Another amazing national PA week has passed us. What is PA week? The first National Physician Assistant Day was on October 6, 1987. This date commemorated the 20th anniversary of the first graduating class from Duke University’s’ PA program. I am always ecstatic to educate others on the PA profession during PA week…Okay, let’s be […]
The PA Life
The Ultimate Physician Assistant Shopping and Gift Guide
Are you looking for the perfect gift for that special PA, PA student, or soon to be physician assistant in your life? Look no further below are my favorite, time tested, and PA approved products.
How to Write Your Physician Assistant Personal Statement The Book!
Admissions Directors and faculty share their expectations for your PA school personal statement and we teach you how to write it! What Makes This Book Unique? We have worked with 1000’s of applicants through our Personal Statement and Essay Collaborative and have interviewed PA school faculty and Admissions Directors from 12 top ranking PA […]
Your Main Goal on Your Path to PA Shouldn’t be Immediate Success or Money, But to Learn as Much as Possible
Your primary goal as a new physician assistant or as someone hoping to become one should not be immediate success or money, but to learn as much as possible. When people look for a “way in” to a particular field – an internship or first job – they often search for positions that promise the […]
A Question for Physician Assistants: Why Are You In It?
Are you looking to make money as a physician assistant or are you seeking to make the world a better place with what you do? It’s an honest question, and the two options are very different. The latter involves being interested in giving value to someone other than yourself. The former involves doing anything and everything […]
Interactive Map of State Constituent Chapters of the AAPA
As part of the PA School application process, I urge all applicants to join both the AAPA and their local state constituent chapter of the AAPA. To make the research process a bit easier, I have created a clickable map of all 56 AAPA State Constituent Chapters including direct links to their websites. You can […]
If You Take the Red Pill: Reflections on the Future of Medicine
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhumane.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. This blog post is an excerpt (and my PA friendly adaptation) from a speech by Dr. Paul Farmer given at Harvard Medical School, Class Day June 5, 2003. Featured in “To repair the world”. The […]
The Turkey Book – An Introductory Manual for The Wards
What do you get if you “Gobble” instead of Google? In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, I thought it was the perfect time to give you my combined copy of the “The Turkey Book”. Designed to assist medical students on their clinical rotations the “Turkey Book”, as it is called, is a wonderful compilation […]
Use this Interview Hack to Get The Physician Assistant Job of Your Dreams!
There is a ton of scientific evidence that proves the importance of NONVERBAL CUES that govern how we think and feel about ourselves. We tend to ignore the importance of these nonverbal cues in favor of other, more conventional ideas. But this research has broad implications for everyone, especially people who suffer from feelings of […]
The Physician Assistant and the Frog: Kiss Many a Frog Before you Marry a Toad
Every night before bed my wife and I take time as a family to read to our kids. I love fairy tales as teaching tools. I particular love the story of the princess who had to kiss a frog in order to find her handsome prince. There is a moral here: “You have to kiss […]
Stop Making Comparisons on Your Road to Becoming a Physician Assistant
One of the biggest sources of discontent is comparing yourself to other people. Or comparing your life to what you see others doing (Instagram) or what you’ve accomplished compared to what others have done. “I wish I was more like him.” “Look at her! Why can’t I be more like that?” “Ugh, I just wish […]
The Physician Assistant Applicant Attack Plan: Personalized Goal Sheet
Do you remember your New Year’s resolutions from January 1st? It probably went something like this: After waking up slightly (or seriously) hungover, you said to yourself, “this is the year I’m going to get into PA school!” or “this is the year I’m going to finish all my PA school prerequisites.” Maybe it was “I’m […]
I Want to Know if I am Making the Right Choice to be a Physician Assistant?
Let me guess, you’re asking yourself . . . “Am I am making the right choice of becoming a physician assistant over a doctor?” “Am I letting myself down?” “Am I selling out?” “Am I letting my family down?” “Am I giving in?” “Am I taking the easier road?” I know how important these questions […]
Physician Assistant Application Letter of Recommendation Samples: Applying to PA School
PA School Letters of Reference Here are two letters of recommendation I received when applying to PA school. I am not posting them here to fluff my feathers but merely to serve as an example of what I included as part of my actual PA school application. A great letter of recommendation weighs heavily in your favor. […]
Teens in Crisis: Emergency Telephone, Text and Web Resources Available to all Teenagers
If you are a teen in crisis or counseling a teen in crisis please reach out to one of these organizations below The Covenant House (Opening doors for homeless youth) www.covenanthouse.org Homeless kids come to Covenant House in crisis. Immediately and without question, they meet their basic human needs – a nourishing meal, a shower, […]
Cookie Cutter Medicine: The Future of PAs and The Future of Medicine
One of the most popular books ever written on building a business is called The E-Myth Revisited (affiliate link), and here’s what the author, Michael E. Gerber says about the perfect business model: The model will be operated by people with the lowest possible level of skill Because if your model depends on highly skilled […]
31 Online Medical Calculators for Physician Assistants
A comprehensive list of medical calculators for the busy Physician Assistant (Just in case you forgot your iPhone) Absolute Neutrophil Count Calculator: A calculator for determining absolute neutrophil count (ANC). Absolute Reticulocyte Count Calculator:A calculator for determining absolute reticulocyte count (ARC). Anion Gap Calculator: A calculator for determining anion gap. Asthma Management Calculator: 12 Years of […]
