RHC81 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 How does one determine if a PA school is "good" or not? "Good" meaning well-respected by potential employers and known for producing competent and well-prepared PAs. Obviously, the Ivy Leagues are probably well-respected, as are some others frequently mentioned here. But, for those of us not planning on Ivy League, how do we know? How do we determine if the school is worth the investment we are making? Do PANCE pass rates tell the whole story? Presuming I'm invited to interview at all the schools to which I apply, how do I differentiate among them? I'm not intending to start any sort of school-bashing thread, BTW. Just in general. Also, presume all personal factors are equal, like family/friends nearby, location preference, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 i do not think it is whether a school is good or not, it is whether it will be a good fit. Big difference. What are the teaching styles, and do they match your learning style? Are the faculty to laid back for you or are they too tense for you? Do you need small classes vs big classes? Do they emphasize anything in particular and does that emphasis match what you want? It is a very intense 2+ years and you want to be in the best environment to succeed... Plus how does the program respond to when life happens and you have to attend to personal details? Some programs are very rigid with their attendance policies while others are more flexible... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted December 31, 2011 Moderator Share Posted December 31, 2011 all else being equal older schools are probably a better bet than newer schools. quality of rotations to me is the most important factor in choosing a pa school. many new programs have lots of poor quality rotation sites and preceptors that the older programs have already gotten rid of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calad Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 What do you do to identify good rotation sites vs bad ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted December 31, 2011 Moderator Share Posted December 31, 2011 What do you do to identify good rotation sites vs bad ones? talk to current students. ask about availability of rotations for all students, not just some. for example some schools in my area only give obgyn and peds rotations to women because they don't have enough preceptors and most of these preceptors prefer female students. not acceptable. you won't deliver babies and 1st assist c-sections during the "extra fp" rotation they make you do to make up for not having enough ob sites. some students have told me they had to do rotations where they were treated as medical assistants. also not acceptable. go for the older, well established program and you won't have to worry about this. also ask about electives. can you do a trauma surgery rotation? ICU? CT surgery? ortho? nephrology? (insert whatever your main specialty of interest is) if the answer is no then look elsewhere. many programs can give you a rotation in whatever you want. my program had gyn oncology surgery rotations for those interested in that specialty for example. they had a peds er rotation(which I did), etc any program younger than 15 yrs is suspect as far as I am concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calad Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 talk to current students. ask about availability of rotations for all students, not just some.for example some schools in my area only give obgyn and peds rotations to women because they don't have enough preceptors and most of these preceptors prefer female students. not acceptable. you won't deliver babies and 1st assist c-sections during the "extra fp" rotation they make you do to make up for not having enough ob sites. some students have told me they had to do rotations where they were treated as medical assistants. also not acceptable. go for the older, well established program and you won't have to worry about this. also ask about electives. can you do a trauma surgery rotation? ICU? CT surgery? ortho? nephrology? (insert whatever your main specialty of interest is) if the answer is no then look elsewhere. many programs can give you a rotation in whatever you want. my program had gyn oncology surgery rotations for those interested in that specialty for example. they had a peds er rotation(which I did), etc any program younger than 15 yrs is suspect as far as I am concerned. Thanks, EMEDPA. I'll have to archive this for when im going on interviews next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 In this order, IMO 1. What do current students think of the program 2. How you perceived the instructors and administration. 3. Rotation sites 4. How easily graduates get a job 5. PANCE pass rates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.