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VIRGINIA: EVMS CASPA Cycle for the Class of 2022


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1 hour ago, medic1210 said:

I think it is safe to say we now have our answer. I don’t know the size or makeup of round three or when to expect it. 

Luckily, I’m enrolled in a Masters of Medical Science now. So rather than fret over this I’m going to prepare for my cadaver lab. 

Is your end goal still PA or are you leaning towards Med School with the Medical Masters?

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1 hour ago, medic1210 said:

What percentage of the 2k that apply every year are members here? We saw how many folks with interviews from R1? If there are ~100, that means we are certainly not a representative sample. 

I agree. It is likely that 3x-4x the number of offers received and posted here are actually sent out. On average there is 350 offers, 180 interviews, and 90 acceptances. It looks like there are 5 interview sessions so each session will have about 30 interviewees which is standard from previous experience. 

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I would like to bring up the fact that medics are placed in the same boat as a ed scribe when it comes to healthcare experience when pa schools look at it. I am sorry it does not even come close. I have never seen a scribe save someone’s life by providing direct one on one patient care. I have been on the frontline for a while and see what is selected so it don’t surprise me the medics not getting interviews. If you don’t have the grades you are not getting in doesn’t matter how good of healthcare experience you have. 

Edited by Paramedic2pa222
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Straight from EVMS's guidebook:

- Healthcare professions that typically generate direct patient contact include nursing (RN, LPN), EMT or paramedic, military (corpsmen, medics or med techs), athletic trainer, patient care technician (nurse’s aide), surgical assistant, clinic/medical assistant, respiratory technologist, mental health worker and clinical research assistant.

- Healthcare related professions that generally do not include hands-on patient contact include inhospital transporter, CPR or ACLS instructor, lifeguard, non-clinical research assistant, hospital volunteerism, unit clerk, pharmacy technician, scribe (in any medical setting) and others.

There are some schools that emphasize grades and some that look more holistically and take into account more of a persons work/life experience. 

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13 hours ago, medic1210 said:

I’m 33. Im married and sane and well-adjusted(ish). I’m a seasoned paramedic who has worked 60 hour weeks for ten years. PA should be my next logical step. 

But I also have had the opportunity to work with a fair number of non-trad DO students in their late 30s and 40s lately. One a PA who went back. She’s 43. Our best PA in my ED is going back at 38. I’m blessed that I have made connections at our local DO school (faculty and BOD members, alumni, etc) because of my work . Maybe I should go to medical school. No kids. Wife has stable job. Acing my Masters currently. 

Maybe . . .

It's all about whether you want more money, more in depth knowledge, total autonomy, and if you want call the shots 100% of the time. If that's what you want and you're single go for it. I know 1-2 MDs who were PAs before and primarily went to PA school because of these 4 things.

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13 hours ago, patobe82 said:

@pafuture1234 it’s only about 5 k less per semester than in state so it’s still expensive in state I feel!


 

Lol,  you're right. It's still going to roughly equate to ~100k + in loans in total so "cheaper" is really subjective at this point

 

Edited by pafuture1234
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2 hours ago, pafuture1234 said:

It's all about whether you want more money, more in depth knowledge, total autonomy, and if you want call the shots 100% of the time. If that's what you want and you're single go for it. I know 1-2 MDs who were PAs before and primarily went to PA school because of these 4 things.

All valid points (except money, I just want enough to pay back loans and buy a primary residence on the ocean, East coast, can do that as PA). 

But anyway, maybe. I’m killing my SMP now. It’ll prep me for either choice. Have some time to ruminate on it now 😂😂

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I got my interview invite on Monday, June 3rd. I chose Friday July 12th, 1245 slot for the interview. I was a medic in the army. Currently a medical technologist. My stats at the time of application are as follows:

Overall GPA: 3.80 Pre-reqs grades are mostly A's with a couple of B's. 

last 30 credit hours: 4.0 

HCE: 4760

PCE: 1200

Shadowing: 30 hours with a PA and an MD at a urgent care (Still going every now and then and I follow whoever is available)

Volunteer hours: 600 (Homeless clinic, an assisted living place and at a dental clinic while in the army)

Interesting fact: I had to take an English language proficiency test just for EVMS as my native language is not English (It was 4 hours long and called TOEFL, expensive to take one too). However I did do my undergrad here in the US. 

Good luck to all those who have been invited and to those waiting to hear..

 

Edited by GemPA
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Guest SecondCareerPrePA

If anyone is planning to meet up with other applicants (and the weather is decent), there's a few restaurants with large decks in Norfolk you might want to try.  Grain in the Hilton on Granby & Main has two patios on the fifth floor, great views, and a fire pit.  Leone's on Granby Street has a rooftop deck.  And Supper on 21st Street is in Ghent near the school, and also has a nice rooftop deck to accommodate a large group of people.  Of course, a lot of the restaurants in Ghent and Downtown Norfolk have outdoor seating, but most are small streetside patios.  The Blue Moon TapHouse at the Waterside District has the largest patio, and cornhole, but last time I checked their menu, they cut it down drastically.

Edited by SecondCareerPrePA
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I received an invite to interview at 9a EST this morning! I will traveling from Montana and interviewing Monday July 15th at 12:45p. Would love to meet up the weekend before. 

My stats: 

GPA: 3.2

Last 40 credits: 4.0

PCE: 6000 hours +

Volunteer: 250

Shadowing: 65

Does anyone have an approximate idea of how many seats are available to third wave interviews? Are seats decided upon after each interview day?

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On ‎6‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 6:58 AM, Paramedic2pa222 said:

I would like to bring up the fact that medics are placed in the same boat as a ed scribe when it comes to healthcare experience when pa schools look at it. I am sorry it does not even come close. I have never seen a scribe save someone’s life by providing direct one on one patient care. I have been on the frontline for a while and see what is selected so it don’t surprise me the medics not getting interviews. If you don’t have the grades you are not getting in doesn’t matter how good of healthcare experience you have. 

I'd agree with you on that and there is some really good practical experience that comes from being a paramedic that can't be competed with. However, I wouldn't downplay ED scribes either, a really good, competent scribe will actively learn the medical decision making skills needed to become a great practitioner. I can't say they have the ability of leadership and making decisions on the fly but it does carry a significant experience that a lot of people downplay. I'd say in terms of what they do, scribes should be weighted more than CNA, pharmacy tech, etc., but still wouldn't say they are close enough to Paramedic, RT, RN, or etc. Those guys should definitely get extra points on those apps as those are much more specialized training and skills.

Also, in the end, admissions want to see your grades regardless of your experience. Why? Because they have to make sure we can handle the load and pass their program. There are thousands of people with thousands of hours of experience but some don't have the grades to show they can handle the amount of rigorous information needed to become a practitioner. Sometimes even with grades and experience, the person doesn't have the skills to become a practitioner. Look at RNs who go for their online NP degree. I know only 1 PA who despite his experience as a medic wasn't as good compared to other PAs and another PA who was really nice but she didn't want to handle anything crazy (in the multiple ERs I've worked). On the other hand, I can already name several NPs who wish they had gone to PA school, 3-4 who, despite their many years of RN experience, started out really slow and were not confident (and still are somewhat), and their are some seasoned RN's who got their NP degree but just couldn't make it as an NP and are working as nurses.

 

Sorry for the rant, but this just goes to show why a holistic approach on the candidate AND the school is important. We can definitely agree that EVMS and a handful of other schools plays their hands smart and looks at other GPAs too such as GRAD, Pre-req and Last 40hours to make a better, fairer decision as well. You don't want someone who has 4.0 GPA but no compassion, empathy or experience in healthcare or with patients (which is something that is plaguing the medical schools somewhat and I believe there was an article published about it too) 

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