Any book/reading recommendations on PA school, career, etc.?

[Anthony T]

Are there any good books out there that really go into detail about what PA school is like, and what the profession is like? I'm not looking for something that's going to tell me HOW to get into PA school, rather just something that is very informative and will give me some insight into PA school and the profession.

[Just Steve]

Not PA specific, but "House of God" is required at some med schools, and needs to be required (in my opinion) to all medical education programs.

[rev ronin]

If you can find a copy to borrow, the third chapter of Beth Grivett's So You Want to be a Physician Assistant is worth reading. The book as a whole is overpriced and mostly redundant to online resources, but the third chapter (if my memory serves...) has a dozen or so first-hand accounts from working PA's in different specialties about what their day-to-day lives are like.

[EMEDPA]

kernel in the pod is a good read. it follows the career of a pa in the 70's and 80's and discusses what being a pa was like before we had a bit more acceptance in medicine.
http://www.amazon.com/Kernel-Pod-Adv.../dp/1401054293

[savannarae5169]

I just finished Complications by Atul Gawande and it raises some great points about medicine in general, and I feel like anyone already working in the medical field or looking to get into it should read this book.

[Anthony T]

Thanks guys. Anyone else who has any recs, keep 'em coming.

[HopefulPA]

I was going to suggest. House of God. I agree with JustStevie should be required reading for anyone treating patients.

[EMEDPA]

I was going to suggest. House of God. I agree with JustStevie should be required reading for anyone treating patients.

it was required at my program as a part of the ethics course.

[Anthony T]

I'm kind of looking for something specifically about what I can expect to encounter in PA school and what it's like after you graduate.

[Just Steve]

I'm kind of looking for something specifically about what I can expect to encounter in PA school and what it's like after you graduate.

What you encounter in PA school will vary from school to school. Some schools have favorite topics such as primary care in some, surgery in others, peds in yet others. The order that the information comes at you will vary as well. Some schools let you get by with 70% for passing, other schools (such as mine) require students to keep an 80% or higher. Some schools will present information via lectures and expect you to test on the material presented by the lecturer. Other schools will give you objectives that will be tested from and the lecturers may or may not touch the objectives at all. At Medex, our lecturers simply enhance what we are studying from the book...not repeat it.

I don't know of any medical field that PAs are not in. Yes, I realize there may be some, but my point is it's a WIDE open field so the person who goes into primary care won't have the same experience of the person who goes into interventional radiology who won't have the same experience as surgery, who won't have the same experience as the ER. The person who works in an urban downtown walk in clinic with a large homeless population to treat will not have the same experience as the person out in the rural setting.

So my point is, there is no cookie cutter answer. If you really need a straight answer, you may be better served getting a bead on which sort of practice you are interested in, then find PAs in that field and ask them. Same goes for the school. As l.a. lewis said...talk with PAs from the programs you like.

[l.a.lewis]

Rather than read a book, you could try speaking with current PAs and get a personal take. You'd also have the advantage of being able to ask specific questions.

[chiaroscuro27]

I would also suggest you read as many PA student blogs as you can. Go to the Pre-pa section and you will find a post there containing most of the blogs that exist. There are also many PA-C blogs floating around.

[winterallsummer]

Huge bump to House of God

[wca]

Just finished A Kernel in the Pod and highly recommend it!

[Scrubby]

You should check out the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAAPA) and read up on the "Day in the Life" articles.

http://www.jaapa.com/a-day-in-the-life/section/490/