Hey y’all! My name is Paige and I am a first year physician assistant student at Bethel University, located in Paris, Tennessee. We began our didactic year in January 2018, we will begin our clinical year (plus some) in January 2019 and we will graduate in May 2020! Below I want to share some of my background information to give you an idea about who I am, where I come from, and how in the heck I landed myself in PA school.
I was born and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I have the most beautiful mother, a pretty rad step-dad and 4 crazy (but amazing) siblings. Oh, and I couldn’t forget about my adorable pup Cooper! Beyond my family, I also have the most understanding, motivating and loving boyfriend, Jacob, who has served as my rock in PA school since day one. I promise you will hear all about my support system later in my blog.
My bachelors degree was earned at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, where I majored in Allied Health Science and minored in sociology. I was pretty involved on campus during my undergraduate years. For two years I was a resident assistant in the freshman dorms, I was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa (National Leadership Honor Society), and I was a member of Alpha Kappa Delta (International Sociology Honor Society). I was an A and B student (other than that darn Genetics class with a C+) and graduated with a 3.57 GPA. My GRE score wasn’t the greatest (299) but I’ve learned that test scores aren’t everything when it comes to your application. My medical patient contact hours were completed by working as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) for 2 years in a nursing home and a private home health aid for an additional year and a half. I completed over 70 hours of shadowing experiences with doctors, physician assistants, a nurse practitioner, and a certified nurse anesthetist. The purpose of these “numbers” are to give you an estimate of what it took for me to get into PA school, but it is important to understand that the numbers are only a small portion of your application.
The content of this blog is reflective of my own personal experience as a PA student and it not meant to represent my program specifically, nor is it meant to generalize the experiences of other PA students. My intentions are to serve as a resource for current PA students, pre-PA students, and honestly anyone who is interested in learning about the PA profession. My hope is that this blog can shed some light on the realities of what it is like to be in PA school from my perspective, and share with you some of the powerful emotions, revelations, and experiences I have and will continue to experience as my PA school journey continues.
– Paige
Paige the PA 