qwerty0984 Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 On 7/23/2019 at 9:48 PM, mlgeyer24 said: Submitted my secondary application last Wednesday! This is my third time applying so hopefully 3rd times the charm! Quick question...did anyone receive a second email with the secondary application instructions? I received the first one and then submitted my secondary and got the confirmation email. Then I received another email with the secondary application instructions. Just want to see if it was a possible glitch in the system. Thanks and Good luck everyone! I did not, I only got the first one. You could email or call and make sure but I wouldn't be too worried since you did get the confirmation email! I am really excited about the interview but nervous, actually will be my first time flying alone haha!! Anyone have any tips in general? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST@PSU Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, qwerty0984 said: I did not, I only got the first one. You could email or call and make sure but I wouldn't be too worried since you did get the confirmation email! I am really excited about the interview but nervous, actually will be my first time flying alone haha!! Anyone have any tips in general? Tips for flying alone or for the interview? I can speak to both. For the interview, just do you. Most candidates really enjoy our intimate, more relaxed (in my opinion, but, of course, still dress the part) style and especially like the standardized patient and TBL (Team Based Learning) portions. For the flight, get a window, relax, and take in the view! You’ll be in Hershey before you know it! Good luck and enjoy the day on campus! -Sue Edited July 25, 2019 by ST@PSU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerty0984 Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Thank you, Sue I am really nervous but super super excited! Do you happen to know if Pennsylvania residents are preferred? They accepted a good portion in the past, but I figure that it's probably because more Penn residents apply! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST@PSU Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 8 hours ago, qwerty0984 said: Thank you, Sue I am really nervous but super super excited! Do you happen to know if Pennsylvania residents are preferred? They accepted a good portion in the past, but I figure that it's probably because more Penn residents apply! I encourage everyone to check out the class profiles available publicly on the Program’s website. Upon review, I am sure you will see ways in which each class is both similar and unique from the others with respect to demographics. The admission’s team is committed to creating classes that are diverse in all aspects which will ultimately increase diversity across the profession as a whole. https://med.psu.edu/physician-assistant/class-profiles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST@PSU Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Hi everyone, I received a question about community outreach efforts engaged in by both PSCOM in general and the PA program specifically. First, I will remind everyone that I respond publicly to messages sent to me privately. In so doing, I honor the commitment to transparency and equality that is paramount to all aspects of our program. I will, however, maintain complete anonymity. Please also know that I post on my own behalf and my posts are not official communications from the Program. In other words, I am not guided by the Program as to what I should (or should not) say. With regards to community outreach, there are many opportunities for Penn State PA students through both the Program and the College. Lion Care is a student run free clinic located in Harrisburg where, in addition to providing valuable services and care, PA and MD students collaborate as a team and all learners get real-life experience taking histories and performing physical exams. See link for more information: https://www.lioncare.org/ Additionally, every year students, faculty, and alumni raise money for, and participate in, a meal packing event through the organization Rise Against Hunger. https://www.riseagainsthunger.org/ I am also aware that some of the current and/or recently graduated students have been involved with kids from the Milton Hershey school. This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list. Both the College and the Program are always looking for ways they can give back. I hope this helpful. -Sue, PA-C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliss691 Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 Hello all! I submitted my secondary application on July 23 and received an email yesterday inviting me to interview 8/5! I am insanely excited! Does anyone have a better idea of what the the timed writing sample and the TBL exercise entails? The whole day sounds very extensive and I just want to be as prepared as possible. I hope I can show my best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlgeyer24 Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 (edited) On 7/30/2019 at 9:11 AM, eliss691 said: Hello all! I submitted my secondary application on July 23 and received an email yesterday inviting me to interview 8/5! I am insanely excited! Does anyone have a better idea of what the the timed writing sample and the TBL exercise entails? The whole day sounds very extensive and I just want to be as prepared as possible. I hope I can show my best! Congrats on the interview! Unfortunately I have yet to hear from Penn State, but I am staying optimistic and hopeful. I feel like I have continued to improve my application over the last 3 years, so I am hoping this year I finally get an interview. Penn State is my top choice. I do not know much about the interview day but I have heard that it is very laid back and a small group. The TBL is an activity where the PA students are put into groups and work together on clinical scenarios. I hope that helps a little. Edited August 29, 2019 by mlgeyer24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST@PSU Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 (edited) Hello to all and Congrats to those receiving interview invites! The timed writing consists of several prompts which, as I recall, will elicit your opinion or perspective regarding various topics relevant to the physician assistant profession, healthcare, ethics, etc. You will not need to reference resources or quote facts and you cannot prepare for this in advance beyond what you are probably already doing by reading and staying abreast of current events relevant to healthcare/medicine. TBL, or Team Based Learning, is the teaching and learning concept on which our curriculum is based and is integrated, either formally or informally, into nearly all aspects of didactic year education and extends into clinical year training as well. In fact, I am honored to be part of a new initiative which is incorporating TBL into our professional practice studies across the 2 year period, as led by our medical director, and involves program alumni as TBL team facilitators! In brief, each class of 30 PA students is assigned, by our program director, to one of 5 six-person teams for the duration of the 2 years. Most didactic year courses will have a TBL component during which members within each team work together to respond to clinical scenarios based on a specific focus of study and desired learning objectives. Then, as a whole, each team participates in the larger class discussion contributing its rationale for how to approach the case. TBL sessions (such as those for Clinical Medicine) involve an assigned reading on which students are tested both individually (prior to team and class discussion) and as a team. TYPICALLY, only PA students participate in TBL within our own curriculum (with the MD students utilizing PBL-problem based learning- in their curriculum), however, guest from within the College do join in from time to time. And, for those who will be interviewing, you will be some of those guests!! Usually taking place as your day concludes, you will be placed within a first year TBL team and encouraged to interact with the students as they participate in an actual (ie for points/grades) TBL session. You will NOT be expected to contribute (academically) in any way and will not be assigned the associated reading. You will NOT be evaluated during this portion of the interview and it does not factor in to an admissions decision. For candidates, the TBL session is YOUR opportunity to really experience the PSU PA program and immerse yourself with the students. Relax and make the most of it! Best of luck! -Sue, PA-C, PSU PA Class of 2017 Edited July 31, 2019 by ST@PSU syntax, clarification 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST@PSU Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 Hi everyone, Here is an article from May 2017 about TBL at Penn State. My apologies for not including it with my last post- it took a little digging for me to find. https://pennstatemedicine.org/2017/05/10/team-based-learning-sets-college-of-medicine-physician-assistant-program-apart/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST@PSU Posted August 2, 2019 Share Posted August 2, 2019 Hi everyone, As mentioned above, our Program’s annual fundraising efforts go towards the purchase of meals for Rise Against Hunger- a campaign that culminates in the packaging of the meals by students, faculty, and friends of the Program. Read more about last year’s event here: https://pennstatehealthnews.org/2018/10/physician-assistant-program-students-lead-effort-to-send-meals-to-families-in-need/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ST@PSU Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Hi everyone, How was interview day? I hope you enjoyed your time in Hershey! PSCOM and Penn State Health Hershey Medical Center (moving forward PSHMC) is, what I believe, the perfect blend of academic tertiary care within a community focused hospital and health system. It’s a great place to learn! Hershey also has a lot to offer in your “free time” with lots of great things going on in town as well as not-so-far places like Harrisburg, Philly, Baltimore, NYC, and (of course) the PSU main campus in State College. I hope some of you got to explore! Below is a link to an article I found about how to go about shadowing. I have participated in, or am aware of, all the resources mentioned and they are excellent options. In particular, I agree with the recommendation of joining a state organization because it gives you access to a lot of resources, opens doors for networking, and looks great on a resume. I also like this group “Medgeeks” for pre-PAs. One of the co-founders, the author of this article, Dan, is a PSU Class of 2016 alum. Check them out! https://medgeeks.co/articles/shadowing-a-pa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgd0303 Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Does PSU have a cadaver lab? I don’t remember seeing it on the tour or being mentioned during the presentation. If so, how many students per cadaver and is it full dissection? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliss691 Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 6 minutes ago, tgd0303 said: Does PSU have a cadaver lab? I don’t remember seeing it on the tour or being mentioned during the presentation. If so, how many students per cadaver and is it full dissection? Hey, Yes they have a cadaver lab! The students talked about it during the lunch and said that it is about 4 students per cadaver. It sounds like full dissection that they do throughout the entire year. The interview day was really great, and I hope I impressed them as much they impressed me, but who knows! Their interviews were generally more of a conversational tone, and they genuinely seemed to be trying to get to know you rather than interrogate you. Good luck to everyone else 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmaidk Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 Anyone else heard anything back recently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKao2PA Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 On 8/10/2019 at 3:37 PM, emmaidk said: Anyone else heard anything back recently? Not yet! I interviewed 8/2 and am waiting for news. They said we'd get notified by September 2nd (for those who interviewed my date) and that it'd take 1-2 weeks for them to get together as a committee to review decisions and another 1-2 weeks to notify applicants. The wait is arguably one of the hardest parts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caralavecch Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 Hey guys! does anyone know if psu sends confirmation that GRE scores were received as well? Ive gotten confirmations for everything else but not GRE--just wondering if thats normal and they have everything or if i should check with admissions. Thanks and good luck everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerty0984 Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 35 minutes ago, caralavecch said: Hey guys! does anyone know if psu sends confirmation that GRE scores were received as well? Ive gotten confirmations for everything else but not GRE--just wondering if thats normal and they have everything or if i should check with admissions. Thanks and good luck everyone! I think I got a confirmation for my application but not for GRE scores, I think for that I just checked the status on CASPA. Someone correct me if I'm wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKao2PA Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 Interviewed 8/2 and just got the call from Chris, the program director, that I've been accepted! I'M ABSOLUTELY ECSTATIC!! 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrePaChrisie Posted August 17, 2019 Share Posted August 17, 2019 16 hours ago, jyk38pa said: Interviewed 8/2 and just got the call from Chris, the program director, that I've been accepted! I'M ABSOLUTELY ECSTATIC!! Congrats!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwerty0984 Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 I am assuming no one else has heard back, at least for an acceptance, and the waiting is absolutely excruciating!!! I got five spam calls the other day, an increase from the usual, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JchurchPA24 Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 Nope. Nothing for me yet and every call is killing me too haha. I interviewed Aug. 2nd. hopefully we get calls soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessiU Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 I haven’t heard anything back yet either, and I interviewed August 1st. I’m hoping to hear something soon because waiting is driving me crazy, good luck everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JchurchPA24 Posted August 27, 2019 Share Posted August 27, 2019 Just got an email from them saying they want another month to review my application and make their final decision. Kind of frustrating after waiting a month already but not a bad sign I guess. Anyone else get this email or any word? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisishard Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 Just got an interview for September 19th!!! So excited. I have a long history with the Hershey Medical Center and I'm so grateful to be interviewing at a hospital I have so much respect for. Good luck to everyone applying! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SprJaneAust Posted August 29, 2019 Share Posted August 29, 2019 18 hours ago, thisishard said: Just got an interview for September 19th!!! So excited. I have a long history with the Hershey Medical Center and I'm so grateful to be interviewing at a hospital I have so much respect for. Good luck to everyone applying! That's awesome! Good luck to you. Do you remember when your application/supplemental was verified? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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