Practice, practice, practice, for your PA school interview! But whatever you do, don’t sound rehearsed. We all know how important practicing is before interview day, but make sure you remember that memorizing answers is the kiss of death! In many ways, practicing is about confidence. When you’ve seen and heard the questions before, you’ve considered […]
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Mind Mapping: A Tool for Personal Statements, Supplemental Essays, and Interviews
Are you struggling to come up with ideas for your PA school personal statement or supplemental essays? Are you finding it hard to keep your message consistent as you prepare for your PA school interview? Try mind mapping! Mind mapping is a great way to organize your thoughts and produce new ideas. Plus, it’s a lot of fun! I’ll show you how it works.
About Stephen Pasquini PA-C
“To fight passionately for what we believe but remain open to learning and growing. To be committed to helping people succceed, deepen, and behave more effectively in the world. This is The PA Life! ” – Stephen Pasquini PA-C Visit the Blog Content Archives Those of us who choose to study medicine are privileged folk. […]
The PA Life: Our Mission, Values, and Goals
Our Vision: To inspire and nurture pre-PAs, PA-Ss, and PA-Cs be healthcare providers who fight passionately for what they believe but remain open to learning and growing and to be committed to helping other people grow, deepen and behave more effectively in the world. Our Mission: To provide resources and services to help pre-PAs, PA […]
The Daily PANCE & PANRE Fast Track – Question 13
A patient that must be on a beta-blocking agent has reactive airway disease and commonly experiences central nervous system side effects from medications. Which of the following beta-blockers would most likely be tolerated by this patient? A. atenolol B. metoprolol C. nadfilol D. propranolol E. pindolol Answer: B, metoprolol This is a picky Q for the […]
The Daily PANCE and PANRE Fast Track – Question 56
Which of the following is the most effective prophylaxis for traveler’s diarrhea? A. Metronidazole B. Ciprofloxacin C. Tetracycline D. Ampicillin Answer B. Options for prophylaxis of traveler’s diarrhea include norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.
The Ultimate Guide to CASPA Character and Space Limits
Does this sound familiar? That essay you’ve spent countless hours revising, run through grammar check over and over, asked your readers to proof it so many times they stopped answering your calls, and had your computer read it back to you aloud for a final check, is done. You upload it into your CASPA application […]
As Good As You Can: The PA Model Around the World Part One
Welcome to part one of this powerful nine-part miniseries detailing filmmaker Adam Halbur’s spectacular new documentary film about the PA model around the world. Make sure to sign up below to receive all the posts in this series. Documenting The PA Model Around the World Adam Halbur is a filmmaker and poet who went […]
Ratatouille: A Pixar Recipe for PA School Personal Statement Success
Today we continue to explore Pixar’s rules for storytelling and learn how you can apply these rules to draft a winning PA school personal statement. If you’re like most PA hopefuls, you’ve been working on your personal statement for months. But do you know what makes a great PA school personal statement? According to the […]
Physician Assistant vs. Physician Associate: A Rose is a Rose?
Juliet: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” OK, a show of hands. Who would prefer we change the name of our profession? Should it be physician assistant or physician associate? Or something else entirely? The Case for Physician Assistant Patients are already confused by what we do. […]
10 Questions Every PA School Personal Statement Must Answer
There’s no one right way to craft your PA personal statement. In fact, it should be as individual as you are. However, there are basic things to include, that together, answer the question: “Why do you want to be a PA?” Here are 10 questions every PA personal statement needs to answer What brings you […]
Personal Statement Panel Review (Replay)
We successfully launched our first large group live event on April 28, 2022, to celebrate the opening of CASPA! Just as AdComs are not uniform in how they react to personal statements, neither is our team! In this personal statement panel review, we analyze essays from clients who have been accepted into PA school to illustrate […]
PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 3, “She Smiled, Said “Gracias!” and Gave me a Big Hug”
In this third installment of my special week-long introductory session of the personal statement workshop, we are pulling essays submitted from the comments section through our free essay submission process and providing you, and our users, with a more detailed analysis of their essays. This third submission is by Gabe. It details his life growing up in a […]
Crafting the Perfect Letter of Recommendation for Your PA School Applicants
The Importance of Prioritizing Character Over Credentials As a preceptor and mentor for PA school applicants, I am frequently asked to write CASPA letters of recommendation. For years, when writing letters of recommendation, I had a specific process that I followed. First and foremost, I only agree to write letters for individuals whom I know […]
PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 5, “Then Reach, my Son, and Lift Your People up With You”
In this fifth installment of our special week-long personal statement workshop, we continue to pull essays submitted from the comments section through our free essay submission process and provide you, and our users, with a more thorough analysis of their essays. This fifth submission is by Jacob. It is a wonderful personal statement detailing his life […]
Start at the End: Advice for your PA School Personal Statement
Not sure what to include in your personal statement? Start at the End! The conclusion should summarize your entire essay. Consider the structure of an elevator pitch to write the conclusion of your PA school essay and guide the content of your personal statement! Hi, I’m Deanna Matzen, an editor at the PA life […]
Apply for the PAEA Student Health Policy Fellowship and “Be the Change!”
Apply for the PAEA Student Health Policy Fellowship program! Up to 20 PA students are selected to participate in this special program designed to develop leadership and advocacy skills for the physician assistant profession.
The Daily PANCE and PANRE Question Two
Which term is used to describe the characteristic concave or “spoon-shaped” nails of iron deficiency anemia? leukonychia koilonychia clubbing onycholysis paronychia Answer: B Koilonychia Koilonychia is a spoon-shaping of the nail itself. It is usually a result of iron deficiency anemia. Leukonychia is often associated with hypoalbuminemia that causes partial or complete white discoloration of the nails. […]
Does Attending Community College Hurt Your Chances of Getting into PA School?
If you’ve got your heart set on becoming a physician assistant, then you’re probably anxious to get started on the application process. The only problem is that you’ve heard rumors that attending a community college can hurt your chances of getting into PA school. Does that mean you shouldn’t even bother going to community college […]
Physician Assistant Personal Statement Workshop: “To say I was an accident-prone child is an understatement”
In this latest installment of the personal statement workshop, we continue to pull essays submitted from the comments section through our free essay submission process and provide you, and our users, with a more detailed analysis of their essays. This submission is by Katie, whose life experiences combined with a traumatic injury at the age of 13, […]
Use VisualCV to Create a Stunning Physician Assistant Resume
I have a confession to make. For many years I have had a copy of my physician assistant resume posted here on the website, available for download as a guide to help you structure and organize your own physician assistant CV. It has helped 100’s (if not 1000’s) of practicing and new graduate PAs like […]
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Elevate Your Personal Statement: Using Bloom’s Taxonomy for Impactful Writing
The most common advice writers often give pre-PAs is to “show, don’t tell” in your essays. (Though we like to encourage showing AND telling – just like kindergarten!) One form of showing is telling a story in a narrative form, like a scene in a book. Or it could use specific and descriptive anecdotal examples […]
Physician Assistants in Primary Care – A Dying Breed, Indeed!
Today I read this interesting article from the Annals of Family Medicine. It is titled: Physician Assistants in Primary Care: Trends and Characteristics It proved the point of a recent conversation I was having with my cousin – an orthopedic PA at Kaiser. My theory was that family practice PAs would soon see the same trend […]
101 PA School Admissions Essays: The Book!
You’re slaving away at your personal statement but can’t help wondering if anyone will read past the first line. A troubling thought, isn’t it? A Great Personal Statement Does Matter It’s what makes you different from the millions of other applicants hoping for attention from the Admissions Committee. After all, everyone is cranking out healthcare […]
The Daily PANCE and PANRE Fast Track – Question 43
Which of the following diagnostic studies should be performed on all patients with acute exacerbation’s of asthma that present for evaluation? A. chest x-ray B. white blood cell count C. serum theophylline level D. peak expiratory flow rate E. arterial blood gas analysis Answer: D Peak flows should be done in ALL asthma patients with […]
Should You Write Physician Associate or Physician Assistant on Your PA School Essay?
On May 24’th, 2021, the AAPA made an “earth-shattering” announcement when they proclaimed that “the AAPA House of Delegates (HOD) passed a resolution affirming “physician associate” as the official title for the PA profession.” For many, like myself, who took the AAPA name change survey in 2019, we breathed an instant sigh of relief. This certainly […]
The Ultimate PA School Personal Statement Starter Kit
If you are struggling to write your PA school personal narrative, then this message is for you. Here’s why . . . PA school admissions teams have an uncanny ability (honed on the job) to detect when an applicant’s essay rings false. And you need to realize that there is a cost to writing a […]
How to Deal with Bad News in Your Personal Statement
Don’t panic. Here’s how to reframe those negatives on your CAPA application as positives. So, your life hit a rough spot or two on the way to this moment in which you find yourself writing a personal statement to get into PA school. Maybe your journey has included a couple of plot twists. You’re wondering […]
Mastering Your PA School Interview: Tone Matters
In your PA school interview, there will inevitably be answers that tempt you to go negative. Don’t do it! Resist the urge to throw someone under the bus – no matter how much they may deserve it. There will be several questions where you’ll be inclined to be pessimistic. Describe a situation where your work […]