hugmeyet Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 What I have just finished reading is exactly the reason I started this. I knew that I was not alone. If you have seen any of my other posts on other "tacoma 1" or "tacoma interview meeting" you will see I share the same feelings. I am taken aback that after interviewing last year and improving significantly in the areas I felt the weakest in, this year I was sent the "dear john" letter. Everyone, thanks for contributing... It is hugely encouraging to realize that I am not alone in the efforts I have made to appease the likes of UW Medex with no resolve. Everyone that wants a career in medicine and I mean truly wants to live that career, eventually the hands of time will align. Rich brought up a very good point and it is something that I spoke with a close friend about yesterday who is an MD. I was telling her that I need to get my science classes updated. I guess after college joining the army as a medic then working in specialty medicine and a community health center as a medical assistant for three years doesn't matter if my basic sciences are over five years old. To me it is really just the annoyance of the whole thing. Straight military medicine won't get you in! exhibit 1, my first year applying. Exhibit 2 helps but not much, military medic and 6ish months as a medical assistant. Exhibit 3 gets you an interview, military medic and 18 months as a medical assistant in critical care. Then finally exhibit 4, 3 years as an army medic, adding additional science classes to show true interest as a forever student, trying to learn Spanish as a second language to make my interaction with patients that much easier and more comforting to the patients, and oh, yes, 3 years a medical assistant; "sorry due to the high volume of highly qualified applicants this year you are not selected to interview".... Really? is this some sort of weird game... My friend has seen my GPA, she knows my work ethic, she understands what I have been through and she can't believe that I was selected to interview. She broke it down like this for me. (There are "150" PA schools, they accept 30-40 students per school. There are 150+ medical schools and they accept 100+ students each year. Yes the training is longer and more detailed, but medical schools seem to be trending right now to accept students that don't just have a 4.0 GPA or a parent that is a Dr., they are accepting student with skills to relate to patients and life experience...) With that MD applications look highly likely in my next bout of applying to become a medical professional. As individuals who have earned their stripes in medicine, obviously because you are applying to PA school, you know when nothing more can be done for a patient. Maybe we need to use that wisdom or consciousness in our application to MEDEX... How long can you give you application CPR? Maybe CPR can't change the ultimate result... Maybe nothing a supremely qualified candidate can do in the eyes of MEDEX will change the outcome..? Maybe it is time to triage and move on with the goal finding where our skills will offer the best result. Keep working hard, keep your eyes on the objective and overcome adversity... You are not alone. Once again congrats to the candidates that did have exactly what MEDEX was looking for. Travis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asterlington Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 Travis ~ You are my hero!! Thanks for sharing yourself and your journey with all of us! I want you to be my doctor!! : ) ~ Andriene S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsman2PA Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 What I have just finished reading is exactly the reason I started this. I knew that I was not alone. If you have seen any of my other posts on other "tacoma 1" or "tacoma interview meeting" you will see I share the same feelings. I am taken aback that after interviewing last year and improving significantly in the areas I felt the weakest in, this year I was sent the "dear john" letter. Everyone, thanks for contributing... It is hugely encouraging to realize that I am not alone in the efforts I have made to appease the likes of UW Medex with no resolve. Everyone that wants a career in medicine and I mean truly wants to live that career, eventually the hands of time will align. Rich brought up a very good point and it is something that I spoke with a close friend about yesterday who is an MD. I was telling her that I need to get my science classes updated. I guess after college joining the army as a medic then working in specialty medicine and a community health center as a medical assistant for three years doesn't matter if my basic sciences are over five years old. To me it is really just the annoyance of the whole thing. Straight military medicine won't get you in! exhibit 1, my first year applying. Exhibit 2 helps but not much, military medic and 6ish months as a medical assistant. Exhibit 3 gets you an interview, military medic and 18 months as a medical assistant in critical care. Then finally exhibit 4, 3 years as an army medic, adding additional science classes to show true interest as a forever student, trying to learn Spanish as a second language to make my interaction with patients that much easier and more comforting to the patients, and oh, yes, 3 years a medical assistant; "sorry due to the high volume of highly qualified applicants this year you are not selected to interview".... Really? is this some sort of weird game... My friend has seen my GPA, she knows my work ethic, she understands what I have been through and she can't believe that I was selected to interview. She broke it down like this for me. (There are "150" PA schools, they accept 30-40 students per school. There are 150+ medical schools and they accept 100+ students each year. Yes the training is longer and more detailed, but medical schools seem to be trending right now to accept students that don't just have a 4.0 GPA or a parent that is a Dr., they are accepting student with skills to relate to patients and life experience...) With that MD applications look highly likely in my next bout of applying to become a medical professional. As individuals who have earned their stripes in medicine, obviously because you are applying to PA school, you know when nothing more can be done for a patient. Maybe we need to use that wisdom or consciousness in our application to MEDEX... How long can you give you application CPR? Maybe CPR can't change the ultimate result... Maybe nothing a supremely qualified candidate can do in the eyes of MEDEX will change the outcome..? Maybe it is time to triage and move on with the goal finding where our skills will offer the best result. Keep working hard, keep your eyes on the objective and overcome adversity... You are not alone. Once again congrats to the candidates that did have exactly what MEDEX was looking for. Travis This might hurt... Maybe having an "entitlement" attitude to acceptance into PA school isn't the way to go about it. You interviewed at one point right? Obviously you meet the requirement for MEDEX. Do you think there was anything you did during the interviews that they saw and thought, "Hmm...he's not the type of person we're looking for." Obviously they thought you looked good on paper or they woudn't have asked you to interview. Could there have been anything you displayed during the interview that threw up a red flag in their eyes? (attitude, sense of entitlement, etc). Perhaps some self assessment would suffice in regards to why you feel MEDEX OWES you an acceptance, versus what you could provide for them if you were to receive an acceptance. Referring to yourself as a "supremely qualified applicant" tells me you think you deserve a spot over everybody else. Spoiler alert: That's not who MEDEX wants. Perhaps some of that "superiority" came out during your interview...just a thought. But what do I know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asterlington Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I hear you Corpsman2PA and I believe that I understand what you are saying, but honestly, in my experience the only ones touting any sort of "superiority" complex were the admission teams at MEDEX! Don't get me wrong, I understand and agree with their postitions in terms of interviewing but what I don't think feels good is their limited capacity or willingness to honestly provide feedback. We have all worked very hard and that deserves consideration, if there isn't anyway that I will ever be accepted into MEDEX, or if there was a major faux paw in my interview, or a specific area that I could strengthen that raises a red flag or needs carfeul consideration, than I think it is fair to say that we would both benefit (MEDEX and myself) from me knowing so, or at least a "this is where you need work" note or call, especially if it is self initiated. If the power is ultimately placed back into my hands than what I do with it is up to me. Perhaps it isn't any of these things, but merely a matrix game of buiding specific diversity for each class, that would be good to know too. Either way I have to continue asking myself "do I have what it takes to do this job well and do I have what they are looking for"? If answering yes puts me at risk for appearing over confident and perhaps "entitled", minimizing my chances of acceptance, and answering no means I should march the other way for lack of confidence and sufficient experience, I find myself once again stuck at the mercy of someone elses very brief, very limited and very conditional opinion regarding my future. I believe that our past experience, our personal statements and the folks that we have comissioned to back up our stories should paint the most realiable picture, the interview should be an opportunity for them to either confirm what they already believe based on your application or cut us loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easyridereburg Posted February 7, 2013 Share Posted February 7, 2013 I think you would be hard pressed to find any programs that are giving specific and structured feedback to each applicant about their application. With so many applicants it would take an extraordinary amount of time to give personal feedback to each applicant. I believe that rejection letter they sent gave pretty clear guidlines to help improve the application ( i know cause i got one). It shouldnt be too hard to come up with areas that will bolster your application, there is always room for improvment. If you can't see any than a.) you feel that your the best applicant that ever applied to MEDEX or B.) your not willing to put in the effort to improve your APP. Either way if your not getting the respect you think you deserve from MEDEX try applying to one of the other 100+ PA schools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asterlington Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 Please don't misundestand what I am saying "easyriderburg", I don't feel disrespected and I certainly appreciate the limitations of time. I am just taking this opportunity to work through those things that come up as I face another application cycle! Nothing more and nothing less...... :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugmeyet Posted February 8, 2013 Author Share Posted February 8, 2013 Corpsman2pa, Thank you for the feed back... I appreciate it and after reading it again I see where you were coming from, at least from one sentence. My quotation supremely qualified applicant may have been too much, but when you look at medical professionals you find a number of different personalities, but one thing that holds true is belief in ones self. Call if cocky, entitled, etc, bottom line is no applicant goes into an interview or even submitting an application with the mindset of, "Well, I'm not the best and they probably won't think I'm special". Confidence is a must. Medical professionals are continually tested physically and even more so mentally/emotionally. You have to have a confidence about you to get the message across. Of course I have worked with providers who are overbearing and that is 100% not me. I was purely stating that from the requirements, I meet what they are looking for and believe to have done more than minimums. I would hope that when you applied and interviewed you knew in yourself that you were "great" and would only not be accepted if there were candidates greater. Getting into PA school is challenging, every year there are more candidates and the seats in schools stay the same so the bar is raised. When you were a corpsmen you knew that your confidence in your skills and abilities would ultimately earn the trust of the Marines or Sailors you supported. The same thing goes in interviewing or applying to a professional school. My goal from my post wasn't to criticize the applications process, other applicants, or make myself feel better because they missed a gem among rocks. My point was to open up and let others that hadn't been accepted or offered a chance to interview know that they were not alone. I put myself out there to let others know there is always next year and that other options my be more likely. Travis This might hurt...Maybe having an "entitlement" attitude to acceptance into PA school isn't the way to go about it. You interviewed at one point right? Obviously you meet the requirement for MEDEX. Do you think there was anything you did during the interviews that they saw and thought, "Hmm...he's not the type of person we're looking for." Obviously they thought you looked good on paper or they woudn't have asked you to interview. Could there have been anything you displayed during the interview that threw up a red flag in their eyes? (attitude, sense of entitlement, etc). Perhaps some self assessment would suffice in regards to why you feel MEDEX OWES you an acceptance, versus what you could provide for them if you were to receive an acceptance. Referring to yourself as a "supremely qualified applicant" tells me you think you deserve a spot over everybody else. Spoiler alert: That's not who MEDEX wants. Perhaps some of that "superiority" came out during your interview...just a thought. But what do I know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shippy05 Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I know how disappointing it is to get that “dear john letter”, I was there last year. Don’t give up if becoming a PA is what you really want to do. Take this time to do a self-evaluation and come up with a plan to improve in areas that you may be lacking. MEDEX really likes re-applicants; approximately 35% of accepted applicants last year were re-applicants while only 10% of the application pool was re-applicants. For me I decided to do a variety of things, I continued my current position as a MA, took additional classes, did over 100 hours of shadowing PAs, talked with many PAs and PA students, researched issues in medicine and in the PA field, read a few PA magazines, did some volunteer work, and re-wrote all my job descriptions in more detail and re-wrote all my essays. This year I was accepted. I know a few other re-applicants that have been accepted this year as well. So there is hope! Don’t give up! Hope this helps, Stephanie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsman2PA Posted February 9, 2013 Share Posted February 9, 2013 I would hope that when you applied and interviewed you knew in yourself that you were "great" and would only not be accepted if there were candidates greater. Getting into PA school is challenging, every year there are more candidates and the seats in schools stay the same so the bar is raised. When you were a corpsmen you knew that your confidence in your skills and abilities would ultimately earn the trust of the Marines or Sailors you supported. The same thing goes in interviewing or applying to a professional school. Travis That's just the thing, when I applied I thought that I was grossly underqualified (in comparison to others), knew that there were going to be literally hundreds of people MORE qualified with more experience than me, and that it was going to be a long shot if I got an interview. However, I knew deep down that I would be a great classmate for others to have, a great representative of MEDEX and the PA profession, and somebody who would make a trustworthy PA one day. I didn't think that I was a great applicant. I knew I was a "decent" applicant (or else I wouldn't have applied). I knew that I had "decent" experience. Its not that I lacked confidence in myself; it's that I understood that no matter how "qualified" one is or feels, are they able to show the other side of themselves? Not the side that says, "I'm your guy because I've got the grades and the HCE so let me in and stop wasting my time, or you'll be making a mistake." But the side that says, "I'd make a great student in your program, but It's not about me. It's about how I would be of benefit to this program beyond just my grades and hce." There's two ways of saying the same thing in every situation. One is with words, and the other is with actions. I know it must be frustrating. One of the best PAs I worked for applied 7 times before getting accepted. Persistence pays. And on the note about earning my Marines' trust through confidence...ehh...it was more on the performance of (not necessarily confidence in) my skills/abilities and of course, loyalty to the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugmeyet Posted February 9, 2013 Author Share Posted February 9, 2013 Corpsman2pa, Once again I agree and thank you for your time to respond. Where did you interview and when? Were you at the Yakima interview last year? Did you go out to dinner with a group of applicants and Steve? Did you go downstairs and have breakfast at the hotel prior to the interview? I guess what I am asking is if this is Chris W? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsman2PA Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Your memory is good! Keep up the fight and don't ever think you can't get in or that MEDEX is dragging you along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugmeyet Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 Corpsman2PA, Thanks for the encouragement, it is truly a blessing to know those that have taken the next step can see where a rejected applicant is coming from. Travis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quigley Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Over 700 applicants did not get admitted this year alone. No way to personalize that for each applicant, nor to give individual feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToppDog Posted February 21, 2013 Share Posted February 21, 2013 Over 700 applicants did not get admitted this year alone. No way to personalize that for each applicant, nor to give individual feedback. Had a feeling this was going to be the case the moment the announcement of the pre-req changes went live on the MEDEX site. One heck of a year :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wan2bdoc3 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 hello, again...its been a while. Remember me?..... the TWO time interviewee that did not make it in ,again..... however, Chris?? its a weird liability type thing I.e... if they gave individual information in the form of a critique to EVERY person "A" that didn't make in; then person "A" goes-out and satisfies the critique or deficiencies...then candidate "A" still does not get selected on the next cycle...it would open a BIG CAN of some uhhh HARSH dialogue, like .".... but you said do XYZ; SO I DID XYZ...so WTH?" You see how that would play out with 800 applicants or at least the 300 that get interviewed?? It would cause a NIGHTMARE.. Ron M ....forever working on "ALL ASPECTS OF (MY THIRD) APPLICATION", AND PRAYING FOR JUST ANOTHER INTERVIEW - OVER THE OTHER 800 APPLI"CANTS"....perspective Chris....PERSERVERANCE Chris... My name is Ron Malcomson and I am a appli"CAN" are you? dig your heals in, hang in there! I hear you. but you know something?.....SO DO THEY ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted March 1, 2013 Share Posted March 1, 2013 Uh....Chris (Corpsman2PA) is already in at MEDEX. As for any liability, that's only if some insecure douche would make an issue out of it. Every school that I've applied to gave me VERY specific feedback on what needed to be improved. I'll be contacting MEDEX in about 2 weeks to do the same with them once the storm of new students goes down and the new storm in prepping for the opening application cycle in April hits. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easyridereburg Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Rich don't count on getting "VERY" specific feedback on your application from Medex. If you don't believe me or others that have posted as re-applicants, than at least refer to the above post by "quigley" who i believe is Medex faculty and head of admissions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToppDog Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 OK, based on the last couple posts I feel the need to speak up. First off, Quigley is MEDEX Faculty (in case you didn't figure that out already), & what he said is spot on. They get way too many applicants in an average year to do individual feedback, & this year was way above average. MEDEX will most likely be inviting prior applicants to attend re-applicant sessions in the near future, where they will give general advice & field questions from the room. This is the best they can offer under the circumstances they are in. They cannot give out personalized advice to follow that would guarantee acceptance into MEDEX in the future. Anyone that thinks this is the case has not done enough research into how MEDEX selects it's applicants. MEDEX cannot give you a specific list to go by to guarantee acceptance because they purposefully choose their students to be a necessary part of a bigger whole. They choose people from diverse backgrounds & medical experience to enhance the learning of the others in the class. They are not looking for a specific cookie cutter applicant. And, because of this, they cannot predict how the classes will shape up ahead of time & advise anyone on what to do to guarantee acceptance. Applicant A may be exactly what they are looking for one year, & the next year they may need a different perspective to round out a class. We will be advised to review our applications & focus on weak areas that can be improved before applying again, but nothing is guaranteed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugmeyet Posted March 9, 2013 Author Share Posted March 9, 2013 Don, Have you received any info regarding info sessions for re-applicants? Thanks, Travis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToppDog Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 Not yet. I can't remember if they send email/mail, or if they just list them along with the info sessions on the website. I would keep a close eye on the website though. If I remember right they filled up really fast last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asterlington Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 I received an e-mail notification today regarding "re-aaplicant" info sessions in April! I look forward to seeing those of you on this side of mountains there! ~ Andriene Sterlington : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToppDog Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Looks like you're referring to the re-applicant session in Spokane on the 17th of April. That's the only one I see listed on the site so far, for those that are thinking of going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asterlington Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 There was one in Seattle on the 23rd also..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToppDog Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 The site shows that as a general session, did the email say it was a re-applicant session? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asterlington Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 Yes, toppdog that is what I understood. If you send me your email address I would be happy to share the information that I received. - A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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