Physician Assistant School Interview

Last Saturday I had my first interview for Physician Assistant school. I was very nervous and anxious because I had no idea what to expect. Luckily, the interview was unique and actually quite enjoyable. As I arrived around 10:00 am, we signed in and had a chance to eat some breakfast and chat with the other applicants who were there for interviews. This was helpful because I realized that I wasn’t the only one who was unsure of what was to come. Then we were escorted upstairs and I had my first segment, where I was taught how to suture a wound. This was very exciting for me since I have seen it several times throughout my shadowing experience, but never actually learned how to do it. They used a fake skin prop and I taught it back to the professor who originally taught me. Then in the next breakout, I was taught how to measure whether a heart was abnormal on an x-ray picture on an iPad. After this, we were given several drugs and the conditions that allowed us to use them, and then were given several different x-rays and had to tell the professor which drugs we would use. The third segment was an ethical situation. I read through the situation and had to answer several questions about what I would do if I were in that situation. Lastly, before a break, I had a traditional interview with one of the professors. After our break, we were split into groups of 5 and took an empathy survey, a discernment quiz with questions about the profession, and had a group activity in which we had to decide which 10 qualities we thought were most important for a PA to have. After all of these breakouts, we finally got to take a tour of the facilities by current PA students and ask them questions about their experience. As I walked throughout the building and had the opportunity to talk to them, I realized that it was the right fit for me. Not only were the faculty and staff extremely friendly and helpful, but the students were passionate about their education and helping us find our place.

Now all I have to do is wait and hope for the best.

-- Kaylie Waltz