carmenwong312 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Does it matter what PA school you went to? Like once you graduate, do employers weigh heavily on the pa school you went to? OR as long as your GPA is high for PA school is what matters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Overall in the medical field when it comes to jobs, all that matters is licensure and experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaston Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 The school you choose can actually go a long way towards helping you get your first job, particularly in the communities around the school. If it has a good/great rep in the area then you will have an advantage when applying for that first job out of school when you have exactly ZERO real world experience beyond your rotations. The opposite is true as well. If the school has a rep for putting out poor, unprepared PA's then you will struggle with finding that first job. I can't tell you how many times on my rotations I had someone tell me that they will never hire new grads from certain programs because of how unprepared they are. That being said, after you have your first job then your experience takes precedence, the school you graduated from has less value to it. Same with GPA. My current job (first one out of school) never asked about GPA during the interview. They knew that the program I graduated from produces high quality PA's. So, yes. The school you attend can potentially influence your ability to get a job right out of school. GPA probably not so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acozadd Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 So, yes. The school you attend can potentially influence your ability to get a job right out of school. GPA probably not so much. Disagree on the last point. I received several interviews because of my academic performance. I used my academic performance as leverage for negotiations for my first contract as well, which worked in my favor. It was something that was commented on positively in every interview I attended. Not to brag, but for an FYI so you know where I am coming from, I graduated with a 4.0 from undergrad and will graduated with a 4.0 and first in my class from PA school. I think it opened several doors for me in the job hunting process and ultimately, my starting contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 5, 2012 Moderator Share Posted March 5, 2012 after you get your 1st job your board scores will help you keep it. I was called into my chief's office the day he got my board scores so he could give me congrats, tell me how bright my future looked, etc totally out of the blue.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acozadd Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 after you get your 1st job your board scores will help you keep it.I was called into my chief's office the day he got my board scores so he could give me congrats, tell me how bright my future looked, etc totally out of the blue.... BRB going into specialty practice and desperately cramming for boards every 6 years. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 5, 2012 Moderator Share Posted March 5, 2012 depends on the specialty. some have enough primary care so that panre is a breeze. if you do something like ortho though you probably do need to study quite a bit. I didn't study for my last panre and got my highest score to date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaston Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Disagree on the last point. I received several interviews because of my academic performance. I used my academic performance as leverage for negotiations for my first contract as well, which worked in my favor. It was something that was commented on positively in every interview I attended. Not to brag, but for an FYI so you know where I am coming from, I graduated with a 4.0 from undergrad and will graduated with a 4.0 and first in my class from PA school. I think it opened several doors for me in the job hunting process and ultimately, my starting contract. 4.0 is very impressive. No, I didn't graduate with a 4.0, but my GPA was pretty darn good. Never had a single interview comment on it. Perhaps it was due to the types of job I was applying for. Who knows. In my experience the jobs cared more about the program I came from knowing that, regardless of my GPA, I had been well prepared. But again, this is my own experience. It seems that some jobs are very concerned about your GPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duchesskre Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Disagree on the last point. I received several interviews because of my academic performance. I used my academic performance as leverage for negotiations for my first contract as well, which worked in my favor. It was something that was commented on positively in every interview I attended. Not to brag, but for an FYI so you know where I am coming from, I graduated with a 4.0 from undergrad and will graduated with a 4.0 and first in my class from PA school. I think it opened several doors for me in the job hunting process and ultimately, my starting contract. It may have helped you but to put things in perspective some schools including the top rated Duke produces TOP NOTCH PAs and has a fantastic rep nationwide and that school does not rank students nor do you have a GPA...the program is pass/fail...I'm not sure how you and your 4.0 would compare to a Duke PA school graduate if you were to be competing for a job...I'd have to think in that instance GPA would not be a factor...just a thought tho, who knows, maybe it would..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Don't forget factoring in your CV when applying for a job. Your life didn't begin at PA school graduation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acozadd Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 It may have helped you but to put things in perspective some schools including the top rated Duke produces TOP NOTCH PAs and has a fantastic rep nationwide and that school does not rank students nor do you have a GPA...the program is pass/fail...I'm not sure how you and your 4.0 would compare to a Duke PA school graduate if you were to be competing for a job...I'd have to think in that instance GPA would not be a factor...just a thought tho, who knows, maybe it would..... The only reason I mentioned it was because 1) it helped me secure interviews being a soon-to-be new graduate and 2) I was able to use it as leverage for contract negotiations. The reply came back "The group feels it is reasonable, given your academic performance and interview to blah blah..." So it may not matter in all cases, but in mine it certainly did. When you have, for example, 10 new grads applying for 1 job, what can companies look at to weed some out? You need to have SOMETHING that helps you stand out. I know another member, Kargiver, went to yale and he mentioned that the name recognition of his program impressed those where he works and helped land him a job (old old post somewhere but it stuck with me). As Just Steve mentioned, your life before PA school can help as well. If you had 10 years and a medic and are applying to an ED position, you will shine above all other applications, especially other new graduates. So there are many things that can help, it isn't just school, GPA, past work experience, etc. I am a bit weary when we start talking about program rankings and the students that a school produces. I've done plenty of rotations with students from the #1 (now #2 apparently) rated school and I haven't been impressed. I was very impressed by a student from a school that I had to flip through several pages to even find where their school was ranked. I feel that you get out what you put in to PA school, regardless of which program you attend. Of all the schools I applied to, the one I am attending is the "lowest ranked" but I can say that after inteviewing at the other schools and personally knowing others that attended them, I am underwhelmed. To each their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsman2PA Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Don't forget factoring in your CV when applying for a job. Your life didn't begin at PA school graduation. And Steve drops the trump card! But truthfully for some it does start then... I've heard of several PAs who landed their first gig by leveraging prior HCE. It makes perfect sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Does it matter what PA school you went to? Like once you graduate, do employers weigh heavily on the pa school you went to? OR as long as your GPA is high for PA school is what matters? It depends on the employer and any relationship with the program or graduates they may have IMHO. I second what Just Steve & Vaston said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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