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Hi guys, just wanted to start a thread for Hardin-Simmons' 2016-2017 application cycle. This is a developing program with the first class to matriculate next year! I read that interviews will be in November. Any more info about this school/program would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I didn't see this, so I figured I would get it started. I just got an e-mail inviting me for an interview on Friday, June 23rd! Anyone else applying/interviewing with Mary Baldwin? Any current students have any insight on the program?

Saw this was a new program on caspa, was wondering if anyone has heard anything about it. I couldn't find any information from the university's website directly about the program.

I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread for people to post their successful CASPA essays so that new applicants can get a better idea of what schools are looking for as they write their own. I will begin by posting a link to mine below (it is posted in my blog). Please comment with your own examples if you are an accepted student. My CASPA Personal Statement (as an example)

Hi there! I've been keeping an eye out for this thread to be created so I figured I would get the ball rolling! I submitted to FSU on August 9th and received an email from them on August 30th stating my application had been sent to the admissions committee for review. Interviews will begin in January 2017. As a Seminole alum, I look forward to hearing both from the program and any other hopeful applicants! :)

Very interesting article Appears that the NCCPA filled Governor Jim Justice head with a bunch of alternative facts, but when the real facts came out he realized his error..... http://www.wvgazettemail.com/gazette-op-ed-commentaries/20170603/rafael-rodighiero-justice-prevails-with-bill-to-improve-patient-care Governor Jim Justice made the right decision this week to include House Bill 116, and its companion bill Senate Bill 1014, on his special legislative session agenda. This legislation enhances the ability of physician assistants (PAs) to provide health care to people who need it throughout our state. A previous bill, SB 347, was unanimously passed by the legislature in April only to be vetoed by the governor, who may not have had all the facts when he made his decision. Since then, West Virginia’s 1,200 PAs, through letters, phone calls and comments on social media, successfully urged Justice to revive the bill for the sake of their patients. PAs are state-licensed medical professionals that practice medicine on health care teams with physicians and other providers. They practice and prescribe medication in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and the uniformed services. ADVERTISING Instead of a 72-hour supply of schedule III medications, which include common treatments for a range of conditions, including moderate pain, the new legislation would allow PAs to prescribe a 30-day supply, reducing the burden on families who need more than a three-day supply of a medication and, for example, can’t drive a great distance to see a physician to obtain it. The legislation also allows PAs to sign a more extensive list of medical forms that previously had to be signed by physicians, including handicap hunting certificates and Provider Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms. The latter is especially important for patients and families facing end-of-life decisions when people are often at their most vulnerable. This noncontroversial legislation has support from physicians like State Sen. Tom Takubo, D.O., who represents District 17, and recognizes that there are people in West Virginia who simply do not have access to health care, especially in rural or medically underserved areas. He and others see PAs as part of the solution to providing quality health care in the state. PAs in West Virginia are grateful and relieved that the governor has reconsidered his initial position and encourage the legislature and the governor to swiftly pass the legislation as introduced as quickly as possible, because patients should not suffer due to further delays. Rafael Rodighiero is a physician assistant in Logan. - See more at: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/gazette-op-ed-commentaries/20170603/rafael-rodighiero-justice-prevails-with-bill-to-improve-patient-care#sthash.YsY46EV5.dpuf

The Bryant University PA Program, faculty, staff, and students fully oppose the proposed AAPA policy regarding Full Practice Authority and Responsibility (FPAR) for PAs. We believe that all aspects of the proposed FPAR policy, with the exception of independent practice created by the proposed elimination of all legal ties to physicians, are already addressed by existing AAPA policy, specifically, the AAPA Model State Legislation for PAs and Guidelines for State Regulation of PAs. Any current restrictions and limitations on PA Practice that are supposedly addressed by FPAR can be addressed and resolved at the practice level. Concerns regarding supervision, limitations of scope of practice, remuneration, job satisfaction, and providing excellent team-based patient care should not be dictated by law, and the AAPA Model State Legislation provides for such practice-level management. We believe that FPAR is simply a clever means for remodeling the PA Profession to be one of independent practice and that the elimination of the long-standing, highly-valued partnership with physicians is detrimental to the profession, patient care, and the proven concept of team-based healthcare delivery. One of the most significant issues with FPAR is that since PAs practice medicine and our scope is ideally defined at the practice level, FPAR would leave PAs without any definable scope of practice at all. The legal basis for “practicing medicine” is defined for physicians. If all legal ties to physicians are severed, PAs will be left with no legal ability to practice. An entire new legal scope of practice for PAs would have to be forged in every state, passed through the rigorous legislative process, and adopted and accepted by patients, physicians, hospitals, healthcare systems, and medical practices. It is our belief that this move would set the profession backwards or eliminate it all together, as there would be no legal basis for a PA Profession without physicians. Some PAs are concerned that APRNs or NPs (Nurse Practitioners) might have job placement advantages because in some states, APRNs are independent practitioners. However, even though PAs work alongside NPs in many healthcare settings and enjoy the PA/NP teamwork and relationships, NPs practice nursing and PAs practice medicine; this is not an equivalent comparison, and the training is markedly different. Physicians and healthcare organizations may perceive there to be an advantage in hiring an “independent” practitioner because of the inaccurate belief of not having to bear any responsibility for the actions of the NP while having to bear 100% of the responsibility of the PA’s actions. It is more accurate to say that each health care provider (physicians, PAs, and APRNs) are already responsible for actions they take in the course of providing patient care. In fact, there has been no objective evidence presented that NPs are hired preferentially over PAs. We believe that the AAPA Model Legislation which replaces “supervision” with the more accurate term “collaboration” more accurately describes the physician-PA team and individual liabilities. Better served efforts would be to enact new AAPA Policy specifically addressing PA liability, physician responsibility, and fair tort reform. Following the 2016 AAPA House of Delegates Meeting, the discussion of FPAR was referred to a task force, charged with further investigating the implications of FPAR on PAs and healthcare to bring to the 2017 AAPA House of Delegates Meeting in May 2017. At this time, The AAPA Joint Task Force on the Future of PA Practice Authority has not completed any such investigation and has instead put forth the same statements, backed only by anecdotes and individual PA statements and experiences. The Task Force has irresponsibly gone forth with very public messages that have been misconstrued by the public, patients, PAs, physicians, physician professional organizations, and others. Worse, these public discussions about FPAR have made it appear to anyone watching or reading that this is already AAPA Policy and the future of the PA Profession; it is not. Such statements only serve to alienate our physician partners, cause confusion within the PA Profession, and will only make it more difficult to progress the AAPA Model Legislation through the appropriate processes. The year 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the PA Profession. At this time, we should be seeking ways to strengthen the already excellent Physician-PA collaborative relationship. Unlike FPAR advocates have stated, there is no basis to believe that PAs have “earned the right” to suddenly become independent practitioners. Any PA practicing in a supportive state legal environment already enjoys the ability to practice autonomously, to the limit of their PA license and training, as part of a health care team. The singular goal of both PAs and physicians should be the delivery of outstanding healthcare to our patients. ------------------------------ Bryant University PA Program Smithfield, RI

Since 1998 US News has been publishing the only known ranking of PA programs. Their rankings are based on subjective peer assessment surveys of PA program faculty. A useful ranking system should be “measurable, reproducible, and not opinion based! Physician Assistant Programs Ranked by PANCE Pass Rates 2017 http://www.thepalife.com/best-pa-schools/

I thought all of the newly accepted students might appreciate this post from my blog. It is a list of all of the software/websites/apps that my class has used and found useful when studying for tests in PA school. Hope it helps! http://pajourney.com/2016/02/20/technology-that-helps-me-survive-pa-school/

After 2 semesters in my program, I (and many of my peers) fear how much of this information I am forgetting after each test. Teachers and faculty keep telling us to "trust the process". So I wrote a short blog post on what exactly that "process" is and what information is retained as you progress through didactic year. Feel free to comment with your own thoughts below. Hope you find this post helpful! 2 Semesters Down! What Stays and What Goes?

The teachers in my program keep telling us to "trust the process". So I wrote a little blog post on what I think that process is and on what information you retain from your didactic year. Hope you find this interesting and feel free to comment with thoughts of your own! 2 Semesters Down! What stays and what goes?

So I will be finishing PA school soon and I really want to help my parents out by giving them money over the next 3 years. I am interested in emergency medicine but for the next 3 years I am willing to work anywhere as long as it maximizes income. I plan on being very frugal over this time period so I can hopefully give 80% of my salary to my family. Are there any suggestions for where I can work to absolutely maximize income? I don't care about location, specialty, or work hours. I am willing to work 60+ hours/wk if needed. I am currently in Chicago and the job offers I have heard for new grads are not great. After the 3 years I plan to look into the specialty/location that I am genuinely interested in but for now I am very flexible. Also let's say that my debt is very minimal. Can anyone give me an estimate of how much I can expect to make in some specialty/location? Thanks!

Hey! I have read a few forums concerning my topic but have not found anything directly related, therefore I decided to start my own forum. So I went to community college my freshman year and transferred to a state school for my sophomore year (currently in first semester). The pre reqs I took at cc were general bio 1 and 2 with labs and inorganic chem 1 and 2 with labs. I have researched a few PA programs around me and out of the 9 that I plan on applying to only 1 requires Orgo 1. Therefore I am taking that now with lab and working really hard to get an A to show an upward trend since I got C's in inorganic chem 1 and 2 at my cc. I struggle heavily with chemistry but am amazing at biology (all A's so far) so I'm trying to work on my chem courses. For the schools I am applying to a lot of them don't require either orgo like I said, but most do require biochem 1. I was planning on finishing orgo 1 this semester and taking biochem 1 either in the spring or next fall. The problem is my school requires orgo 2 as a pre req to take biochem 1. I emailed the chem chair explaining my situation and asking if the orgo 2 pre req could be waived and she completely refused saying orgo 2 is necessary to understand biochem. I already struggle with chemistry and do not want to have to take a course that is extremely difficult if none of my pa programs require it and I also don't need it to graduate and get my bachelor's. My chairperson told me to take biochem at a community college if I really did not want to take orgo 2. However, I am aware it looks bad to go from a CC to a 4 year and then take pre reqs at the cc during the summer. Also at the cc it would be a lower level biochem 2000 level and at my college it's 4000 level. So my question is do I let my GPA suffer even more and take orgo 2 just so i can take biochem 1 at my school, or do I take all my remaining pre reqs at my school and then take biochem at the cc and risk looking lazy and like I'm taking the easy way out on my applications to PA school?

There are a lot of factors that can be taken in to account when selecting the right PA program. I want to know what factors you think will (or have) most influence your decision to attend a program.

I wanted to share my latest blog post on here. It is about the challenges of starting PA school and what to expect in your first two months. Hope that some of you find it useful: http://pajourney.com/2015/07/16/head-above-water/

Hey guys, so a while ago I posted a thread about undergrad grades and getting into PA school which I am obviously aware is very competetive. I recently got a copy of my transcript and my final GPA was a mediocre 2.42 mainly due to one very bad Junior year (Not going to go into detail as to why but the other three years are pretty normal.) My major GPA was closer to a 3 and I never took any science or PA pre req courses which I suppose is the good news. Obviously the past is done and I can't change that and I do plan on taking classes and getting A's but I feel like even that won't make me competetive. If I became an EMT for a year or two and got some good HCE while also shadowing a doc or PA would that be sufficient? I have volunteer experience but nothing paid, I do speak several languages and have traveled a lot and plan on applying when I'm closer to 30 (They like more mature candidates I'm guessing.) Another thought was to try and get into a BSN program and then NP or PA but that would be a long (but probably rewarding) road. What do you think? I'm sure I want to go into healthcare and am confident I can make up for slacking off in undergrad but just want to know more experienced people think is the best way. Thank you for your help!

Hello, I have a few questions about PA school that I'm hoping someone could answer. What are the clinical tasks that are required? I ask this because I have a slight resting hand tremor and want to know how much you have to rely on your hands for fine motor tasks. I'm debating taking tremor meds only for the course of the program if I'm accepted since I want to specialize in psychiatry where the tremor wouldn't matter. Also, if anyone has experience/ advice on how to specialize in psych that would be great to hear- the nearest PA program to me is geared toward primary care ( like most programs) so I wanted to see if anyone has had success with specializing in psych. I saw the psych PA thread and that was helpful but I am just curious to see if anyone has more thoughts. Thanks!

The American Association of Surgical PAs will offer a meeting designed for those interested in or actively apply to PA School. This seminar will include amazing insights on the profession, training, future as well as interview tips and a chance for one-on-one time with PAs who work on admissions committees. Bring a draft of your essay for review! AASPA is proud to be one of the first professional PA organizations to host a seminar specifically tailored to helping people realize their dreams of becoming a Physician Assistant. You will spend two hours with thought leaders in the PA profession learning specific information to strengthen your PA application and interview. We know what admission committees want to hear! You will meet PAs who are serving or who have served on PA Program admission committees from a variety of different programs. Attending an AASPA Pre-PA meeting looks amazing on a CASPA application, or drop a line during your interview. You will receive a great certificate to add to caspa or add to your application file! Here is the info: Date: Friday January 23, 2014, Time: 5:30pm – 8:30pm. Location: Sheraton Suites Orlano AIrport hotel. FREE SHUTTLE FROM THE AIRPORT: http://www.starwoodh...propertyID=1317 ORLANDO,FL ROOMS ARE AVAILABLE Registration link: https://aaspa.com/forms/cme-prepa.asp?navid=5&loc=fl This amazing seminar will include: -Overview of the PA Profession -PA Profession news that all applicants need to know -Essentials of Academic prerequisites -Health care/patient care prerequisites -How to deal with CASPA -PA-wanna-be essays -How to stand out as an applicant -One on one and group Q & A session -and much more! Attending this seminar you will receive: Unique certificate of attendance suitable for listing on PA applications Copies of all PowerPoint slides and lecture materials One on one opportunities to speak with PAs serving on admission committees Unique tips, tricks, and advice you can't get from a book or a website. COST: $100 tuition (tax-deductable!) Discounts available for groups of 10 or more, email ceo@aaspa.com for info AASPA Pre-PA FLyer.pdf

For a detailed cost comparison analysis of all 200 physician assistant programs in the United States. http://www.thepalife.com/2015-physician-assistant-program-tuition-and-cost-comparison-table/. Most Expensive In State Long Island University $106,000 Marquette University 102,600 New Yourk Intitute of Technlogy 102,900 Most Inexpensive In State CUNY York $13,041 Stony Brook University New York $22,500 Medical University of South Carolina $22,941 Most Inexpensive Out of State CUNY York College $22,290 D’youville College $23,000 Nova Southeastern University, Orlando $28,960

I have been accepted to a few different programs and am having trouble deciding between them. Of these, I am torn between two: Both have awesome PANCE pass rates and I was impressed with the faculty and students when I visited. One program is 24 months, while the other is 35 months. At this point, the differences in lengths are of greatest concern. Do you attend a longer or shorter program and what are your opinions regarding the differences? Is a longer program more comprehensive, or slightly less rigorous? I'm less concerned with overall cost at this point. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

I checked th MEDEX website and it says that they don't have an anatomy lab .. Anyone know about that .. They say anatomy is done online . ..is it okay for PAschools to not have an antomy lab ? Just wondering !