Pre-PAs

How long does it take to become a physician assistant? If you’re wondering how long your overall PA journey will take, there are a few variables to consider first. The pathway to becoming a PA varies depending on where you are in your career and your educational background. Here’s an overview of how long PA read more…

For many pre-PA students, the first step of the application process is deciding your top programs. As you start to explore PA schools, you feel your chest tighten and pulse quicken as you examine the statistics. How do you know if your application is competitive for your top programs? Should you factor in acceptance rates read more…

If you’re a pre-PA student, it can be a bit overwhelming keeping track of what you need for PA school on top of your other undergraduate requirements! While there can be some variation among PA schools as to what they expect from applicants, there are some PA school requirements that are nearly universal that you read more…

So, you’re ready to apply to PA programs and are navigating your way through the application process. You’ve taken all of the right prerequisites, spent hours shadowing and working in health care, and sent out requests for references. Now comes what many consider the hardest part: writing your PA school personal statement. The personal statement read more…

While you’ve undoubtedly spent time researching the differences between being a physician assistant and an MD or DO, a commonly overlooked comparison is that of physician assistant vs nurse practitioner. Both are categorized as advanced practitioners, have similar timelines to degree completion, and allow for individual patient oversight with diagnostic and prescriptive authority. The major read more…

With 300 accredited physician assistant programs (estimated to increase to 326 by 2024) to consider, finding your perfect PA program can be a challenge. While every program has promise and pitfalls, selecting the right fit for you is important to set yourself up for success in your educational journey and ultimately your career.  Graduate education read more…

Being a PA is a challenging yet rewarding career. However, before you can launch this lifelong quest for knowledge and patient care, you must first gain admission to a program. With prerequisite courses, experience hours, deadlines, entrance exams, and an ever-growing list of available programs, this first step of the PA journey can be overwhelming. read more…

When I was gearing up to apply to PA school, I remember feeling increasingly overwhelmed while reviewing prerequisite courses for programs. There was such a variation in required coursework from program to program that I had little idea of where to start. In some instances, the requirements listed on a program’s website differed so wildly read more…

You’ve been waiting for this! Now is the time to finally embark on your PA journey, the career you are destined for. Whether your hopes and dreams are to serve communities with fewer resources, medically assist those in your hometown, or provide care in remote parts of the world, you need the know-how to get read more…

If you’re applying to PA programs, you likely already have a handle on the requirements for your CASPA application. But what about any supplemental applications? It can often be difficult to navigate each program’s individual requirements for supplemental applications, including different essay prompts and additional fees for each. If you’re wondering how to make your read more…

Standardized tests have always been a part of the application process for becoming a physician assistant, and the GRE was the only test around when I was going through applications. While the MCAT is sometimes accepted, it often isn’t a preferred requirement by programs, but the PA-CAT is a similar knowledge-based test focusing on the read more…

You’ve decided to apply to PA school—congratulations! You’re about to embark on an exciting (and busy) couple of years on your way to becoming a PA-C. As PA school application numbers have grown, administrators have started to use the Physician Assistant College Admission Test (PA-CAT) by Exam Master to help determine applicant knowledge and assist read more…

Every oak tree starts as a single acorn. But the tallest oak trees, the ones that are most stable, have the strongest foundation. It is this strong foundation that prevents them from toppling over during the worst storms.  This is the inspiration I took for my journey through medicine, which started by building a strong read more…

We want to celebrate your efforts with our first ever $250 Giveaway! Share the Rapid Review eBook post and enter to win a $100 gift card and more. 4 winners will be selected on July 12, 2019 We added even more ways to win! You can now like and share our eBook post on Instagram read more…