Inside PA Training

This is the Inside PA Training page. I'm a marriage and family therapist and PA student in UC Davis School of Medicine's physician assistant training program.

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Answering PA School Interview Questions: Going Beyond The Basics

Answering PA School Interview Questions: Going Beyond The Basics

Most students who have been invited to interview for PA school start with the same strategy: they google a big list of PA school interview questions, make up answers to each one and begin memorizing them.  In this article I’m going to show you why using big lists of interview questions is unwise, then show you how to approach your interview preparation more strategically. Doing so will provide…

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8 CASPA Application Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

8 CASPA Application Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

The 2018-2019 PA school CASPA application cycle is here.  Applicants everywhere are working hard to polish their PA school applications. The new CASPAcycle will open on April 26, 2018.  Filling out an online CASPA Application can be tedious.  But it can make or break your chances at getting interviews for PA school.  After coaching hundreds of applicants we know the most common CASPA application…

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PAI 19: How to open your PA School Application Essay You don't need to be an English major to write a good essay, but you do need a good beginning to get the reader engaged and to tell them some important things about you.

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PAI 18: Get Involved! Enough thinking about it -- it's time to act. If you're exploring a career as a PA, it's great to read and listen, but there are plenty of ways to get engaged and actually start DOING. 

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PAI 17: Medical Ethics Interview Questions If you are interviewing for PA school, you can expect questions on ethics.  Medical ethics is the study of right and wrong in the medical setting, and many students stumble on them and show their weakness. 

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PAI 16: Difficult Patients

PAI 16: Difficult Patients

If you plan on going into medicine, you need to know right now, that not all of your patients will be appreciative, communicative, reasonable, or even NORMAL.

Most patients are great, but there are also plenty of odd, demanding, impatient, inappropriate, or otherwise difficult people who it will be your job to help.  Don’t let it scare you — just understand that you’ll need to get good at…

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Our interview book Our interview book

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The free ebook The free ebook

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Our essays ebook Our essays ebook

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PAI 15: Knowing Your Limits as a PA

PAI 15: Knowing Your Limits as a PA

There comes a time for any practitioner when a patient or problem is beyond you.

PAs, just like physicians, are trained to know when that is.  But how do you know?  And what about mistakes and avoiding them?  How does it work when you’re new to the PA scope of practice?  To be a good PA, you need confidence and skill, but you also need to know what and how much you don’t know.  Let’s talk about…

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PAI 13: Application Vital Signs What are the big factors that determine the strength of your application to PA school overall?

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It’s PA Week — WOOT! PA week every year is a celebration of the profession and a chance to educate the public about all that PAs do. 

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PAI 12: Letters of Reference in PA School Admissions To get into PA school, you will need letters of reference.  How many do you need?  What kinds of people should you seek out to write for you?

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PAI 11: Don’t Call Me Doctor When you're a PA, what happens when a patient calls you Doctor? Yes, it happens a lot, and it turns out this situation has a lot to say about the profession.  In this episode of the Physician Assistant Insider, Paul shares stories and discusses this issue, including how he handles it.

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PAI 10: Choosing a Specialty

PAI 10: Choosing a Specialty

What could be more fun than thinking about what specific specialty in medicine you might want to work in?   Not all physician assistants work in primary care.  Which specialty is for you?

Thinking about it now can save you time and heartache down the line — and it’s fun!  You don’t need to decide until you start practicing, but there are many to choose from and your experience of medicine will be…

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PAI 09: Shadowing 101

PAI 09: Shadowing 101

Today’s episode of the Physician Assistant Insider covers shadowing — where you actually follow a physician assistant — or possibly an MD — to learn about what they do. Believe it or not, doing at least some shadowing before you apply to PA school is crucial. Here Paul tells you why, and how to get started with it.

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Reference Letter: What do writers see?

Reference Letter: What do writers see?

When you ask a professor or a work supervisor or someone to write a PA school reference letter (a recommendation letter) about your to PA schools, ever wonder what happens?

It turns out that the writer receives a email form from CASPAthat they are asked to complete about you. Knowing what the reference letter form looks like will help you 1) choose the best person to write on your behalf, 2)…

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