What's in a name?

[Boulder]

Hi all,

 

Curious if any of you had any input on just how important the name of your program was/is in your post-PA school life. Did it open doors or help you land a first job? I have recently been accepted into a few different programs, including the Yale Physician Associate program- which I absolutely loved during my interview. My question is, is it wrong to factor in the potential clout of having attended a prestigious university such as Yale into my decision making process? Should this even be a factor in my decision making process? I understand that there are many other deciding factors that are MUCH more important in determining the right fit, and ultimately I am so happy (and relieved) to have the opportunity to attend any program. All roads lead to PA, just interested in your $0.02. Thanks!

[EMEDPA]

in my opinion the single most important factor when choosing a pa program is quality of rotations and availability of rotations in fields you are interested in. generally older programs(>10 yrs old) have worked out all the kinks in their system and gotten rid of bad preceptors and sites, etc.

regarding the name, it may help you get your first job but after that it's all about you.

Yale is a great program. I used to work with Dr. Sadler, the program founder.

I guess I would have to know where else you had been accepted to help make comparisons. it is certainly a top ten program up there with duke, emory, stony brook, U. wa, drexel, GW, etc in the real world (aside from what u.s. news may think). I would think long and hard about turning down a Yale acceptance unless you really wanted surgery and got into cornell or really wanted peds and got into colorado, etc

[HopefulPA]

IMHO I don't think it matters that much. Choose a school that will give you the support you need. Good PANCE Pass rate, and like EMEDPA said good clinical rotations. If both are equal go with the cheaper one.