Mock PA School Interview With Pre-PA Kassidy Anthony

Analysis:  That’s great. You did a really nice job on that. I think that one thing you could do is just introduce yourself with your name in the beginning. They’re going to know, and you probably may have already done that. But it’s just a nice touch if you haven’t, but that’s a very nice thing. It’s just … You did a really nice job though. You were funny and engaging and you showed a lot about your personality and your background and I just love that story you told about like back up, back up, I can do this. That’s super funny.

Response by Interviewee:  I was serious when I did it though. No, but I’m still like that 100%. I’m like, “Oh, I know what to do, like 100%.” Like, I’m like my friend today, she had like a rash on her neck, I’m like, “Go take Benadryl like you have a rash.” Like, and she’s like, “I don’t even know where it’s from.” I’m like, “I know where it’s from.” I just do that.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah, that’s so funny. Well, I think that’s great. Yeah, I can’t even think of like anything to add for that question. You just did a really nice job. The way … I was going to say because you hadn’t totally answered the part about being a PA, but then you just launched right into that. And you did a beautiful job really of like explaining it, so it was great, all the way around.

Response by Interviewee:  Thank you. I appreciate that.

Response by Interviewer:  Nice job. Okay, so are you ready for the rapid-fire section where you have a minute to answer.

Response by Interviewee:  All right, go for it.

Response by Interviewer:  All right, here we go.

Analysis:  Yeah, awesome, great job. You could talk a little bit about the … if you weren’t under a time constraint, you could talk a little bit about like the steps you’re taking to improve I guess. But overall I think it’s a great weakness to talk about. It’s also super funny, because the question limits you to a minute and answer, so you’re answering like about talking too long. It’s just looks super ironic and awesome, so yeah.

Response by Interviewee:  Great.

Response by Interviewer:  It was really good. I can see why you were wait-listed like even just quickly, because I think you are really … even though you’re being critical of your communication skills, I think you really excel at like connecting with people when you talk or at least in this situation I feel that way. Like, you’re using humor at just the right times, and it’s just that you’re just like a warm person and good at connecting with other people. So it makes a lot of sense to me that even though you interviewed late they’d be like, “Oh, we really want this girl.” So I think you’re going to do well.

Response by Interviewee:  Yeah. Thank you.

Response by Interviewer:  Awesome. Yeah, definitely.

Analysis:  Yeah, awesome. You did really well. So the key to that question is not being negative about the situation, which you did beautifully because you really focused it on the content and how you needed to work with other people to learn it. I think it’s a great example of answering that question because it really shows that you’re willing to reach out to other people when you need help. And that’s always something that’s really good especially as a PA in the collaborative nature of that work, so that’s fantastic. And especially the fact that you didn’t go into it by saying, “The professor was very boring,” or anything negative like that, which is always a red flag. So great job.

Analysis:  Great. So I think the important thing about that question is taking a position, it doesn’t really matter which side you’re on, because people will be on different sides probably on the committee as well. But I like your perspective and you hit all the points that I am looking for whenever I’m thinking about why physician assistant would be the right choice to make, to stick with.

You said something that was nice that I hadn’t actually heard before which was explaining … people still don’t really understand what it is, so explaining … it gives you an opportunity to educate people about the profession when they ask, which is nice. I hadn’t actually considered that. But that’s true.

You might be able to, if you want to you could throw in something about physician associate and why it could be a good thing to change it, just to show that you’ve considered the other side of the issue. But I think the way you answered it was fine and definitely corresponds to I think like the standard answers that go along with that. So basically like what they would be looking for. Yeah, I think it was great. You’re making my job super easy, because you’re doing so well.

Response by Interviewee:  Okay, well, but you need to criticize me.

Response by Interviewer:  I’m trying.

Analysis:  Yeah, definitely.

Response by Interviewee:  When I become a PA.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah. Well, practically already there because you know exactly what to do, right? So in your cheerleading career.

Response by Interviewee:  Oh, I know exactly what to do, yeah.

Response by Interviewer:  No, I love that answer. I think it’s great because it shows a lot about your background. I identify with that, because I’m from a really small town with similar … I think similar family members, or my family members have a similar attitude, some of them, so I really can see the value with like educating people in smaller towns, but I haven’t always had that access, and I think that’s great. So I think it’s just nice and unexpected to hear a little bit about your relationship with your dad and I kind of [unclear 13:41] too, so you’re a good storyteller.

Response by Interviewee:  Thank you.

Response by Interviewer:  I’m just thinking if there’s any … there’s just nothing … I mean, there’s no right or wrong to that answer, except for like if you were to be negative that you weren’t at all. And in fact, I think you answered it well because you brought health care into it in terms of like rural populations and how that relates to the PA profession is great. So yeah, nice job.

Response by Interviewee:  I think I took that from the school that I’m interviewing first, is that Nova Fort Lauderdale, and one of their mission is to bring health care back to rural and underserved communities. So I think that’s kind of where I was putting my answer towards.

Response by Interviewer:  You did a great job. And it’s even better because it actually is genuine with you too, right? Like, it’s actually part of your background which is nice. So that’s very cool. Good job. All right, I’m going to try to be tough.

Analysis:  That makes sense. I mean, your GPA was really good, I notice. So it seems like you had that under control anyway. Great. I’m trying to think if there was anything I would add to that. I think the biggest takeaway really for me was there wasn’t a lot of detail about, like multitasking or how you would organize. It was a little … it didn’t have a lot of specifics involved. Discussing your support system and all that stuff was really great, it was more that … You said that like the coursework and the didactic year, so I guess I had took that to mean more like how you would study, how you would approach the coursework. But you didn’t talk about that very much, so it could have just been that I like misinterpreted what you were saying and you were thinking more along the lines of not having as much time for family. If that’s the case, then you answered it really well. But you might just expand on that overall. Like, why the didactic year would be challenging.

Response by Interviewee:  I think I was trying to answer it in the way that kind of both, but like I’m not going to have the time that I have now with everyone else, and that’s going to be a difficult adjustment because it is going to be long hours and hard studying and adjusting myself to that. I think I was kind of going in that direction. But … And if I was going to go in the other direction, do you think I should add like specifics and what exactly?

Response by Interviewer:  I think it was just more along the lines of like how you would approach studying and maybe reaching out to study groups, things like that, like how you would … How would you actually study in order to … Not so much like what do you do when you’re alone, but just maybe talk a little bit about how you have planned, do you use a planner, do you carve out specific times, like just that kind of thing. It was just … It just felt a little general to me, that’s all.

Response by Interviewee:  No, I understand. Yeah, absolutely.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah, sounds good. Do you have any other questions about that?

Response by Interviewee:  Yeah, actually I was going to ask about … So there is a discrepancy in my application where I do have a C-plus in microbiology, and I was going to mention that if I could somehow with the question that they do asked, how I managed to flip around the way I studied in time management and brought that grade, because I … it was like one bad test score that kind of brought my … at the very beginning of the semester, and if you like look at all the other grades that semester where they’re all A’s. It’s like that one bad grade, and it was like three grades the whole semester, so that one bad grade could have brought my grade down in that class.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah.

Response by Interviewee:  So I basically buckled down and reassessed how I’d manage my time and balance my social and personal and academic life. I was going to kind of touch on that.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah, I think you could do that, and that would be great, it would explain that to the committee, which is something that is always good to do in case they’re thinking about it, and it also just kind of ties in to that answer that I was really sort of searching for, was like how do you plan on buckling down and doing that stuff. So I think that it would really kind of kill two birds with one stone or whatever that horrible saying is.

Response by Interviewee:  Yeah.

Response by Interviewer:  I think that would be great, yeah. Answering it that way seems like a good idea, especially showing how it like really pushed you to get your ducks … what is the bird thing with me, get your ducks in a row. You know what I mean?

Response by Interviewee:  Yeah, I was going to say something about how I don’t think it like kind of discouraged to me, I think it actually empowered me to change the way that I balanced my life.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah, I think that’s a beautiful way of saying it. Yeah, great. And I’m mentioning your support system is awesome too, so definitely, I want to make sure I acknowledge that that part of your answer was really, really great.

Analysis:  Okay, perfect. Yeah, so I love the way you explained working with the physician. And that the physician has perfect … like has good trust in you, good faith in your ability to do the work. And explaining your qualifications, those are all really great things. The key to that question definitely is respecting the patient’s wishes, so you did that really, really well.

The one thing that you could maybe add would be something about maybe like helping the … You could offer to help them reschedule with the physician, which I think you kind of alluded to but you could … You could also explain what the inconveniences of rescheduling might look like to them, just so they understand like if they have to have a longer wait time, if you were working in a clinic that was understaffed or something they might have to wait significantly longer. So you could just mention those kinds of things, like break down the inconveniences. But overall, yeah, you did a great job.

Analysis:  Great. Great job.

Response by Interviewee:  That’s like really difficult.

Analysis:  Good job. That’s a big question, and you handled it perfectly I think really respectfully. The only thing I think maybe I wanted to know was how you learned about the PA profession. Like, what was it in the beginning, like how you got interested in it I think in the beginning. So you might touch on that a little bit. But other than that …

Response by Interviewee:  Go ahead, sorry.

Response by Interviewer:  No, no, go ahead. You go ahead.

Response by Interviewee:  I was going to say, so when I was in high school my mom actually … she kind of knew a little about me and how I wanted to go into health care. And she’s actually the first person that mentioned PAs to me because I did talk to her about working with the doc athletic trainer that was on the field and how he worked at the Andrews Institute and Sanders Institute, that orthopedic institute that’s in Pensacola. And you got to work with athletes, and so that’s where I kind of got the whole, “Oh, I can work for a PA for a sports team, because I can incorporate both my loves of football and baseball and all sports into a career.” So that’s kind of how I learned about being a PA.

Response by Interviewer:  Okay, awesome. Yeah, that makes sense.

Analysis:  Yeah, overall though you showed a really good understanding I think of the differences in the medical and nursing model and your preferences for it seemed very clear and like very good reasons, you’ve reasoned them out well. I’m trying to think if there’s anything … That was the only thing I felt like I kind of wanted to know more about, so other than that I think you answered it really well. And you didn’t found nervous to me either, even though it seems like when you finished the answer and you seemed like that was a tough one for you, but it didn’t come across like it was a tough one.

Response by Interviewee:  I guess, and that’s another thing is I feel like I talk in like … like I said long story long, I feel like my stories are like this big and I never get to like the point I’m trying to make, it’s like this weird journey.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah, but you know what? I followed along with you. It could be because I kind of do that myself, but you did a great job with it. It made a lot of sense to me, so I think you’re a little bit harder on yourself maybe than you need to be with that.

Response by Interviewee:  And that could be another one of my weaknesses because I do you have a lot of self-doubts and I think I’m afraid of rejection.

Response by Interviewer:  Oh, that though. Oh, well, I know how tough that is actually, but you don’t come across as having that either. You seemed very confident and very sure of yourself. So I hope that helps you as you’re … as you’re going through that, and if you have those feelings like just remember like you don’t come across that way.

Response by Interviewee:  Okay, excellent. Yeah, that makes me feel a lot better.

Response by Interviewer:  Good. It should be I think.

Analysis: That’s great. I think that’s a really good answer. You might … I think when you were talking I was wanting to know a little bit more about like when you said the geriatric population I was expecting it to be more about like the kind of care that they require or something like that, but it was more it seemed like about their personalities or like connecting with them on a personal level. That was what you … It seemed like that’s what you were saying, which I thought was interesting and I didn’t fully understand that. So I guess maybe elaborate a little bit more on that because it was kind of like … I guess it kind of felt to me like … I’m trying to think of how to say this. Stereotyping an entire age group of people, I think.

Response by Interviewee:  Yeah.

Response by Interviewer:  Like, everybody was the old guy on Dennis the Menace, and do you know what I’m talking about? Like the person you never like. I think it was kind of was the connection I was making with it was like everybody was a crotchety old man and you were like the young kid that no one understood. I mean, I know that’s not what you were getting at, but I feel like if we had a little bit more specifics, it would help me kind of visualize what’s happening.

Response by Interviewee:  At first I think I was going in that direction, but then I didn’t want to sound like a horrible person. So I decided to turn it around so I wouldn’t sound like a horrible person. But really as a tech it is … they do demand so much more, and like because the care is just so much harder and they are … their bodies aren’t exactly … they’re not great. And I don’t know how exactly to say this, they’re more fragile than the average person that I take care of. So it is harder, they take a little bit more care, and it’s more time consuming, so they’re … it’s definitely they’re more in need of your responsiveness.

Response by Interviewer:  Okay, yeah, that makes it make a lot more sense I think.

Response by Interviewee:  I don’t want to sound horrible.

Response by Interviewer:  No, no, you didn’t sound horrible. That question is so scary to answer; I always feel bad when I ask you  it. But it’s an excellent question I think because it helps you think a lot about it, and you don’t want to be caught flat [unclear 32:27] I don’t think. I’m using like every cliched phrase, I don’t know, but I’ve never said you don’t want to be caught flat, but anyways I’m going to work on that in my own spare time, like find some new catchphrases.

Anyway, yeah, but you get what I’m saying. Like, when you’re talking about an actual group of people, you want to come across as diplomatic as possible. And I could see that you’re trying to do that, and I think with the way you explained it just now as a follow-up, that was perfect. So maybe throw those things in a little bit sooner. Like, they’re more challenging because they’re may be … I think it’s okay to say they’re a little bit more demanding; they demand a different … maybe a different style of care. Is that what you were getting at? Like, they’re from a different generation, so the service was different back, maybe back in the day?

Response by Interviewee:  Yeah, a lot of times when I was working as a tech, and I do have an older patient, things that I do or say might not be something that they want to hear or the way they do things. And it’s a little bit more challenging to connect with them because they are from a different time where care is a bit different I guess.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah, okay, yeah, that makes sense. So focus it I think on that, just made me throw in a few more of those details, and I think you’ll be fine.

Response by Interviewee:  Could I also throw in like a story of like … Somehow like … I don’t know, I think would be bad if I do that.

Response by Interviewer:  I don’t know, I think it would depend on the story. But it could be fine if you felt like it was relevant. I don’t know. Because it’s about a group of patients …

Response by Interviewee:  Yeah, you don’t want to like generalize or stereotype, yeah. I understand, just curious.

Response by Interviewer:  I think as I think about it I might lean toward not doing a story just for that particular one unless you feel like it’s truly relevant. Because you are a good storyteller, so I would trust you to tell it in a good way.

Analysis:  Yeah, wow. That was a long story but riveting. So it felt great, like I was totally like, “What’s happening? What’s in her arms?” It was really good. Don’t feel bad it was long.

Response by Interviewee:  Definitely.

Response by Interviewer:  I liked it.

Analysis:  I think that you told it really well, and you came across as respectful but also as persistent on behalf of the patient, which is important. So it made great sense to me. I think it’s an excellent example of that. You could maybe talk a little bit about like … When you say it prevented an accident from happening, was that like it prevented her from pulling the IV out and like something going …

Response by Interviewee:  Yeah, something going … Yeah, because she … she ended up having to go to the ICU because she was going into a … I think there was like a … I’m not sure exactly what happened to her. But I know she ended up having to go to the ICU for something. So I was taking the extra precaution definitely to kind of save some time.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah, I think that’s great, so maybe just mentioning that to you, so that the seriousness of it comes across really well. But other than that I think it was a great example. I’m going to … I have a call at 8:15, so I’m going to email the person and ask her … That was like the fastest call I’ve ever had. And I think that’s a compliment to you because it was like I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Let me just let her know that I’m going to be a few minutes late, is that okay?

Response by Interviewee:  Oh, yeah, absolutely.

Response by Interviewer:  She’s a second-time interviewee I guess, so I’ve connected with her pretty well, so I think she’ll be understanding. So let me see. I want to ask you a couple more questions just to make sure that you feel really prepared. I want to ask you the ones that I think you are more likely to get asked, just the ones that are remaining. Is that okay?

Response by Interviewee:  Yeah, absolutely.

Response by Interviewer:  Okay, so we’ll do three more questions. I told her I’d be on in ten minutes, so we should be in good shape.

Analysis:  I think that’s fantastic. That makes perfect sense, it’s great. I’m going to ask you the hardest question, the one I hate the most, but I think it’s important.

Analysis:  I think that’s a good way of answering it. I hate that question so much, but I just … I’m always worried that somebody’s going to get asked that and I haven’t prepared them for it, so I feel like it’s a good prep question, but it sucks. Anyway, I think you answered it really well, and it’s honest, I think. Because you’re young, even though you have great experience, so saying that you want to build it up is just a good … that’s a great response like you have all the skills that you need in order to keep building experience. And you didn’t say something like it’s your loss or whatever, so that was great.

Response by Interviewee:  I know, I have a great GPA, but I think it … I felt … I did a lot of … I did a lot of science classes, and I think I did well in some more than others, so I think that helped me a lot. So my favorite class I think was genetics, and we have that, there’s genetics class and like that we would retake in the program and I think that’s cool because I am actually really interested in it, like I even did like the ancestry DNA thing to find out my ancestry.

Response by Interviewer:  Cool.

Response by Interviewee:  And I think that’s something really cool about it.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah, very cool. Yeah, I think you answered it in a great way. I mean, that’s exactly how I would have advised you to answer it, is like whatever the response is you’re going to continue building up your experience and becoming the best version of the job that you have to make your skills better for next time. So yeah, great job.

Analysis:  Yeah, awesome. That’s great. I loved the whole story. It shows so much about like your enthusiasm. I love that you linked it to like, “I’m going to PA school, I have to have this, so let’s get it done.” Like, linking it to your quest I guess to be a PA is awesome. I love the nurse manager who saw that in you and gave you a shot like the whole story just is awesome. I’m using that word too much, but like it’s great. Yeah, that’s fantastic, that was a highlight listening to that, that was great. I love stories like that.

And I think having talked to you for a little while now I think you deserve that. You’ve got such a cool spirit about you, like the warmth that you have and the passion you have, and like a solid persistence, like it comes across really well so I would be super surprised if you interview and don’t just get snatched up right away because I think you’re a great candidate.

Response by Interviewee:  Thank you. I appreciate that. Now I just got to show them that. I think my last interview, I interviewed in August at Kaiser and I just choked, like I guess I just completely choked. And I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t answer any question the way I normally would.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah, was it … it was a PA program interview? Yeah. I’m surprised.

Response by Interviewee:  That was my first cycle.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah, well, maybe it’ll be smooth sailing from here on out because you had one rough start, but you did a fantastic job today. So I mean, if this interview is an indication you’re going to rock it hardcore. I think you did fantastically.

Response by Interviewee:  Compared to the other people that you work with?

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah, right up at the top for sure. Definitely.

Response by Interviewee:  Thank you.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah, you did a great job. I would be amazed if you don’t email me in a few days saying, “Okay, I got it. I got an acceptance.”

Response by Interviewee:  I hope so.

Response by Interviewer:  Yeah, I think you’re going to be …

Response by Interviewee:  I think you had the same responses, like that PA that I … The last PA interview, when I met him within like an hour, he said the same thing about me. He’s like, “You just have a great personality.” And I’m like, “You’ve only known me for an hour, but awesome. Like, thanks.” And he’s like … And like a couple of days later I was like, “Can you write me a recommendation letter?” And he’s like, “Yeah, I’d love to.” Awesome.

Response by Interviewer:  That’s fantastic, yeah. I see it about you for sure. I mean, you just have really great warmth, and you’re just … I don’t know. I think you’d be fun to work with and have in a program, so yeah. Yeah, you’re going to connect well if you perform like you did today with me, you’re going to connect well with that committee, and I think it’s going to go well. You did great. So I’m going to send you the video tonight, I’ll upload it so you’ll have that.

If you have any other questions or anything else comes up feel free to send any questions my way that I can help you with or just anything at all, I’m happy to help any way I can.