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So I finally got a job at my dream hospital!! I am currently working there as a Patient Care Technician/ PCT. However, I will be leaving for PA school next year. I really want to return to this hospital and work as a PA! The problem is that getting a job at my hospital is super competitive. Is there a way for me to ensure/ increase my chances of getting a PA job in this facility in the future? (Also, what do you guys think of requesting a absense of leave instead of quitting? Can I be able to come back to the hospital to pursue a higher position?) Thanks in advance!

I have heard differing opinions and sides as to whether or not to talk about some bad grades throughout undergrad in your personal statement... Is this something you should definitely include? Or would focusing more on patient experiences/more impactful work that led you to the PA profession be more beneficial? Or should you figure out how to include a couple bad grades and good patient experiences all in one? Any and all advice much appreciated. Thank you.

Just wondering how to do the following: a) I have clinical experience from my CNA course. Should I log those hours in under patient care experience, HCE, or don't include them at all? b) Should I put every semester that I was on the Dean's List? c) How do you put job promotions? As in, I started as a CNA, but then I was appointed to Shift Lead, or I started as a Teacher and then was appointed to Lead Teacher. Do I mention that promotion under the Work Experience or under Leadership? d) As for the Awards/Honors section, in the instructions it says "relevant awards and honors..." Does that mean everything that is not specifically health care related should be skipped?!?! f) Also, do ppl actually split experiences based on what "best describes" it when referring to 1 job? For example, since I was working a CNA graveyard shift, maybe 1/3 the shift was direct patient care, the other 2/3 was cleaning and paperwork. If I split it, that brings down my patient care hours a lot lower than I had thought I'd originally accumulated... Boo. Thanks for the feedback!

Hello, I'm in the process of completing the CASPA application and am really unsure about where to put my experience as a veterinary technician: under patient contact experience, other health care experience, or other work experience? What I do definitely involves patient care and much more, but since I'm not sure if the human health care community considers veterinary care as "health care" I don't really know where to put this? The work experience field isn't require, but I don't feel like I should leave it blank. For those of you who don't know, as a licensed vet tech I pretty much do what a human nurse would do, only with animals, and am also responsible for administering anesthesia, radiology, histology, cytology, catheter placement, blood draw, etc. I do believe my skills and experience will benefit as I transition into the human medical field, just not sure how the PA program will view this experience?