gumbi Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I'm reading this book by Andrew Rodican about how to get into PA school and he suggests getting an interview with the PA program director. But he doesn't say what to ask or talk to them about? A lot of my questions can be answered on the web site or by admissions counselors. Any ideas on what to talk to them about? He said it helps put a face to a name. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Go to an open house. Many times the director will be present and you will have the opportunity to speak to him/her in a more informal setting. I would only insist on face time if I was concerned about something in the program. Perhaps the stability of the leadership if the program was new or in transition, or if there had been issues with the curriculum or accreditation. Or maybe if I had a question about the philosophy of the school/program. Those are the kinds of big-picture things that might be better answered by the head honcho. YMMV, and as a student I know my director is always available to me. But I also know he's incredibly busy and I respect his valuable time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sealer04tx Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Open houses are the best way. In addition to the above, I would also ask why they chose to come to the program and why they have chosen to stay. Let them talk about what they feel is important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumbi Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 Thank you. That helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Open houses are the best way. In addition to the above, I would also ask why they chose to come to the program and why they have chosen to stay. I agree that open houses are really the best way and these are really good questions IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Id ask what percentage of students pass PANCE, and what the instructor/student ratio is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 "what kind and how much scotch will you require in order for me to attend your program?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiovolffemtp Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Ask about speaking to graduates from the past 1-5 years. That way you can get a perspective on what they thought of the program and how well it prepared them for the work world. You may also be able to get a perspective of the program's reputation as compared to others because these graduates may work for employers who have hired grads from other programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contrarian Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 To help "put a face to a name"... Ask the PD this: "If 50 students pay you $80,000 each to teach themselves medicine for a yr... then spend another yr in clerkships with un-paid, volunteer preceptors... where does the money go"...??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taotaox1 Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Don't ask questions if you don't have genuine questions. It's usually obvious, and you run the danger of asking a question that they already answer or is easily acessible on the website. It happened to a guy at one inteview I went to and the staff member got annoyed. If you want your face to be remebered, just say thank you and shake a hand or two. Appropriate eye contact for the win. On a side note contrarian, I did ask one set of interviewers at one of the (much) more expensive schools how spending the extra 40k over another school I had already been accepted to would make me a better PA. To their credit they actually really liked the question and said so! I pretty much knew the answer (paying for the name mostly, though they phrased it in a less crass fashion) and I was feeling a bit ballsy since I had already decided not to attend. Got waitlisted there so lol :) Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted February 13, 2012 Moderator Share Posted February 13, 2012 do you actually have enough rotation sites for all your students of both sexes to do ob and peds rotations or do you make them do "extra fp" because you lack an acceptable # of preceptors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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