” with students and faculty, you might ask students some of these questions.

• What do you like most about this program?
• Why should anyone pick this program over another program?
• What do you like least about this program? What do you wish you could change about this program?

Interview Attire

Males

Most males will wear dress pants (slacks), a dress shirt (collared shirt), belt, dress shoes, dress socks, and tie. Go for darker shirt and suit colors (black, grey, navy). It’s optional to wear a coat, but preferred. Never wear sneakers. Try to avoid excessive cologne. Groom your facial hair. Trim your fingernails. Groom your hair, even if this means getting a fresh haircut or applying styling gel. Don’t forget deodorant!

Females

Most females will wear blazers/suits (navy, grey, or black) with dress pants or a long skirt, panty hose, and low closed-toe heels or flats. Whatever you do, avoid cleavage. Always wear something comfortable, but professional. If you wear a blouse, keep the color neutral (beige or white). No lace and keep it long sleeved and collared. Try to avoid excessive perfume. Only wear one set of earrings and ensure they are conservative. Ensure your nails are neat. Keep your hair neat and professional (out of your face). Don’t forget deodorant!

Male or female, you’ll probably want to bring a portfolio/padfolio with you. You can use it to stash a pen for taking notes, or for storing your resume prior to interviewing. One thing to remember is that most programs won’t ask for a resume. It’s up to you to hand it to them and say, “here is a copy of my resume if you’d like to refer to it.” I also took copies of letters from previous employers stating my performance excellence. I had a few certificates for awards from previous employers, some professional headshots, transcripts, and one letter from a charge nurse stating how well I performed on a code. These are the things you need to bring to an interview because they could help your application. You might also bring copies of your personal statement or supplemental essays, even a list of questions you have for the admissions committees or students! Always turn off your cell phone during an interview session, or leave it in your car/hotel.

Group Interviews

There are several different setups for the group interview that you may encounter. Below are a few that myself and other students have encountered.

1. Programs can have as many as 5 students lined up, each facing a different interviewer. The interviewers begin asking the same questions to each student beginning with the first student. In this interview, you’ll each answer the same question, but depending on your placement, you may have the opportunity to hear other answers and more time to formulate your own.
2. Programs can have as many as 5 students in a room and ask ethics related questions or situations to provoke discussion. Then it will be up to you and your team of students to come up with the best answer to the question/situation. Make sure you participate, but never try to take control of the interview. It’s helpful to remember that you must be a good listener as well as participate, but you never want to be overwhelmingly overbearing.

It’s difficult to prepare for a group interview, because the questions are not meant to tear you apart and see if you don’t know something. Instead, they’re testing how you interact with others and if you can handle working in teams, listening to your teammates and knowing when to put in your own two cents. Listen to the question, think about your answer, and be succinct. At all costs, avoid piggybacking off of others answers. Don’t say, “what he/she said.” Try to formulate your own ideas and present something original. Make sure you are encouraging and don’t take everything so seriously. Don’t be too overbearing or controlling of the group discussion as this can hurt yourself. Never be argumentative. This is usually a team effort, so make sure you all perform well here. General questions that might be asked:

• Discuss the qualities of a good physician assistant.
• Choose one of yourselves to be accepted to this program.

Multiple Mini Interview Process

As you’ll read almost everywhere, the multiple mini interview (MMI) process is extremely difficult to prepare for, but it’s also the easiest to tackle. Instead, it challenges your ability to think on your feet, testing your creative abilities and thinking. Most programs that offer this type of interview may structure it differently from others. In my own experience, we were lined up and each taken to a different door. On the door you had instructions in which you were given 1 minute to read over before you walked in. Inside, you would answer whatever question or task the door told you. An interviewer would be waiting to hear your response and take notes down. The program I did this at had only 10 stations, but you may see more or less at other programs. You might be asked questions like:

• If you were a tree, what kind would you be and why?
• If you were a color, what color would you be and why?
• If you were dressing up to go on a halloween party for kids, what would you dress up as and why?
• Who, living or dead, would you invite to dinner and what would you serve them?
• What kind of car would you be?
• What would you do if you hit your neighbor’s dog?
• Give directions to someone for how to put on gloves.
• Help this student complete the following task…
• Interpret the graph shown in the room.
• You discover that one of your classmates has become romantically involved and moved into a house with her community-based clinical preceptor in your health professions training program. What should be done, if anything? Enter the room and discuss your position with the interviewer. (Jones, et al., 2011)

As you can see, there are endless questions they can ask you. In addition, you might be asked to complete a simple task - but don’t worry, it will have nothing to do with medicine, usually. Don’t freak out and study your CPR manual the night before. After your task is complete, use any remaining time to talk with faculty/staff/students about the program. Never sit there and do nothing. Always keep eye contact and actively remember peoples names. For more information, see the sources section at the end of this blog for links on the MMI.

Essays

Occasionally, programs may request that you write an essay as part of the interview. While I only had one school actually require this, the essay prompt was very simple. Most of the time programs will ask you to write something in relation to your resume or your personal narrative. Other programs will ask open ended questions. The best thing to do for these is to know yourself and know the PA profession. This is another reason why it may be important to bring a pencil or pen. Always check with your program as to whether one will be provided or not. Example topics:

• If you could have the gift of invisibility or flight, which would you choose and why?
• Rewrite your personal narrative as best you can.
• Why are loyalty and respect important for the PA profession?
• You know it is unethical to treat your own family, but if it were allowed, would you do it?

After the Interview

Immediately after your interviews, ensure you thank each interviewer for taking time out of their day to interview with you. Give a firm handshake to each and tell them how much you appreciate the opportunity to interview. Always be humble and thankful!

A few days after your interview you should contact the program director thanking them for the opportunity to interview. If you had the chance to engage with the director, you might include a snippet from your conversation to remind them who you are. Tell them how interested you are in the program and highlight the key events or features of the program you saw during your interview that you liked. You might also include the names of other people you enjoyed meeting, such as faculty, staff, or students. Try to keep it short and sweet. You don’t want to send a full page document to them. If you’d like, you can even send a headshot, but this is not necessary. Finish your closing statements with something like, “I hope to hear from your admissions committee soon!”

Sources:

http://www.aaspa.com/page.asp?tid=153&name=Preparing-for-an-Interview&navid=56.%20It%20helped%20me%20a%20ton.

http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/index.php?/topic/12153-interview-tips-for-applicants/

http://djthepa.blogspot.com/search/label/Interview%20questions

http://www.mypatraining.com/what-the-affordable-care-act-means-for-physician-assistants

http://www.paeaonline.org/2008syllabus/1009.pdf

http://anneccpa.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/faq-how-can-i-excel-at-the-mmi/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21639074

http://eden-pa.blogspot.com/p/pa-interview-mmi.html

http://multipleminiinterview.com

http://www.thepalife.com/the-top-46-physician-assistant-applicant-interview-questions/

http://career.utk.edu/CS/wp-content/uploads/pdf/PA-School-Interview-Questions.pdf

http://sciencepreps.iupui.edu/physician-assistant-program-interview-questions

http://ucbhealthteam.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/10/3-interview-no-nos.html

http://www.mockquestions.com/position/Physician+Assistant/

http://sciencepreps.iupui.edu/physician-assistant-program-interview-questions

A Comparison of Behavioral and Multiple Mini-Interview Formats in Physician Assistant Program Admissions (Jones & Forister, 2011)