Why I chose to be a physician assistant and PA school interview tips

I am excited to announce that I am a new affiliate of myPAbox, which is a tool empower Pre PA students who struggle with choosing the right PA programs to apply to. This platform allows Pre PA students to track their pre requisite requirements, patient care hours, volunteer experience, CASPA GPA, certifications, and more. It is truly comprehensive and the creators of the site have put in a lot of time and effort to ensure the platform eases the CASPA application process for you all.

(𝙵𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚢: 𝙸 𝚍𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚊 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚔𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚜 𝚞𝚙... 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚞𝚢 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚢. 𝙸𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚎 𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚍 𝙿𝚛𝚎 𝙿𝙰 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸 𝚜𝚊𝚢 𝚠𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚖𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 :)

Hi future Physician Assistants! ⚕️

PA school interview season is approaching, and with that comes the question “Why do you want to be a physician assistant?”

This question was presented to me half a dozen different ways during my PA school interviews, but my physiological reaction was always the same as I looked my evaluator in the eye and prepared my response. A racing heartbeat, mild diaphoresis, a dry mouth. . . all while being acutely aware that whatever words I said next would likely be the determining factor into whether or not I got accepted into the program. The pressure is REAL. And your response should be just as real, just as true to who you are.
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In this week’s video I’m talking about why I chose to be a physician assistant specifically and how this career path aligns with my future goals as a clinician. Additionally, I’m going to toss in some tips for how to approach this question. Because although it may seem obvious, especially when the answer to this question has been the driving force to late nights studying, long days working after taking classes during the day, filling weekends with volunteering and conferences, etc. . . distilling years of effort into a two minute response is NOT an easy thing to do. Hopefully my video will help all of you out there who are struggling with how to answer this question, so on interview day you will be able to give your reason “why” confidently and in a way that is self-assured, despite how nervous you may be when answering.

Good luck to everyone applying this CASPA cycle, keep working hard out there!

Enjoy!
Samantha

Who am I:
I'm Samantha, a soon to be PA student in Southern California. I make videos about all things Pre-PA, productivity, and lifestyle design to help prospective PA students become the most competitive applicants possible. I will also be documenting my life as a PA student once school starts in August 2020.

[ClearlyPixelated]

You are very well-spoken and articulate your thoughts beautifully! I can see why you were admitted to PA school. Thank you for posting this video. It provided some great scaffolding for myself to answer the same question for my own interviews.

[brookeiarussi]

I just came across this video and WOW. I have listened to many people respond to this question, but your response was so sincere and unique and just so well worded. Thank you for this!

[katyn]

I have an interview for PA school on Monday and this helped so much thank you❤️

[VitaHydra]

Your channel is destined to blow up, it has a very professional quality and you offer invaluable insight. Thank you 🤘

[maliksiebacheu]

Thank you Samantha for your advices, This video is so important to me as I am preparing to apply this 2023 at CASPA, thank you.

[iDangerousPanda]

watching in 2024. this was very helpful - thank you :)

[mzshai]

This is the best interview video ever!!!

[dalianaestevez]

This is so inspirational!! I’m so glad I found your channel. I am a sophomore in high school and I already know that this is my future profession!!

[ashleyc]

This is true. A PA diagnosed me with my condition after I saw 5-7 MDs, who told me it was just "anxiety". I got the appropriate testing and was finally able to get the correct treatment.

[MustBnice]

Thank you for sharing your experience.

[osqtjzo]

OMG this is the video I have been searching for my whole life.

[mk-iroz]

I’m a biological sciences major considering the pre-PA advising track!! I’m gonna be a freshman undergrad this august - i know that I definitely want a career in the medical field. When I look at people sometimes, my mind tries to see past their skin and flesh and i think about their bone structures- we are all kindof walking skeletons..? I don’t know why but something is burning inside of me to understand the human body and explore careers involving surgical procedures. I was talking to my mom and I was like- “Mom, I wonder if in 100 years we can become immortal through advanced medicinal discoveries” - for me, I’m always asking myself about my purpose as a human being on this Earth, and I feel that the better I understand the body I was given life into, the closer I will get to reaching contentment with the human condition in 2021. When I learn new information about the human physiology, I imagine people, thousands of years before myself, questioning similar things.... I spiritually find peace in those thoughts, I’m just looking for the career that will feed my curiosities and passion

[elisabeththompson]

best answer i've heard!!! thank you :)

[Roxy-gndj]

Thank you very much for sharing this great video. Great points were mentioned that I am sure will help me writing my personal statement. Thank you

[thatssochioma]

New subscriber! I love your videos! So so helpful

[laurabauer]

Hey Samantha! Where is the video comparing PA/MD/DO that you mentioned? I think that video would answer a lot of my questions but I don’t see it on your channel?

[isabellateny]

Thank God I finally passed my NP test on my 3rd attempt with the help of Mr DAVID, I used his preparation tips. just 3 days of working with him and I passed. I was referred to him by a friend before my exams. Please friends I recommend you to mr DAVID. The man has the key to getting your exam.

[yankasa]

Did you write this in your Personal statement too? I feel like after reading this I will grant you a spot without interviewing you.

[jessicadh]

Do u remember how much time did you spend to prepare for intevriew?

[milanlopez]

Wow! Thank you for sharing. Very inspiring and informative. Did your personal statement say pretty much the same thing? I’ve heard that the two should match and oftentimes the committee is looking for the similarities in your answers and the personal statement.. what was your experience?