AprilConard Posted May 31, 2023 Share Posted May 31, 2023 (edited) Hi everyone! My name is April and I am a member of the Mentorship Committee for the Class of 2025. There are seven other members of Mentorship Committee that you might see on here as well, and we are all more than happy to answer your questions. I know its no fun waiting for interview invitations, but HANG IN THERE! Invitations are usually extended throughout June, with interviews to follow in July. If you have received an interview invitation already, then congratulations! Good luck to everyone! Edited May 31, 2023 by AprilConard 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prepa59 Posted May 31, 2023 Share Posted May 31, 2023 Hi April thank you for creating this page! My name is Jenny and I wanted to ask about the interview day and what to expect. Is there any writing prompt along with the two individual interviews and group interview? Thank you so much! Looking forward to meeting you soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AprilConard Posted May 31, 2023 Author Share Posted May 31, 2023 (edited) Hi Jenny. Great question! The interview day at EVMS is split up into two groups that switch after lunchtime. One group will be completing their 2 individual interviews (1 with an EVMS faculty member & 1 with a community PA) as well are their group interview; The other group will be taking a campus tour, attending EMVS informational sessions, as well as Panel Q&A Sessions with current EVMS PA Program students. Like I mentioned, whatever you did in the morning you will switch and do the opposite in the afternoon. There is a small writing prompt with the interview sessions. The interview day is a lot of fun and you get to learn all about what it means to be an EVMS PA student, all while showing us a little bit about who you are and why you would be a good fit to the program. Hope this helps! Edited June 2, 2023 by AprilConard 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prepa59 Posted May 31, 2023 Share Posted May 31, 2023 Sounds great! Thank you so much for clarifying that for me! Looking forward to the interview day and meeting everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardsPA2B Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 Hey everyone! Congratulations on making it to interviews! No matter what happens from here, it is an achievement to fill out CASPA and be invited for an interview! My name is Steve, I am also a member of the Class of 2025 Mentorship Committee. A litte about me and my background. I am from Long Island, NY. My experience is in EMS as a Medic and in cardiology at a hospital and I moved here for PA school! Feel free to reach out with any questions and try not to forget to breathe. You got this! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrayingToAdmissions Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 Hello April and Steve! Thank you for being so friendly and reaching out. My name is Wilson and I'm from the west coast. I am a little nervous about the upcoming interview, but mostly excited to meet everyone in-person. I don't have much questions since I've been reading last year's forum. I'm super excited to see the Sentara Center though and I don't think I've seen many programs have a PA fellowship. Good luck to everyone as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannabepa33 Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 Hi April and Steve! Thank you so much for making this forum. I am interviewing on July 14 and I am so excited to see the campus, meet the other interviewees, and meet the faculty. The wait has been tough, but so worth it when I opened that email yesterday! A few questions; I know we have two individual and one group interview as you stated, are they traditional, MMI, or both? Additionally, I am type 1 diabetic, will I have access to snacks/insulin/my cell phone to check my blood glucose levels if needed during the interview process? Thanks so much in advance for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DThibodeau Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 Hello everyone, I wanted to edit one item related to the Interview Day. We have added a short writing sample that we will ask all candidates to perform while they are there. The sample will be a single question, and we will be asking for a few paragraphs based on the question. There is no need to worry here. The question is straightforward and allows us to see your thoughts on a simple topic. We are looking forward to meeting those who have decided to come to EVMS for an interview. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AprilConard Posted June 2, 2023 Author Share Posted June 2, 2023 22 hours ago, wannabepa33 said: Hi April and Steve! Thank you so much for making this forum. I am interviewing on July 14 and I am so excited to see the campus, meet the other interviewees, and meet the faculty. The wait has been tough, but so worth it when I opened that email yesterday! A few questions; I know we have two individual and one group interview as you stated, are they traditional, MMI, or both? Additionally, I am type 1 diabetic, will I have access to snacks/insulin/my cell phone to check my blood glucose levels if needed during the interview process? Thanks so much in advance for your help! Hi there! Congratulations on getting an interview! The interviews are traditional style! We plan to have a snack station set up outside the main room that all interviewees will be welcome to graze on. Please feel free to bring your own snacks as well. There is also a decent lunch break (More to come on lunch via the program closer to the interviews). You will absolutely be able to check your blood glucose levels on your phone whenever you need to! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wannabepa33 Posted June 2, 2023 Share Posted June 2, 2023 37 minutes ago, AprilConard said: Hi there! Congratulations on getting an interview! The interviews are traditional style! We plan to have a snack station set up outside the main room that all interviewees will be welcome to graze on. Please feel free to bring your own snacks as well. There is also a decent lunch break (More to come on lunch via the program closer to the interviews). You will absolutely be able to check your blood glucose levels on your phone whenever you need to! Thank you! This is very helpful! Looking forward to the interview and meeting you all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SalmaZS25 Posted June 2, 2023 Share Posted June 2, 2023 Hey Everyone! Congratulations on receiving your interview invitations!! It's an exciting time, and you should congratulate yourselves for all the hard work that got you here. My name is Salma, and I am on the mentorship committee with April and Steve. A little about myself, I have lived in VB for the last 7 years and commute to EVMS for class. I am a nontraditional student, in the sense that I actually used to be an Architect and also am a mom. We are so excited and looking forward to getting to meet you all. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Congratulations again!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nie1995 Posted June 8, 2023 Share Posted June 8, 2023 Hi April, Steve, and Salma it's great to meet you all! I am so happy to have received an interview invite! My name is Nida and from California A few questions, I had were 1) What quality/characteristic of the EVMS PA program stands out to you? 2) Given that EVMS is a medical school, has there ever been a 'feeling' of competition between PA and medical students? 3) For the didactic year, is it taught via a block system? 4) For someone who is out-of-state, how was the transition being away from home? Thank you and hope to hear back soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AprilConard Posted June 9, 2023 Author Share Posted June 9, 2023 On 6/8/2023 at 1:08 AM, Nie1995 said: Hi April, Steve, and Salma it's great to meet you all! I am so happy to have received an interview invite! My name is Nida and from California A few questions, I had were 1) What quality/characteristic of the EVMS PA program stands out to you? 2) Given that EVMS is a medical school, has there ever been a 'feeling' of competition between PA and medical students? 3) For the didactic year, is it taught via a block system? 4) For someone who is out-of-state, how was the transition being away from home? Thank you and hope to hear back soon! Hi Nadia. First off, congratulations on your interview invitation! I can understand that coming from out-of-state can be difficult. I am from the Hampton Roads area, so I think I will have to let Steve speak to the transition part as he is from NY! As far as EVMS goes, I really enjoy how community oriented EVMS is. We have a lot of opportunities to be involved in medical & non-medical community service here. The didactic year is 4 semesters spread over 1 1/2 years (you can find more information about this on the EVMS PA Program website here). There is no competition between PA and Medical students. We do not have classes together! Hope this helps. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nie1995 Posted June 11, 2023 Share Posted June 11, 2023 On 6/9/2023 at 1:42 PM, AprilConard said: Hi Nadia. First off, congratulations on your interview invitation! I can understand that coming from out-of-state can be difficult. I am from the Hampton Roads area, so I think I will have to let Steve speak to the transition part as he is from NY! As far as EVMS goes, I really enjoy how community oriented EVMS is. We have a lot of opportunities to be involved in medical & non-medical community service here. The didactic year is 4 semesters spread over 1 1/2 years (you can find more information about this on the EVMS PA Program website here). There is no competition between PA and Medical students. We do not have classes together! Hope this helps. Thank you April for the response! Yes, I am a little nervous about the transition from the West to East coast but I am sure it will be worth it, when/if the time comes. Thank you again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AprilConard Posted June 17, 2023 Author Share Posted June 17, 2023 Hello everyone and Happy Saturday! Less than a month away from interviews... Yay! I just wanted to reiterate that there are many members of the Class of 2025 Mentorship Committee on this forum and you are more than welcome to ask us any questions you have about EVMS, interviews, being a PA student, etc. Please try to use this forum page (for 2023 Interviews) and not old forum pages for questions related to this year. Thank you! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuturePAZA Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 Hello! I wanted to ask that as PA students, what are your schedule's like? What time are you guys able to get home from class, especially on Fridays? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuturePAZA Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 Also, does EVMS have a recreation center or an area with a gym? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AprilConard Posted June 18, 2023 Author Share Posted June 18, 2023 7 hours ago, FuturePAZA said: Hello! I wanted to ask that as PA students, what are your schedule's like? What time are you guys able to get home from class, especially on Fridays? Hi! That is a good question but a little hard to answer as each semester your schedule is different due to taking different classes. However, first semester you have the most "free time". I cannot speak to how they plan to schedule the first semester for Class of 2026, but as for my class (Class of 2025) most days during first semester we were done at or prior to 3pm, unless we happened to be in the 2nd Anatomy Lab group that ran until 5pm. However, those 5pm Anatomy lab times were not every day and were on a rotational basis (i.e. sometimes we were in the first anatomy lab group and were done around 2-3pm). So to be safe, I would say that you should have expectations to be on campus anywhere between 8am-5pm daily (like a full time job), but know that not every day will you be required to be there right at 8am or required to stay until 5pm. Also, there is a built in 1hr lunch break daily from 12pm-1pm. EVMS does have a gym in Waitzer Hall that is accessible by all students! Its hours are M-F 7am-10pm & Weekends 8am-2pm. Hope this helps! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRalls Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 Hey all! Thank you for creating this thread. It's beyond helpful to learn from people who have been through it. As this is my first interview, do you guys have any tips you used for calming your nerves interview day? What is something that was a welcomed surprise about the program after acceptance? Also, how did you all get involved in the mentorship committee? I can't wait to meet everyone in just a few weeks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SalmaZS25 Posted June 20, 2023 Share Posted June 20, 2023 (edited) 10 hours ago, SRalls said: Hey all! Thank you for creating this thread. It's beyond helpful to learn from people who have been through it. As this is my first interview, do you guys have any tips you used for calming your nerves interview day? What is something that was a welcomed surprise about the program after acceptance? Also, how did you all get involved in the mentorship committee? I can't wait to meet everyone in just a few weeks! Hi, congrats on being offered an interview!! We can not wait to meet you on interview day. One thing I did was practice with a friend/coworker interview questions. I also looked up typical questions for PA interviews and would write out some thoughts on how I would like to answer them, mostly bullet points. I wanted to ensure I did not sound like a robot on interview day but also wanted to feel ready. That's not to say that is what everyone did, but it did help me feel more calm coming into interviews. Also, remember they just want to know who you are. So be yourself and come knowing that on paper they like you, so now they want to match the person to the paper. At EVMS we are given the opportunity to utilize the SCSIL lab (The Sentara Center for Simulation and Immersive Learning), which is an amazing resource. The actors are so convincing that more than once I've forgotten that our experiences are just simulations. So I've really loved every opportunity that we have had to go in, and each time you are building on your skills which is so exciting. In the first semester maybe after the first month is when we had elections for several student body positions. So we elect a president and executive board, as well as a mentorship committee. More information on that will be provided once the first semester starts. If you have any other questions please let us know. Best of luck on your interviews and please don't hesitate to come by and say hi on interview day!! Edited June 21, 2023 by SalmaZS25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRalls Posted June 21, 2023 Share Posted June 21, 2023 Salma, thank you for your response! I've been implementing the tools you've mentioned to prepare for the interview already; Now to learn how to get rid of the lump in my throat in order to let me personality shine! That is a great tip that I keep trying to remember when nerves kick in. The SCSIL lab is something that I also found as a major asset to the program, and it is great to hear just how realistic the experience feels. Thanks again, and I look forward to meeting you in person! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardsPA2B Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 On 6/17/2023 at 2:45 PM, FuturePAZA said: Hello! I wanted to ask that as PA students, what are your schedule's like? What time are you guys able to get home from class, especially on Fridays? On 6/17/2023 at 2:53 PM, FuturePAZA said: Also, does EVMS have a recreation center or an area with a gym? Just to add to April's wonderful response, a lot of your schedule is going to depend on how you learn. Many people figured out they don't learn well at home so they come to campus very early and stay all day to study. Some people come for class and stay late after. Your free time will decrease each semester and depending on how much you need to go over the material, or if the material is especially difficult for that module. Bearing that in mind, you will absolutely have the time to take a day to see friends and decompress. EVMS does have a gym, I'm not a huge fan, but we have an excellent deal with One Life fitness just a couple miles from campus. On 6/20/2023 at 1:45 PM, SRalls said: Hey all! Thank you for creating this thread. It's beyond helpful to learn from people who have been through it. As this is my first interview, do you guys have any tips you used for calming your nerves interview day? What is something that was a welcomed surprise about the program after acceptance? Also, how did you all get involved in the mentorship committee? I can't wait to meet everyone in just a few weeks! Congrats on your first interview! The best thing I can recommend is setting everything up the night before, know what you're going to wear, know what you're going to eat, know if you're going to stop and get coffee, and make sure you get a good night's sleep. Even doing all that, you'll still be nervous. Just keep practicing and make sure when understand why you're doing this. What makes ready to start this journey now. Why you want to be a PA, and why EVMS is that place you want to go. I think knowing those questions and letting your personality shine through will help you be successful! As Salma discussed, SCSIL is very cool. Hearing that you will practice on standardized patients (actors/actresses) is one thing, being in that room with them with your white coat on, it almost makes you forget they aren't real patients. I've also really enjoyed the people I've met in the program. Moving here from out-of-state and starting over, the care and compassion from classmates is really heartwarming. 18 minutes ago, annieprepa said: Hello Salma, April, and Steve! Thank you for making this forum for us! You stated that the interview is traditional style, does this include behavioral questions such as scenario-based ones (or is this specifically for the writing prompt)? Another question I have is considering the rigorous setting, what's the process for remediation if a student is struggling? I am super nervous but also very excited to meet everyone on interview day Thank you! I'm fairly certain we're not allowed to discuss content in the interviews or even broad things like whether there are behavioral questions. Just do your best to prepare and know your reasons for pursuing this profession and I'm sure you will do very well! Unsatisfactory academic performance and the process that going into the various stages are pretty intensive depending on your meaning of "Remediation". I encourage you to reference the EVMS MPA Handbook for clarification on all standards and policies if you fall below. https://www.evms.edu/media/evms_public/departments/student_affairs/student_handbooks/Physician_Assistant.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annieprepa Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Thank you for your response! I will be coming from out of state, can I ask what do you like about the area of Hampton Roads? And what do you like most about EVMS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRalls Posted June 22, 2023 Share Posted June 22, 2023 Steve, thank you for the info! I'm really excited to hear about the comradery you feel with your classmates. I will be coming from the west coast, and having that sense of support especially moving so far from home is very comforting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AprilConard Posted June 23, 2023 Author Share Posted June 23, 2023 10 hours ago, annieprepa said: Thank you for your response! I will be coming from out of state, can I ask what do you like about the area of Hampton Roads? And what do you like most about EVMS? Hampton Roads is a pretty cool area! Its a mix of small town/city/beach life. There are A LOT of things to do in the area depending on what you are interested in. There is the beach (of course), but there are also trails, historical sites, amusement parks, sporting events, etc. I encourage you to check out the Virginia Is for Lovers website to explore everything the area has to offer. I could probably go on and on for DAYS about things you could do here! You also are not far from common vacation sites like the Outer Banks, NC, and about a 1.5hr drive to Richmond, VA & a 4hr drive to Washington DC! As far as EVMS, my favorite thing about the school is its commitment to community! They offer so many ways to get involved and give back to others. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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