10 things I wish I knew before PA school (now as a PA-C)

Here are a few things I wish I knew before PA school. I tried to keep the number down to 5 but I had so many tips to share the # ended up being close to 10. If you have any other tips or questions leave them below, or say hi!
-xoxo,
Audrey the PA 💛
T I M E L I N E
00:19-Tip #1 medical equipment
02:07-Tip #2-Save $ and pay even a little towards your tuition
04:14-Tip #3-Comparison is the thief of joy
06:21-Tip #4 Find your people
06:32-Take breaks
7:20-Tip #5 You will have FOMO
08:07-Tip #6 Don’t cut corners in PA school
08:59-Tip #7 Clinical year isn’t easier than didactic year
09:57-Tip #8 Your program’s one goal is you passing the PANCE the first time.
11:08-Ask your professors to review your resume/ask for tips but ultimately it’s up to you to get to work on the job hunt
11:22-Take your PANCE early
➤S U B S C R I B E -Let’s be friends!
➤C O M M E N T - Share your questions/tips/below or just say hi!
➤ L I K E ♡
✨S O C I A L S✨
Insta: AudreythePA
Tiktok: Heartonmywhitecoat (soon to be audreythePA)
M U S I C:
Music by Tray Haggerty - 2 Sides (clean) - thmatc.co/?l=1948E1E0
I M A G E S:
All images from CANVA and are not mine
#dermatologyphysicianassistant #dermpa #PANCE #prephysicianassistant #medicine #prepa #PAstudent #prephysicianassistant #jobhunting #newgrad #dermatologyNP #aestheticsNP

[@flylikeallama]

Thank you for this video! I'm starting PA school this fall and your points reinforce most of what I've been preparing mentally and emotionally. Your first tip on medical equipment I haven't heard before! Definitely 👍🏻

[@Audreythepa]

Excited for you Jessica! If you invest in one equipment it should be your stethoscope but everything else I would follow what I said :)

[@flylikeallama]

@@Audreythepa Thank you so much! Similar to you, my volunteer health center graciously gifted me a stethoscope upon my acceptance news. I'm so, so, so excited to finally become a PA! God bless~

[@latavious48]

The Best PA video out here ! 💯

[@tannerwoolf7648]

I agree almost completely with your list except to buy SOME good equipment. I dont know if you have tried some of the other cheaper equipment but imo it just doesnt compare to Welch Allyn. I purchased cheap stuff to start PA school and ended up rebuying a few welch allyn pieces (not the expensive panoptic set) because I couldnt trust the cheap equipment. It doesn’t need to be new but I noticed a difference in quality. An extra $100 for the basic rechargeable welch allyn set is worth it, and a decent stethoscope, besides that the rest can be cheap haha. I think it has value even if the clinics you work in provide them, specially if you have children and can use them at home on family. Great list and i wish i would have known these things before my PA education.

[@theonewithjen8645]

I returning to community college after getting accepted into a Private 3 year BSN program because my end goal is to apply PA school, and this private college is 100K in tuition and I felt that it will be hard for me to pay this off and attempt PA school. (I have been working as A CNA for 3 Years now) i'll be applying to transfer to a public 4 year and get a BS in Health Science, after 3 semester at a private nursing school and already 16K in student loans. Thank you for your tips, It's harder when you do not have the support of your family to get through college. My sibling always make me feel a horrible sibling/daughter for not being there for them.

[@rebeccaloveleenhay]

I feel this 100% no support from family to help ease the load! Then make me feel horrible for not being around and not spending enough time with them. It’s hard to support your lifestyle and provide good schooling for yourself and also be trying to make other people happy. Sometimes you have to be a little selfish to achieve your goals. Especially in these circumstances 🙏

[@Ashleetkc]

God bless u for this video 💕

[@chseer]

I’m an optometry student and they don’t even tell us to buy the pan optic attachment … wow I’m shocked they told you guys that

[@marionavarro6043]

Solid advice! 🤘🏼 I start PA school in two months and there's a little part of me that is freaking out. 🥴😂

[@Audreythepa]

Hey Mario! The hardest part is getting in PA school 🙌🏻 Goodluck and let me know if you have any questions!

[@taylorcervantes1995]

Same! Good luck to you!

[@sharathcr1503]

Hello ,im a international medical graduate from india i would like to talk to you regarding pa programme can i please have you contact info !!

[@jclar5239]

so how has it been if these few months?

[@alyssastern6073]

That take you r PANCE and #1 job of school is pass the first time is a lot like my EMT school they actually failed you out if they felt you could not pass the first time, and did whatever they could to get us to take the NREMT within the 1st month we were approved.

[@CielINV]

Can you share some tips for PANCE ? Like books, sample tests, etc Thank youuuuu

[@Audreythepa]

Definitely will do :)

[@hohothemonkey8414]

How long did it take you to become a derm pa? Did you go to university and then PA school or did you just go to PA school right after high school? Ah I’m not sure whether I should be a dermatologist or derm pa/np :) I’m worried about the big tests though since I am really bad with memory

[@Audreythepa]

I finished college in 4 years, studied dietetics and then did a gap year to get patient care experience, then started PA school (a little over two years) and then worked as a pediatric ENT PA for a year before I ended up in dermatology.

[@DesiRDN]

@@Audreythepa omg! I've been looking everywhere for someone like you on KZbin! I'm currently studying dietetics, since I've always had a passion for nutrition and health and wellness. I'm so intrigued by the PA career. Is there a specialty where I can utilize my nutrition background if I go the PA route? Also, did you do the dietetics internship and then PA school? Were you ever a registered dietitian before? Sorry for so many questions haha thanks!!

[@Njackco]

I really have always wanted to be a nurse but not be a NP (nothing wrong w NP just prefer medical model) at my college they told me I’d probably have to do an extra year after my nursing degree to meet the rest of the prerequisites for PA school. Do you think it’s a good idea to take that year to work as a nurse and go to college to meet the rest of the requirements or should I just major in psychology or exercise science instead for my undergrad?

[@awilliams5815]

I think you should stick with your original plan to do nursing and take the extra year to work and get your prereqs because you'll need documented patient care hours to apply to PA school and you can get those easily working as a nurse! But there are many paths that lead to PA school :)

[@theshinythings123]

I would become a nurse and work while finish prerequisites for PA school. By the time you are done with prereqs you will have your 2000+ hours from working as a nurse which is more competitive than other applicants with hours from CNA, MA, EMT as nursing is not an entry level healthcare career as CNA, MA, EMT are. If you can't get into PA school after maybe 2 attempts worst case you can still do NP as a backup. Also doing some travel nursing will help you pay for PA school tuition.

[@johnguillen68]

I'm not sure on this but is PA school a year-round program? I mean the first year, is it non-stop let's say from Sept through Sept, or are there breaks in between?

[@cmhardin37]

No breaks

[@alexruiz16.]

Is there a possible way I could email you? I have a few questions in regards to PA school and your experience :)

[@certifiedlover2748]

My high school has a patient care technician certification program and I want to use that as my patient care experience. I want to go to community college than transfer to a four year college to save money. Can you take PA school pre-reqs at a cc? For you how competitive was it for you to get accepted into pa school?

[@Audreythepa]

yes you can take pre-reqs at a CC but it's important to do well as your GPA is one of the most important parts of your PA application! & it was very competitive for me to get in and I believe it still is competitive, but don't be intimidated by that

[@cindyj8914]

some pa program dont accept cc credits

[@theshinythings123]

Yes do them at a CC. GPA is all that matters and not the school. It's easier to choose what teacher has good reviews at a CC vs a university where there might be only 1 hard teacher for the class.

[@princeisreal1636]

😄😄😄😁

[@niranjanaaj9734]

Hi I'm from India😇 ...... I was actually planning to do my masters (PA) in USA...... I have the following queries: 1) Can i do master's in PA after completing bsc PA in India. Is the indian degree valid in the aborad universities ( US ) preferably 2) Any bsc degree in india and then is it possible to do PA in foreign universities(US)? 3) Which are the exams to qualify to do masters in PA abroad ( US ). 4) Inorder to practice PA in the US, is there any exam?

[@Feastbeastno1]

Do you have study material you can share with us?

[@Audreythepa]

Yes! I’ll do a video and I’m talking about do a collab with UWorld for my subscribers so be on the look out for that video soon :)

[@xxsam0917xx]

How many PA programs did you apply to?

[@Audreythepa]

4-5! Two out of states and the rest in my state, Georgia!

[@xxsam0917xx]

@@Audreythepa Oh okay! I live in Florida and I'll be only applying to UF, FSU, and FGCU (fairly new PA program but it's the cheapest lol). What is the range for out of state tuition in GA if you know it?

[@diyahm8500]

how much is the salary for a new dermatologist pa?

[@usamarafieck1715]

do you have a job?

[@Audreythepa]

Yep! I’m a dermatology PA-C 👍🏻