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Interview Tips


Guest OnBelay

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Guest mablet
So, what are examples of red flag answers?

 

Red flag answers would be:

"I really want to be a doctor but I didn't get in so PA school's my back up"

dumb stuff like that. (i'd rather the person say that to the interviewers face because obviously, being a PA isn't what they want)

 

But if a person feels that way, don't even apply at this point but think through what you really want to do with your life. Does being a MD really that impt to you? if so, then you will have the persistance to find your weaknesses and apply again. Your career choice really shouldn't be backup, hence career CHOICE. These are not only redflag answers to interviewers, but should be redflag answers for yourself (not you, but people).

If you know why you want to be a PA and have found experiences and reflected on them, then you'll generally do fine at the interviews.

It's never really about impressing interviewers, but more I feel interview questions are there to help you ask those probing questions to ourselves months/years before we even step into the interview. They're self checks before you waste money and time on a path that you didn't really feel was fully yours to begin with.

 

Don't worry about redflag answers, as everyone says, be yourself (just shined up and in a good outfit).

 

~mable

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Guest Mugsy4884

Q: "So what's a PA?"

 

Red flag answer #1 reciting the AAPA definition

Red flag answer #2 "well, they help the doctor"

Red flag answer #3 "they are in-between a nurse and a doctor"

 

Best way (in my opinion) to handle that question is to see a PA in action. Shadowing is great, but if you can't, at least try to talk to a PA so you can understand what they do.

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  • 3 months later...
Guest oracle99

I was given my interview date for tomorrow morning, very last minute. Any advice? I feel I have the attire. The medical back ground and the personality. I am just nervous on the details. As I said not much time to prepare.

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Guest kr105

First of all -- relax!

 

1) Know the difference between NP and PA. (NP's are RNs who go 2 years, part-time, and are trained on the nursing model. PA's are not RNs and go 2 years Full-Time, and are trained on the medical model. PAs need a supervising physician, but NPs do not unless they write scripts (Rx). Also, NPs are now getting doctoral degrees in place of the masters in many programs (reference Columbia University's program.) They call their rotations a "residency". [We have one at our hospital who signs her name as Dr. ___ which I frankly think is unethical. In a hospital a doctor should be an MD, DO or pharmD.]

 

2) There is a lot of overlap between the mid-level providers. PAs can jump (as of now) between specialities without additional training. NPs are specific to FP / Peds / OB/GYN. THey get specialty training to go into other specialties.

 

3) Know why you want to be a PA

 

4) Be able to state a 5 year goal. (When I was asked this, my reply was to tell the interview "Why to be sitting where you are now!)

 

5) Know how you will pay for your education

 

Best of luck

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Some things I've noticed as an applicant, as a student greeter for a number of interview groups and from my conversations with faculty.

 

Everyone who gets an interview is a high quality applicant. In fact, you are all much more alike than you are different. If you have made it to the interview than you are just as likely as the person next to you to get in.

 

The interview is where you can make or break your chances of getting into PA school. I do not mean that a not so good interview will keep you from getting in. However, a really good one can make you a shoo-in and a really bad one can be the kiss of death.

 

Let me give you a couple of examples.

 

Good:

Relaxed applicant who knows his or her stuff, is comfortable in their own skin, really listens to questions and is personable.

 

Bad:

(Real life example that I witnessed) Faculty-interviewee mixer. Program director mentions that he lives near a greyhound track. Interviewee goes on a heated diatribe about how greyhounds are mistreated, how most people in the world are so cruel and how she wishes that the folks who race greyhounds should be locked in small cages and starved.

 

Needless to say the interviewee in question did not get in. The interview is also a place to weed out people who can't hold it together under stress or who have very poor interpersonal skills.

 

Moral of the story is think before you speak and lay-off the politics and cause celebre.

 

Sorry to focus so much on the negative, but it is so much easier to blow it than it is to hit a home run.

 

-Mike

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Moral of the story is think before you speak ...

 

Sorry to focus so much on the negative, but it is so much easier to blow it than it is to hit a home run.

 

-Mike

 

That reminds me of the worst thing I ever heard an applicant say.. I've posted it before but it's so dern memorable.... I was escorting a candidate to a session with the PD and asked why the interest in our school.

 

"Actually, this is my back-up school, just in case I don't get into a good program like Duke. Being a paramedic I kow I'll get in, and it's close to home, and as good as any other...."

 

Needless to say she didn't get an offer :p

 

Chat with the other candidates, be yourself... check out the SAAAPA website for additional sample questions.

 

Good luck!

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Not neccesarily.

 

However, you will set your self apart from the pack and that can be good or bad.

 

Maybe the gentleman interviewing you thinks that dark tan suits are really snazzy

 

or

 

Maybe the lady that is interviewing you just got divorced from someone who liked dark tan suits.

 

I guess what I'm saying is that the more conservative you are than the less chance of a misstep.

 

Now I know that's a glass half-empty sort of thing, but I would rather rely on me making an impression, not my suit.

 

-Mike

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  • 1 month later...

This has likely been addressed elsewhere, but as it appears to fit in this thread I'll post it and see...

 

As for "confidence" during the interview. How much is too much? By that I mean that I know you can be confident in the strength of your application, your abilities, and the plans you have for the future. But I would assume that AdComs would view it as a turn-off if one kept making comments as though they were already in the program or already a PA. Too much confidence would just seem cocky and probably get a thumbs down right?

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Hi- I just joined the forum but have found the site to be very helpful as I approach my first interview. Here's a question I have not seen posed: there is an optional social dinner the night before my interview. Is it in my favor that I go (a guest is invited - I was going to bring my wife of 12 years)? Sounds like you can do some damage during these events, but I believe I can network a little bit, not stumble on myself, and set myself up for success. Any thoughts on attending vs. just going to the interview? Thanks!

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Gmurphy, go to the reception the night before your interview. I just went to one; it was really informal, and everyone was really friendly. At the reception I attended, the faculty left after about an hour and the current students held a question and answer panel. It was really helpful because we got to ask them anything that was on our mind. So I strongly suggest that you make your face and name as familiar to the faculty as possible, you want them to remember you. A friend of mine who is attending PA school actually had a faculty member at the reception write down her name so he could remember her. There are plenty of other highly qualified applicants interviewing with you, so any contact you have can only help you.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest ashi111

I recently found this website and have found it very helpful! Thank you to everyone posting information.

 

I have a question I hope someone can help me with. I practiced homeopathy medicine in India before moving to the States. After moving here, I leanred my Indian degree was not enough to even apply to PA schools so I completed an undergraduate degree in biology. I have applied to many schools and have been invited to interviews at Emory and George Washington so far. My question is that while I know biology inside and out I do not have a clue about politics, economics and health policy. I understand many schools ask questions about an applicant's views on drug benefits, malpractice insurance reform and national health care. Is this true? Are these important topics to know about? I am afraid if I admit I do not know anything about these topics, the schools will feel that I do not have a grasp on halth care issues thus I would not make a good candidate.

 

Can anyone out there give any advice on whether I should be worried and if so any suggestions on what I should do? My interviews are in the next few weeks so reading the newspaper at this point seems hopeless.

 

Thank you all very much.

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Doing internet searches on those topics would probably get you up to speed fairly quick. I don't think they're looking to see if you are an expert on any of these topics, just that you are aware of them, & that you can form an opinion on something & back it up with a well reasoned argument. This is just my guess though, so wait & see how some of the others respond before taking that to heart.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest malzuma

I am scheduled for an interview in January, and reading through this thread has been VERY helpful.

My question is, how is humor taken in interviews? I know that immaturity and too much humor is not good, but is being relaxed, smiling, and maybe making a joking comment here and there and stating that I feel humor is important in healthcare perceived negatively?

Thanks!

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I would say "know your audience." What I mean is, make sure you are paying as much attention to their body language and facial expressions as they are of yours. This will give you the best indication of how you should act. Take your time and formulate logical and direct answers. Do not "wing it." Also remember that the interview does not end until you are in your car driving away from the campus, so act accordingly.:D

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WOW, thanks everyone, I thought this was such a terrific thread and had much excellent advice. Last time I itnerviewed was for nursing school a few yrs ago, so just seeing all of the PA interview tips has done so much for me. what a great thread. Congrats to you all.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest lynnberge

In reply to the answers for good/bad qualities.....Great to hear! I was planning on answering this way at my interview. This is actually true for me and I was afraid to say it at the interview because I did not want to look like some obsessive compulsive spaz.

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  • 3 weeks later...

My interview is on Thursday! Gettin' pretty nervous! I know its better to keep answers short and to the point, but I'm having trouble narrowing down how to answer the "why should we pick you" question? I don't know whether to focus on applying my attributes to the skills required of a PA from the school's website or take a different approach. I think I'm most nervous about this question, because I met with the program director and she told me she always asks this question. Anyone have any advice?

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Confidence.

 

Just a tip: When people say to be confident, I think they really mean to act as though you are business-like, friendly, and inwardly confortable in a given situation, like an interview. Not that you come off saying stuff that makes it sound like you just KNOW you can do ANYTHING! That often comes across as conceited or overbearing.

 

It will be hard going to school, etc etc, but you can be focused and you've overcome other obstacles in your life. With the help of your support stucture, faculty members, and classmates, you feel that you can do well in PA school as well.

 

As far as answers go, be responsive but try to answer most of the questions briefly and to the point. I suspect about 30-60 seconds is about all anyone wants to hear from anyone else.

 

Good luck!

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  • 7 months later...
Guest pilot0874

Thank you all for all of the helpful information. The one thing that I am still having problems with though is the question in regards to why become a PA vs NP vs MD?

In my state PAs and NPs have pretty much the same job except NPs can work under their own license. There is the differences between the "nursing" and "medical" models, but what does that actually mean when it comes to providing patient care?

The reasons I honestly have for being a PA are:

-2 1/2 years of training. I am 33 and really do not want to go to school for 4 years and then residency for another 3. The title is not important to me. I really do not care about having to work under an MDs license. Providing quality care is. The problem with this answer is that it makes me sound lazy and not committed.

- The ability to move around between specialties. MDs are tied to what specialty they choose for residency. NPs can also move into any specialty in my state. I am afraid the adcom would be concerned here because it implies that I would not be happy spending an entire career providing primary care to underserved populations.

Any help would be appreciated.

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I work with several NPs and they are good people and good mid level providers. The big differences you have touched on are:

 

- They are trained to the nurse model. Nothing wrong with that, but it is not the same as the physician model. They are different career fields that are -- at least in my state -- even overseen by different state boards.

 

If you are going to work with physicians, it is good that you are trained in the same manner because you speak the same language and apply similar thought processes in diagnosing and treatment. That's me, a PA, talking and I am sure NPs have their own slant on it. We (at least at the practitioner level) aren't at war; we both do the best we can for our patients and that is what matters.

 

- NPs are generally trained to practice in one area: adult, pediatric, etc. They do move around some, but the PA education approach trains generalists who, at least thus far, are able to move around with relative ease.

 

Not wanting to spend the time going to medical school is reasonable, but it would better to describe that in light of your family and personal commitments, rather than let someone else think you are just taking the path of least resistance.

 

Good luck!

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I explained it as a question of which system would provide me with a better "fit." for the way my brain is wired. I said that I like to approach problem-solving from an angle more based in the scientific method. I was sure to mention that in my previous experience, I knew and worked with some extremely intelligent RNs.

 

So it's not a question of how smart a person is; it's just a question of how a person prefers to operate their brain. Kind of like a "Mac vs. PC" thing. ;)

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