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2020 Yale Online Application Cycle


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I thought about this all night and hesitated to revisit this today, but I'm so glad I did.  So I just wanted to jump back and say thank you to everyone else for stepping in. I hesitated to "feed the troll" initially, but felt so personally insulted by that person's remarks -- especially since they tried to insult me directly. I can take a hit, though.

Their comments very obviously have no merit, which is why I think it is important to take the intellectual high road while forcing them to own up. There is someone behind that account who feels wronged, but they are obviously and irretrievably immature and irrational. That is why it is much easier to expose their lack of understanding and grasp on reality by making them answer for themselves.

Lastly, I feel protective of those who have poured their hearts out this summer, and in all the years past, to better themselves and to set a precedent through this program. I am proud to be part of this program and to learn from those who stand for their convictions while keeping their minds and hearts open. Everyone has something valuable to give. But, in life, when our minds are made up from the get-go, we won't be open to learning from anyone else. Then we'd be cheating ourselves.

Edited by ScullyAMA
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2 hours ago, lennythepa said:

Hi everyone! I’m new to posting here, but have been a long time lurker of this forum. I finally made an account a few weeks ago so that I could stop exceeding the page view limit and have since dug into all 92 pages! The community here is so incredibly positive and encouraging. I felt compelled to pop in and say hi after seeing the thoughtful responses to the recent negative post – I’m so impressed by the way that this community responded with considerate and deliberate responses when it can be so easy to “feed the trolls,” as @jamierahsaid.

My application was verified and considered complete on the later end so I’m currently in the “anxiously waiting” stage (thank you to Sanjay for being so supportive and managing my neuroses during the process 😂). Congratulations to everyone who's already been accepted, I'd be so honored to join your cohort! 

Welcome, @lennythepa! I can't believe it is 93 pages in already lol. A record, maybe?

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I’m proud to be apart of a supportive community online . Please do not let one troll out of the entire 93 pages dissuade you ! I’ve researched Yale online for many years now ! I came across an article before it’s inception that discussed this program. I think we all know this and can all appreciate the value of this program . Good luck to all you amazing folks out here ! 

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4 hours ago, ScullyAMA said:

I thought about this all night and hesitated to revisit this today, but I'm so glad I did.  So I just wanted to jump back and say thank you to everyone else for stepping in. I hesitated to "feed the troll" initially, but felt so personally insulted by that person's remarks -- especially since they tried to insult me directly. I can take a hit, though.

I don't want you to think I was implying that you were feeding the trolls. That comment was intended to any potential future posts by that individual or anyone else that will come along to take their place. 

I thought you offered an excellent response to an obviously inflammatory post that allow the individual to either correct a unintended tone to their post or prove that they were just attempting to cause problems.

Edited by jamierah
Grammar, words are hard tonight
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5 minutes ago, jamierah said:

I don't want you to think I was implying that you were feeding the trolls. That comment was intended to any potential future posts by that individual or anyone else that will come along to take their place. 

I thought you offered an excellent response to an obviously inflammatory post that allow the individual to either correct a unintended tone to their post or prove that they were just attempting to cause problems.

Thank you @jamierah, no worries 🙂 Sometimes it isn't wise to engage in online conversational combat lol We gotta pick and choose who/what is worth the effort. I've been known to be wrong!

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On 9/10/2020 at 6:29 AM, WBTKPK said:

Hi all, current student here. If you have specific questions about the program from someone who is going through it currently, I would be more than happy to answer them. Obviously everyone is entitled to their opinion about the school, but having been through the program for 9 months now has provided me an opportunity to give you a fair assessment of what it is like to attend. (I have nothing but positive things to say, fwiw).

I’d like to ask you some genera questions about the curriculum and learning. There is info out there on all of this stuff, but all the same, it would be good to have your thoughts. 

- Strengths/Weaknesses of the education overall?  “Weakness” doesnt mean bad per se, but the thing you may say the student may want to cover a little more ground on. Strengths?  Anything they’re particularly good at?

- Ive read that they have used a production company to help produce the online lessons. What do you think of the lessons generally?  Compared to, say, an educational channel on youtube; compared to, say, the fairly low-quality “camera in a classroom” setup common elsewhere?

- What has the early clinical stuff been like?  Is it really site dependent on how much you can learn and what you can pick up?  Or is there a, um...rubric(?) for it?  The early patient contact is one of the big draws for a lot of us, I think, because most of us have a lot of work experience

- Can you comment on the Problem Based Learning?  In my imagination this sounds awesome and very clever - can you comment on how this works out in actuality?  There is some fear I think with group experiences because, frankly, we’ve probably all been in tough group situations. Though, PA applicants are a pretty distinct subset where effort isn’t usually an issue

- Are there any other educational tips you think would be relevant?  Is there something you wish you had reviewed before beginning that you didnt think of beforehand?  Etc.?

Thanks for taking the time when you are able to

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53 minutes ago, Ambrose said:

I’d like to ask you some genera questions about the curriculum and learning. There is info out there on all of this stuff, but all the same, it would be good to have your thoughts. 

- Strengths/Weaknesses of the education overall?  “Weakness” doesnt mean bad per se, but the thing you may say the student may want to cover a little more ground on. Strengths?  Anything they’re particularly good at?

- Ive read that they have used a production company to help produce the online lessons. What do you think of the lessons generally?  Compared to, say, an educational channel on youtube; compared to, say, the fairly low-quality “camera in a classroom” setup common elsewhere?

- What has the early clinical stuff been like?  Is it really site dependent on how much you can learn and what you can pick up?  Or is there a, um...rubric(?) for it?  The early patient contact is one of the big draws for a lot of us, I think, because most of us have a lot of work experience

- Can you comment on the Problem Based Learning?  In my imagination this sounds awesome and very clever - can you comment on how this works out in actuality?  There is some fear I think with group experiences because, frankly, we’ve probably all been in tough group situations. Though, PA applicants are a pretty distinct subset where effort isn’t usually an issue

- Are there any other educational tips you think would be relevant?  Is there something you wish you had reviewed before beginning that you didnt think of beforehand?  Etc.?

Thanks for taking the time when you are able to

Of course! More than happy to help! I cannot speak for our program vs any other program since I have only attended Yale PA Online, but I'll share some of my own experience.

- Strengths/Weaknesses of the education overall?  “Weakness” doesnt mean bad per se, but the thing you may say the student may want to cover a little more ground on. Strengths?  Anything they’re particularly good at?

Strengths: The design of the curriculum just makes good sense to me. We have an organ-system based curriculum, so we learn everything related to a specific organ system together. When we're on cardiology, for example, we learn all of the anatomy, embryology, disease processes, pathophysiology, pharmacology, physical exam, diagnostic tests, etc, for the heart. It helps make it relevant in a way that you can actually remember. I know some other programs teach by subject so you get all of the anatomy early on, followed by physiology, etc and then they go back to the pathology later. I think I'd find it very difficult to learn something and then have to remember it in a way that is applicable over 6-9 months later.  The next strength of the program is Problem-Based learning. I think this is one of the most exceptional features of the program and one that is fairly unique to PA Online. We get to spend 6 hours a week working through actual cases and it allows us to try and fail and succeed all in an environment where we can actually learn and grow. Not to mention, our faculty are exceptional, and getting to spend 6 hours with them learning from their (very diverse and interesting) experiences, is extremely valuable. I also find it helps us to get to know faculty and our classmates better. I really don't have any complaints about the program - the only dissatisfaction I've experienced with the program was that the social parts of our first immersion got a bit truncated due to COVID (we were literally in New Haven in the first week of March as NYC COVID was exploding) but this is not the fault of the program, rather is a feature of COVID making everything uncertain. Important to note that all of the academic parts we DID get to do.

- Ive read that they have used a production company to help produce the online lessons. What do you think of the lessons generally?  Compared to, say, an educational channel on youtube; compared to, say, the fairly low-quality “camera in a classroom” setup common elsewhere?

The production is better than any online educational experience I have ever had. They are filmed in a studio, the slides are picture-in-picture (and they are provided at the beginning of every week so you can mark them up, add them to an online notetaking software, or print them). The thing I actually like the most is that there is a transcript provided that is searchable. So if a lecturer says something and I remember that I want to go back to it later, I can search up a keyword and every time the lecturer said it will be highlighted. It saves me HOURS. Also, you can listen to the lectures on any speed you want, so if someone is talking fast you can slow down, or of course, you can speed up if someone is a slower talker.

- What has the early clinical stuff been like?  Is it really site dependent on how much you can learn and what you can pick up?  Or is there a, um...rubric(?) for it?  The early patient contact is one of the big draws for a lot of us, I think, because most of us have a lot of work experience

CEED is by far the best part of the program. There is certainly variability in what people get to do in their CEED sites, for example, I don't see any peds at my clinic and some people do. Some preceptors are more liberal while others prefer to be more hands on, but nonetheless, we have an opportunity to practice Physical Exam skills, taking histories, etc. This is a huge benefit since we are all scattered across the country. I have never heard of a program that offers as much clinical experience in the first year as Yale does. So, at my particular CEED site, I work with a Nurse Practitioner 1:1 6 hours a week. I've been there since May and currently, I go in and go through the history, do all of the physical exam, and come out and present to my preceptor. She almost always asks what I want to do, and many times, my plan is what we use. Obviously if I don't know something she will tell me and we will talk about it, but generally I have a LOT of latitude. I have done pap tests, breast exams, small derm procedures, etc, on my own (with a chaperone) so far. I don't think it is really much different than what I would be doing during clinical year, tbh.

- Can you comment on the Problem Based Learning?  In my imagination this sounds awesome and very clever - can you comment on how this works out in actuality?  There is some fear I think with group experiences because, frankly, we’ve probably all been in tough group situations. Though, PA applicants are a pretty distinct subset where effort isn’t usually an issue

Yes - if you are going into the PA profession, you need to not only be comfortable working in a group, but you need to enjoy it. Your colleagues at PAO will be some of the most interesting and smart people you will ever be in a group with, so there is very little worry about those nightmarish group projects we all had in undergrad where we did 99% of the work (I know you've all been there!) In terms of PBL, it is not unstructured - you will learn that there is a very specific way that you want to go about asking questions related to the patient history, there's a systematic way that you want to approach physical exam, etc. The professors will spend a lot of time teaching this approach to your group in the first semester. Now, we are a lot more experienced doing this so our group format is a bit looser. At first we were all terrified that we would miss something so we asked every single question. Now we know a lot better how to take a focused history, but that's through just doing it a lot. For each PBL, we all log into our professor's zoom room three times a week. The first day, we get our case, can ask any questions of our patients that we want (literally anything from "where does it hurt?" to "have you ever had any surgeries?" to "what are your hopes and dreams?" (not kidding on that last one - it's my favorite!). After we go through the history, we can do physical exam (our professor "drives" the software, so we ask for what we want and they share their screen or give us the results). Usually we stop there on Monday and we each take a "Learning Issue" which can be something that we didn't know in the case (there is always a large list of things we don't know), or something you're interested in. You put together your LI and on Wednesday's PBL each person presents their LI. After everyone goes, you get any additional physical exams done that you want and you may order labs and/or do other diagnostic tests. Sometimes, you'll know right away what the diagnosis is based on the labs you ordered, sometimes you have to do more testing. Everyone takes another LI on Wednesday. On Fridays, we come up with the treatment plan and everyone presents their LI from Wednesday. The great part is that after each week, you get a ready-made study guide that has 24 different aspects of the topic (because we all put our learning issues in a shared onenote). AND you get to go through the case with a professor there to help answer questions. They allow us to flail and oftentimes (especially in the beginning) it can be frustrating, but it really teaches you how to think instead of just regurgitating facts or guidelines. I have found it has really translated to my success at my CEED site.

- Are there any other educational tips you think would be relevant?  Is there something you wish you had reviewed before beginning that you didnt think of beforehand?  Etc.?

Not really - your time will be limited in PA school, so I'd encourage you to take care of personal things now that you can. Make sure you have an office space that is set up for you to work in and prepare your family for what is coming. I hadn't had anatomy in over 5 years and hadn't had chemistry and bio in 6 and I did just fine with the coursework. My last piece of advice is that PA school is like a gas - it will take up whatever container you provide for it. If you give it 100 hours a week, you will easily find things to study. It can be done in 40 hours a week. You can have a life. You can stay married or have a hobby, you just have to make the time! Please do reach out if you have more questions - I know it can seem like a daunting process!

Thanks for taking the time when you are able to

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30 minutes ago, WBTKPK said:

Of course! More than happy to help! I cannot speak for our program vs any other program since I have only attended Yale PA Online, but I'll share some of my own experience.

- Strengths/Weaknesses of the education overall?  “Weakness” doesnt mean bad per se, but the thing you may say the student may want to cover a little more ground on. Strengths?  Anything they’re particularly good at?

Strengths: The design of the curriculum just makes good sense to me. We have an organ-system based curriculum, so we learn everything related to a specific organ system together. When we're on cardiology, for example, we learn all of the anatomy, embryology, disease processes, pathophysiology, pharmacology, physical exam, diagnostic tests, etc, for the heart. It helps make it relevant in a way that you can actually remember. I know some other programs teach by subject so you get all of the anatomy early on, followed by physiology, etc and then they go back to the pathology later. I think I'd find it very difficult to learn something and then have to remember it in a way that is applicable over 6-9 months later.  The next strength of the program is Problem-Based learning. I think this is one of the most exceptional features of the program and one that is fairly unique to PA Online. We get to spend 6 hours a week working through actual cases and it allows us to try and fail and succeed all in an environment where we can actually learn and grow. Not to mention, our faculty are exceptional, and getting to spend 6 hours with them learning from their (very diverse and interesting) experiences, is extremely valuable. I also find it helps us to get to know faculty and our classmates better. I really don't have any complaints about the program - the only dissatisfaction I've experienced with the program was that the social parts of our first immersion got a bit truncated due to COVID (we were literally in New Haven in the first week of March as NYC COVID was exploding) but this is not the fault of the program, rather is a feature of COVID making everything uncertain. Important to note that all of the academic parts we DID get to do.

- Ive read that they have used a production company to help produce the online lessons. What do you think of the lessons generally?  Compared to, say, an educational channel on youtube; compared to, say, the fairly low-quality “camera in a classroom” setup common elsewhere?

The production is better than any online educational experience I have ever had. They are filmed in a studio, the slides are picture-in-picture (and they are provided at the beginning of every week so you can mark them up, add them to an online notetaking software, or print them). The thing I actually like the most is that there is a transcript provided that is searchable. So if a lecturer says something and I remember that I want to go back to it later, I can search up a keyword and every time the lecturer said it will be highlighted. It saves me HOURS. Also, you can listen to the lectures on any speed you want, so if someone is talking fast you can slow down, or of course, you can speed up if someone is a slower talker.

- What has the early clinical stuff been like?  Is it really site dependent on how much you can learn and what you can pick up?  Or is there a, um...rubric(?) for it?  The early patient contact is one of the big draws for a lot of us, I think, because most of us have a lot of work experience

CEED is by far the best part of the program. There is certainly variability in what people get to do in their CEED sites, for example, I don't see any peds at my clinic and some people do. Some preceptors are more liberal while others prefer to be more hands on, but nonetheless, we have an opportunity to practice Physical Exam skills, taking histories, etc. This is a huge benefit since we are all scattered across the country. I have never heard of a program that offers as much clinical experience in the first year as Yale does. So, at my particular CEED site, I work with a Nurse Practitioner 1:1 6 hours a week. I've been there since May and currently, I go in and go through the history, do all of the physical exam, and come out and present to my preceptor. She almost always asks what I want to do, and many times, my plan is what we use. Obviously if I don't know something she will tell me and we will talk about it, but generally I have a LOT of latitude. I have done pap tests, breast exams, small derm procedures, etc, on my own (with a chaperone) so far. I don't think it is really much different than what I would be doing during clinical year, tbh.

- Can you comment on the Problem Based Learning?  In my imagination this sounds awesome and very clever - can you comment on how this works out in actuality?  There is some fear I think with group experiences because, frankly, we’ve probably all been in tough group situations. Though, PA applicants are a pretty distinct subset where effort isn’t usually an issue

Yes - if you are going into the PA profession, you need to not only be comfortable working in a group, but you need to enjoy it. Your colleagues at PAO will be some of the most interesting and smart people you will ever be in a group with, so there is very little worry about those nightmarish group projects we all had in undergrad where we did 99% of the work (I know you've all been there!) In terms of PBL, it is not unstructured - you will learn that there is a very specific way that you want to go about asking questions related to the patient history, there's a systematic way that you want to approach physical exam, etc. The professors will spend a lot of time teaching this approach to your group in the first semester. Now, we are a lot more experienced doing this so our group format is a bit looser. At first we were all terrified that we would miss something so we asked every single question. Now we know a lot better how to take a focused history, but that's through just doing it a lot. For each PBL, we all log into our professor's zoom room three times a week. The first day, we get our case, can ask any questions of our patients that we want (literally anything from "where does it hurt?" to "have you ever had any surgeries?" to "what are your hopes and dreams?" (not kidding on that last one - it's my favorite!). After we go through the history, we can do physical exam (our professor "drives" the software, so we ask for what we want and they share their screen or give us the results). Usually we stop there on Monday and we each take a "Learning Issue" which can be something that we didn't know in the case (there is always a large list of things we don't know), or something you're interested in. You put together your LI and on Wednesday's PBL each person presents their LI. After everyone goes, you get any additional physical exams done that you want and you may order labs and/or do other diagnostic tests. Sometimes, you'll know right away what the diagnosis is based on the labs you ordered, sometimes you have to do more testing. Everyone takes another LI on Wednesday. On Fridays, we come up with the treatment plan and everyone presents their LI from Wednesday. The great part is that after each week, you get a ready-made study guide that has 24 different aspects of the topic (because we all put our learning issues in a shared onenote). AND you get to go through the case with a professor there to help answer questions. They allow us to flail and oftentimes (especially in the beginning) it can be frustrating, but it really teaches you how to think instead of just regurgitating facts or guidelines. I have found it has really translated to my success at my CEED site.

- Are there any other educational tips you think would be relevant?  Is there something you wish you had reviewed before beginning that you didnt think of beforehand?  Etc.?

Not really - your time will be limited in PA school, so I'd encourage you to take care of personal things now that you can. Make sure you have an office space that is set up for you to work in and prepare your family for what is coming. I hadn't had anatomy in over 5 years and hadn't had chemistry and bio in 6 and I did just fine with the coursework. My last piece of advice is that PA school is like a gas - it will take up whatever container you provide for it. If you give it 100 hours a week, you will easily find things to study. It can be done in 40 hours a week. You can have a life. You can stay married or have a hobby, you just have to make the time! Please do reach out if you have more questions - I know it can seem like a daunting process!

Thanks for taking the time when you are able to

Thank you for this invaluable information! ☺️

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On 9/10/2020 at 10:22 AM, Jim1504 said:

1.       Diversity- so for you, diversity is based on the school photos.  Did you recognize the LGBTQ students in the photos?  Did you recognize the military veterans in the photos? Did you recognize the students from rural underserved communities in the photo?  There is more to diversity than any photo can show

Hahaha, so basically the rebuttal is that the original poster’s idea of diversity was pretty narrow. The irony made me chuckle

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2 hours ago, Ambrose said:

I’d like to ask you some genera questions about the curriculum and learning. There is info out there on all of this stuff, but all the same, it would be good to have your thoughts. 

- Strengths/Weaknesses of the education overall?  “Weakness” doesnt mean bad per se, but the thing you may say the student may want to cover a little more ground on. Strengths?  Anything they’re particularly good at?

- Ive read that they have used a production company to help produce the online lessons. What do you think of the lessons generally?  Compared to, say, an educational channel on youtube; compared to, say, the fairly low-quality “camera in a classroom” setup common elsewhere?

- What has the early clinical stuff been like?  Is it really site dependent on how much you can learn and what you can pick up?  Or is there a, um...rubric(?) for it?  The early patient contact is one of the big draws for a lot of us, I think, because most of us have a lot of work experience

- Can you comment on the Problem Based Learning?  In my imagination this sounds awesome and very clever - can you comment on how this works out in actuality?  There is some fear I think with group experiences because, frankly, we’ve probably all been in tough group situations. Though, PA applicants are a pretty distinct subset where effort isn’t usually an issue

- Are there any other educational tips you think would be relevant?  Is there something you wish you had reviewed before beginning that you didnt think of beforehand?  Etc.?

Thanks for taking the time when you are able to

Great questions! ☺️

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On 9/11/2020 at 10:45 AM, WBTKPK said:

Of course! More than happy to help! I cannot speak for our program vs any other program since I have only attended Yale PA Online, but I'll share some of my own experience.

- Strengths/Weaknesses of the education overall?  “Weakness” doesnt mean bad per se, but the thing you may say the student may want to cover a little more ground on. Strengths?  Anything they’re particularly good at?

Strengths: The design of the curriculum just makes good sense to me. We have an organ-system based curriculum, so we learn everything related to a specific organ system together. When we're on cardiology, for example, we learn all of the anatomy, embryology, disease processes, pathophysiology, pharmacology, physical exam, diagnostic tests, etc, for the heart. It helps make it relevant in a way that you can actually remember. I know some other programs teach by subject so you get all of the anatomy early on, followed by physiology, etc and then they go back to the pathology later. I think I'd find it very difficult to learn something and then have to remember it in a way that is applicable over 6-9 months later.  The next strength of the program is Problem-Based learning. I think this is one of the most exceptional features of the program and one that is fairly unique to PA Online. We get to spend 6 hours a week working through actual cases and it allows us to try and fail and succeed all in an environment where we can actually learn and grow. Not to mention, our faculty are exceptional, and getting to spend 6 hours with them learning from their (very diverse and interesting) experiences, is extremely valuable. I also find it helps us to get to know faculty and our classmates better. I really don't have any complaints about the program - the only dissatisfaction I've experienced with the program was that the social parts of our first immersion got a bit truncated due to COVID (we were literally in New Haven in the first week of March as NYC COVID was exploding) but this is not the fault of the program, rather is a feature of COVID making everything uncertain. Important to note that all of the academic parts we DID get to do.

- Ive read that they have used a production company to help produce the online lessons. What do you think of the lessons generally?  Compared to, say, an educational channel on youtube; compared to, say, the fairly low-quality “camera in a classroom” setup common elsewhere?

The production is better than any online educational experience I have ever had. They are filmed in a studio, the slides are picture-in-picture (and they are provided at the beginning of every week so you can mark them up, add them to an online notetaking software, or print them). The thing I actually like the most is that there is a transcript provided that is searchable. So if a lecturer says something and I remember that I want to go back to it later, I can search up a keyword and every time the lecturer said it will be highlighted. It saves me HOURS. Also, you can listen to the lectures on any speed you want, so if someone is talking fast you can slow down, or of course, you can speed up if someone is a slower talker.

- What has the early clinical stuff been like?  Is it really site dependent on how much you can learn and what you can pick up?  Or is there a, um...rubric(?) for it?  The early patient contact is one of the big draws for a lot of us, I think, because most of us have a lot of work experience

CEED is by far the best part of the program. There is certainly variability in what people get to do in their CEED sites, for example, I don't see any peds at my clinic and some people do. Some preceptors are more liberal while others prefer to be more hands on, but nonetheless, we have an opportunity to practice Physical Exam skills, taking histories, etc. This is a huge benefit since we are all scattered across the country. I have never heard of a program that offers as much clinical experience in the first year as Yale does. So, at my particular CEED site, I work with a Nurse Practitioner 1:1 6 hours a week. I've been there since May and currently, I go in and go through the history, do all of the physical exam, and come out and present to my preceptor. She almost always asks what I want to do, and many times, my plan is what we use. Obviously if I don't know something she will tell me and we will talk about it, but generally I have a LOT of latitude. I have done pap tests, breast exams, small derm procedures, etc, on my own (with a chaperone) so far. I don't think it is really much different than what I would be doing during clinical year, tbh.

- Can you comment on the Problem Based Learning?  In my imagination this sounds awesome and very clever - can you comment on how this works out in actuality?  There is some fear I think with group experiences because, frankly, we’ve probably all been in tough group situations. Though, PA applicants are a pretty distinct subset where effort isn’t usually an issue

Yes - if you are going into the PA profession, you need to not only be comfortable working in a group, but you need to enjoy it. Your colleagues at PAO will be some of the most interesting and smart people you will ever be in a group with, so there is very little worry about those nightmarish group projects we all had in undergrad where we did 99% of the work (I know you've all been there!) In terms of PBL, it is not unstructured - you will learn that there is a very specific way that you want to go about asking questions related to the patient history, there's a systematic way that you want to approach physical exam, etc. The professors will spend a lot of time teaching this approach to your group in the first semester. Now, we are a lot more experienced doing this so our group format is a bit looser. At first we were all terrified that we would miss something so we asked every single question. Now we know a lot better how to take a focused history, but that's through just doing it a lot. For each PBL, we all log into our professor's zoom room three times a week. The first day, we get our case, can ask any questions of our patients that we want (literally anything from "where does it hurt?" to "have you ever had any surgeries?" to "what are your hopes and dreams?" (not kidding on that last one - it's my favorite!). After we go through the history, we can do physical exam (our professor "drives" the software, so we ask for what we want and they share their screen or give us the results). Usually we stop there on Monday and we each take a "Learning Issue" which can be something that we didn't know in the case (there is always a large list of things we don't know), or something you're interested in. You put together your LI and on Wednesday's PBL each person presents their LI. After everyone goes, you get any additional physical exams done that you want and you may order labs and/or do other diagnostic tests. Sometimes, you'll know right away what the diagnosis is based on the labs you ordered, sometimes you have to do more testing. Everyone takes another LI on Wednesday. On Fridays, we come up with the treatment plan and everyone presents their LI from Wednesday. The great part is that after each week, you get a ready-made study guide that has 24 different aspects of the topic (because we all put our learning issues in a shared onenote). AND you get to go through the case with a professor there to help answer questions. They allow us to flail and oftentimes (especially in the beginning) it can be frustrating, but it really teaches you how to think instead of just regurgitating facts or guidelines. I have found it has really translated to my success at my CEED site.

- Are there any other educational tips you think would be relevant?  Is there something you wish you had reviewed before beginning that you didnt think of beforehand?  Etc.?

Not really - your time will be limited in PA school, so I'd encourage you to take care of personal things now that you can. Make sure you have an office space that is set up for you to work in and prepare your family for what is coming. I hadn't had anatomy in over 5 years and hadn't had chemistry and bio in 6 and I did just fine with the coursework. My last piece of advice is that PA school is like a gas - it will take up whatever container you provide for it. If you give it 100 hours a week, you will easily find things to study. It can be done in 40 hours a week. You can have a life. You can stay married or have a hobby, you just have to make the time! Please do reach out if you have more questions - I know it can seem like a daunting process!

Thanks for taking the time when you are able to

wow. thank you for that answer - for the time it took and for the care you took

this may be the best answer i have seen regarding the program and i think ive read/listened to everything out there

i think you have probably confirmed the suspicions most of us have that this program is what we’re looking for

 

thanks again - you may copy it into notepad to put elsewhere because i think anyone considering this program would really appreciate the information

 

EDIT:  October 12th.  I meant to update this, for thoroughness - I withdrew my application.  I decided that for me, I think I would benefit more from having a physical campus.  I'm only applying to 2 schools now and received interviews from both.  Plan is to hope to get in, but if not, then next year as a re-applicant I'll pull out all the stops and apply to basically any and every program that I think would be right for me.  Including this one.  Good luck all

Edited by Ambrose
withdrew application
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5 hours ago, Ambrose said:

Hahaha, so basically the rebuttal is that the original poster’s idea of diversity was pretty narrow. The irony made me chuckle

It sounds like the person was just salty she didn't get in. She would NOT be a good candidate for a profession that NEEDS collaboration and humility. Until she learns that and grow up to be more mature, which I hope she does, because everyone makes mistakes, then I don't know if she will do well, imo.

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1 hour ago, VicBH said:

I just finished both interviews, and I just wanted to say how extremely grateful I am to even be considered for this amazing program. The positivity and support on this forum thread alone speaks to the caliber of people joining this cohort and I so hope to be able to join you! 

I did both interviews today as well! Feeling very grateful for this opportunity and looking forward to hopefully joining a great cohort of students! Good luck to you and everyone else still waiting to hear! It’s going to be a long few weeks waiting on a decision! 😬

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8 minutes ago, Cmed4 said:

I did both interviews today as well! Feeling very grateful for this opportunity and looking forward to hopefully joining a great cohort of students! Good luck to you and everyone else still waiting to hear! It’s going to be a long few weeks waiting on a decision! 😬

Thank you, good luck to you too! 

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7 hours ago, Minaa said:

Does anyone know when the last round of interviews will be? 

If the pattern holds they should be sending out invitation invites this coming week or the next and then a 2 week interview window.

From reading between the lines in a financial aid meeting I was in it sounds like they want to have the class filled by November 1st which fits with all of the deadlines on the paperwork new students have to fill out. 

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9 hours ago, ZehraAl said:

Soooooooooo... I'm constantly checking my email, and I don't think its healthy. I have not received any news, which is good news on my end, but I'm getting more nervous. Aaah!

The waiting is so hard! But you have got this! Have you interviewed yet? Or still waiting for an invite? 

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On 9/4/2020 at 9:49 AM, Kikime06 said:

Maybe this will help... I don’t know what your situation is, but I’d look at the answer to your question of “why online learning”. The majority of us (actually almost every single one of us with the exception of one or two) that have been admitted all have very similar stats to yours but with over five years or more experience in healthcare being the average (there are some with less) and a lot of us have 8+ years. We are also older. I was told the average age they admit is 31. All of us have reasons why we can’t really attend a traditional PA school. We have kids and can’t relocate. We move every few years because we are in military families. We have extenuating family circumstances. Etc. I have also noticed that a lot of my classmates (myself included) had to fight and struggle to get where we are at. We definitely didn’t take the traditional route to get here. 

For example, I gave birth to my second child in the middle of finishing prerequisites, while my husband was deployed. I would breastfeed my baby by holding him in one arm and I’d be simultaneously scribbling down notes from my online classes with the other while my toddler ran around the room. The day I took the GRE I was on the phone with my husband when the call got dropped because his base was bombed. I didn’t know if he was alive or if my kids had a father anymore. I took the GRE with that question looming over my head and I still scored a 325. You’d better believe that I made damn sure Yale knew that. This is just one example and doesn’t even begin to hit the tip of the iceberg. I communicated everything I could to Yale.

For me, Yale was THE ONLY CHANCE I had of going to PA school. I made sure they understood why I needed to apply to their school. 

I can’t speak for admissions because I’m not affiliated with them, but if I was in their shoes, I would not be giving my spots to people who have great stats but have copious opportunities to go anywhere. I’d be giving them to people like my classmates: great stats, tons of experience, good test scores, that magical “x factor” Ivy League schools look for, and demonstrated need for online learning. In other words, people who are good enough but haven’t had the opportunity and deserve a chance. That’s just my two cents though. 

Class of 2020 here - I'd like to respectfully disagree that all Yale PA Online students are people who can't attend on campus programs. I could have, and so could other students I know. I got into a local program and turned down other local interviews. I chose Yale PA Online because it allowed me to get a Yale education in my home community. I don't want people to think that this program is *only* for those who can't attend other programs, are a certain age or have certain circumstances, although it happens to be a great program for many for those reasons. This is an innovative way of delivering medical education, not an alternative method for people with extenuating circumstances. In fact, extending the reach of higher education is one of the goals and arguably the responsibility of private universities like Yale with large endowments.

To the people who got in: Congratulations.
To the people who didn't: Keep your chin up. Admission is not a perfect reflection of your strength or worthiness. It's just not. There are elements of admission that no matter how hard you work or how hard admissions committees try, is a crapshoot. I speak to you as a PA-C who was rejected from 10x as many programs as I was admitted to. Keep going. What's meant to be will be.
To people who think they're safe making anonymous accounts on the internet and slandering programs and their staff: LOL

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6 hours ago, Kilian12 said:

Class of 2020 here - I'd like to respectfully disagree that all Yale PA Online students are people who can't attend on campus programs. I could have, and so could other students I know. I got into a local program and turned down other local interviews. I chose Yale PA Online because it allowed me to get a Yale education in my home community. I don't want people to think that this program is *only* for those who can't attend other programs, are a certain age or have certain circumstances, although it happens to be a great program for many for those reasons. This is an innovative way of delivering medical education, not an alternative method for people with extenuating circumstances. In fact, extending the reach of higher education is one of the goals and arguably the responsibility of private universities like Yale with large endowments.

To the people who got in: Congratulations.
To the people who didn't: Keep your chin up. Admission is not a perfect reflection of your strength or worthiness. It's just not. There are elements of admission that no matter how hard you work or how hard admissions committees try, is a crapshoot. I speak to you as a PA-C who was rejected from 10x as many programs as I was admitted to. Keep going. What's meant to be will be.
To people who think they're safe making anonymous accounts on the internet and slandering programs and their staff: LOL

Thank you so much for this post! I felt my interviews went great and then saw that post and was very worried because I don’t have all those special circumstances. You gave me renewed hope so thanks again 😊

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