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ENGL 3307 Amanda Drake
         
         

Physician Assistant

What you need to know!

3/20/2014


Amanda Drake


Table of Contents


                             Page
                                                                     Subject
                             
                                                           4
                                                                     Introduction
                                                           5-6
                                                                     Academics
                                                           7-8
                                                                     Post-                              Graduation
                                                           9
                                                                     Location
                                                           10-11
                                                                     Housing
                                                           11-12
                                                                     Financial                              Aid
                                                           13-15
                                                                     Application
                                                           16
                                                                     Abbreviations                              You Should Know
                                                           17
                                                                     Figure                              Index
                             
Introduction
You've made it to a point in life that you can start thinking about graduate schools. Congratulations! If you are reading this then you already know that you want to go back to school to be a Physician Assistant. Now it is time to research. Where do you even begin? You would think academics would be the first spot to start? What about your family? Are they coming with you? What about their needs? How about your social life? Is it coming to (I mean you will probably have time for one night of fun between studying right?)?
Now imagine your dream school? Is it in your dream town? Are you excited to move to the University (unless you are commuting)? Do your dream town and your dream school correspond?
All of these are good things to think about but first let's back up. Yes, we are going to put our behinds in the past (just like Timon and Pumbaa) and go for a stroll down memory lane.















*For the purpose of this manual I will be using screen shots from Idaho State University and University of Washington web pages only.

Academics
When looking for a school look at the program's prerequisite courses and make sure you have all of the courses necessary. Usually you can find this list on the school's website.

Figure 1
Idaho State University Physician Assistant studies home page


In the case of Idaho State University the "Admission Requirements" are on the left hand side of the main page (shown above). While some of them, like University of Washington, are at the top of the page (shown below).
Figure 2: University of Washington Physician Assistant Studies' home page

After you have found out the Admission Requirements and fit into that category or know you are working toward having all the requirements then look at the academic statistics. You can see on the screen shot above that Idaho State University has a link to their "Admission Statistics" page in the same area that their "Admissions requirement" is. That also have a "NCCPA Pass Rate Summary" link so you can see the post-graduation statistics also. For UW you actually have to click on the link "PA Program" and the page below shows up.



Figure 3: University of Washington navigation side bar
As you can see there are a few different links on the left side of this page. If gives you helpful links to multiple subjects including "Program Statistics."
Within the "Program Statistics" and the "Admissions Statistics" links there is a whole list of statistics ranging from gender of applicants to how many military personal apply and get it. They also have helpful statistics about the different academic backgrounds of the students within the program.
This is helpful (again) when applying to schools so that you know what to expect when applying or even upon acceptance. Each school has pretty similar statistics but it is up to you on how you want to interpret the data provided.

Post-Graduation
For most people their goal is to go directly into the field they graduated from. If this is the case choosing a school that has good post-graduate statistics would be beneficial. Post-Graduate statistics consist of:
-Graduation Rates
-Job Placements
-Type of Jobs
-Starting Salaries
For most Universities there is are a few statistics that are showed in this manner. However, some program websites will have Job listings for their programs. Here is an example of one from Idaho State University's page:
Figure 4: Future Employer link (Idaho State University)

What other ways could you find the information needed? The Bureau of Labor Statistics is a good place for salary statistics. They have lots of tables:




Figure 5: Bureau of Labor Statistics table

And very interesting charts such as this one:          
Figure 6: Bureau of Labor Statistics map

As for graduation rates you should be able to find those on the webpage themselves.

Location
Location, Location, Location! When looking to make big life changing decisions it is always good to take a step back, breath, and ask yourself, "Is the place I am going to live for the next 2 or 3 years of my life a place that will bring my happiness and help me flourish or is it going to suck the life out of me and leave me stressed?"
My answer to that is do your research. It is very simple to find the city a University is located at and if there is a satellite campus where the program is offered that should also be on the main page of the university's website.
For instance the University of Washington is in Seattle but you can also take the courses in Spokane, Tacoma, or Anchorage.
From there you research the city. What does the city have to offer? If you have kids, is the school system there up to par? Are the neighborhoods safe? Are there things in the city that interest you?
If you like to hike, for instance, then Pocatello might be a better location for you. But if you like to shop, or you like the beach Seattle would definitely be a better option than Pocatello.
There are even websites out there to research potential primary and secondary schools in the area so you know what neighborhoods have the best education system. The best way to find out where the good neighborhoods are would be to go visit the campus you are applying to and start asking questions. The locals will know better than any website could tell you and you could find out personal experiences.
Another thing you might look into is job opportunities for your spouse if they are also moving with you. Some places will have a lot of job opportunities and some will not.
And last but not least, cost of living. There is a good cost of living calculator at http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/. This calculator takes your current salary where you are living (ex: Idaho Falls, ID) and calculate how much you will have to live in the next city (ex: Seattle, WA) in order to live the same kind of life.
Figure 7: Cost of Living Calculator

Housing
Along with location, housing is important. If you are planning on only being in the town for the two or three years of school looking at the options for campus housing for graduates or families would be a good idea. However if you plan on staying there and maybe even putting up residency in the town you might want to consider finding a house to rent or even buy off campus.
Figure 8: Graduate Housing (University of Washington)
For UWs housing you must go to the UW home page at http://washington.edu/. From there you have to click on future student and then student housing. You will see a list of options including the option below.
From here you click on the "Apartments" link and find the apartment that best suits you.
This is not an easy task necessarily but it is an important on. You want to be able to love your living situation as it will be one of the places you will spend the most time at. I would recommend a quieter place with a since of community. That way you will be able to study at home, have a good night's sleep, and be able to talk to your neighbors.
Some housing websites have a great tool for this. ISU for example has a comparison table of all their apartments








Figure 9: Graduate housing (Idaho State University)
This chart compares everything from the number of bedrooms to whether or not the mail is delivered directly to you. It also includes price (not pictured) and number of bathrooms.
To get to this table go to the ISU home page at http://www.isu.edu/ and click on the "future students" link. Then find the link that says "live on campus" this will bring up a new page that gives you the option for campus apartments. At ISU there is only one dorm for graduate students but there are multiple apartments that graduate students can live in so do some research. Call around, ask questions, and, if possible, visit the buildings to see if that is even a place you would want to live.
Living situations should not be taken lightly so if you cannot find a campus apartment that you could see yourself living in do more research. If you google "apartments in (fill in city)" there are many websites that come up. Google is a great tool to start off finding a home.

Financial Aid
Unfortunately humans, especially those in college, are not made out of money. This means that we will need to take into consideration the amount of money we will be giving to go to a Physician Assistant program. Each school is set up a little different but every school will have a link for cost and tuition and another link for financial aid purposes. Each of these links is very important.
With the two websites we have been looking at both of them have the links on the left of the screen.
Figure 10: Financial Aid links for both UW and ISU












For UW the "program cost" and the "financial aid" link are different while ISU has it all in the same link.
Loans are an awesome tool for undergraduates, however, graduate schools are a lot more expensive and can rack up your debt to amounts unbelievable to our human brains. Check into scholarships. There are links on every school page. Scholarships, internships, and grants will be the most important tools to your financial future.


Application
The application process is the first and most important part of going to a PA school. If you do not apply or your application is denied there is nothing you can do but wait for another year.
So how are you supposed to start applying? First and foremost look at the top or each home page (Figures 1 and 2) there is a link for applying on both websites. This is the only way to start your application.
A good resource on this page will be the frequently asked questions.
Figure 11: Frequently Asked Questions
The general FAQs page is a great place to find the answers to a lot of your questions. On the left are three of UWs frequently asked questions. With each click of the links you can find the answers to these and many more questions (not pictured) that are important to the application process. Idaho State only has one link but all the FAQs are on one page. They range from Application questions to background check questions. And great thing to know (which you can find on the FAQs page) is how to apply. It may be hard to find some details, for instance, ISU tells you about the duel applications in their FAQs page.
Figure 12: Duel applications

UW has information about the CASPA application on their FAQs page but to find out that you need duel applications you have to look under the link in figure 12 that is called "Apply to MEDEX"

Figure 13: Inside the Applicants link

Figure 14: UWs duel application statement

Both ISU and UW require that you take the Graduate Record Examination, affectionately referred to as the GRE. However, not all schools require the GRE to get in, for example the University of Utah very passionately states that they do not accept an entrance exam to be accepted into their PA program.
Another interesting fact you need know about the University you are applying to is when to apply to the actual school. Some PA programs have their own departments so you have to get accepted to the program before applying to the University. Figure 14 explains it a little better.
Figure 15: When to apply to the University

Finally it is time to apply! You have been walked through everything you need to know about finding the facts. Read them, apply them, and soar like an eagle. You have done a good job preparing for your future so now it is time to jump in. Relax and trust in your abilities and your brain! You will do great!

Abbreviations you should know:
PA- Physician Assistant
ISU- Idaho State University
UW- University of Washington
CASPA- Central Application Service for Physician Assistant
GRE- Graduate Record Examination
BLS- Bureau of Labor Statistics
FAQ- Frequently Asked Questions
NCCPA- National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants

Figure Index
                                       Page
                                                                                                   
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