In the CASPA application for documenting shadowing hours, what should be written in the description/key responsibilities section? When you're faced with the CASPA experience descriptions, just stick to the facts and only include what's relevant. Your CASPA GPA may be slightly different than your universitys calculated GPA for a few reasons. Stick with what it asks for (so you don't look like you can't follow directions). For example, if you are currently a teaching assistant for a college course, keep a list of key points from this experience that can strengthen your PA program applications. So, what does that look like? We will take that information into consideration in the review process. To give an idea, here are two contrasting examples: Example 1 (loaded with details): For over three years, I have been working as a clinical assistant at an Internal Medicine practice. First, lets break down the Experience section of CASPA. Even if a community service activity was outside of the medical world, the skills you gained from it might still be relevant. Volunteer work done outside of the health care field; for example, working for Habitat for Humanity, tutoring students, participating in or working for a fundraiser walk or blood drive, etc. If you have any specific questions about a particular experience, feel free to shoot me an email. For example, if you worked as a CNA at your community hospital, describe what you did, what other healthcare workers you were on a team with, how it has inspired you to continue your journey to become a PA, general skills and values you gained, etc. Not describing invites the reviewer to skim through this section without spending time thinking about the great things you have accomplished. All rights reserved. I'd say stick to your roles/ responsibilities! I'm trying to fill out my experiences, is it okay to use subjective information/words? comment sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment . Here is a guide on the best PA schools in Louisiana to help you build your career. Everyone else (those with lower GPAs and minimal healthcare experience) should apply to 20 or more. Allowing PA programs to contact these people gives your experiences more validity. If you are unsure how an experience should be classified, we recommend contacting CASPAs customer service line and asking them. Once you add the experience, you'll be prompted to categorize the "Experience Type" based on the following categories: Non-Healthcare Employment Research Volunteer Patient Care Experience* Healthcare Experience* Shadowing Leadership Experience Extracurricular Activities As always, Im happy to help! There is no limit to the number of experiences that you are able to enter, but you will want to add experiences that you feel are relevant to your PA application. For each experience, you should discuss your title/role, your key responsibilities, the skills you have gained during this role, and (if you have room) how this experience will benefit you as a PA. Providing these details on your application will leave no room for questions or doubt when admission committees are reviewing your application. Like listing volunteer experience, how you describe non-health care related work can be vague or specific, depending on the circumstances. Remember to include skills that may help you as a PA or PA student that might not be directly caring for patients, like training new employees, being familiar with billing or diagnosis codes, or working with other types health care providers. Each of these make positive contributions to your ability to be a successful PA student and will be valued by admissions committees. Completing CASPA (Central Application Service for Physician Assistants - online application service of the Physician Assistant Education Association) takes a lot of effort, but there are ways to make the application process more manageable. This portion of your application will be discussed in detail below. Talk about the setting, what you observed, things you learned. You will then enter the number of average weekly hours and the number of weeks. The goal is to pique the admissions committee's interest in you, in hopes they will contact you for a school interview. 362 0 obj <>stream If you are looking for the best PA schools in Minnesota, here is a guide to top-notch schools. Impress admission committees every chance you can, including with these short paragraphs. Without making a huge leap, expand on those prior experiences that helped you build skills that will be useful in the future. and your supervisors information (name, title, contact information). This may include student research positions, research technician positions, summer research student, masters rotational student, etc. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. I have a similar question. Schools with rolling admissions usually have few seats available by that late in the year, and interviews for them are already well underway. In the CASPA application for documenting shadowing hours, what should be written in the description/key responsibilities section? Healthcare Experience* Why would you pass on giving them a few details about you? This section is found under the Supporting Information section of CASPA. While the other details are straightforward, the wide open blank space is your only opportunity to add subjective information about your experience. There is no limit to the number of experiences that you are able to enter, but you will want to add experiences that you feel are relevant to your PA application. A question? All these little data points help a reader picture you in their mind. Lets say the program you are applying to has a December 1st deadline for your application to be verified. I used bullet format, job title - job description. You cannot paste images directly. Let's cover what to do for the most common experiences you might include in your application. While this may appear straightforward, if you open up the "supporting information" section and the menu unfurls, you'll start to see what takes so long. Paste as plain text instead, Getting Started with Your CASPA Application Creating and Managing Your CASPA Account Adding and Deleting CASPA Programs Filling Out Your CASPA Application This is how I formatted my experiences on CASPA to give myself the best chance to get selected. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Create authentic, effective responses for your PA school interview with a proven step-by-step framework. For example, a 40 hour a week position with 10 hours a week of research and 30 hours a week of direct patient care would be entered under both Research and Patient Care types with the appropriate hours and duties listed within each entry. List the additional number of weeks you have completed since originally submitting your application. If you submit an application to a program that has a hard cutoff cumulative GPA requirement of 3.2 and your CASPA calculated GPA is a 3.19, your application will basically be automatically rejected, which means if youre a low GPA applicant, youll have to attend community college in order to raise your GPA to a high enough standard to get into PA school. 3 Reply madbro2520 5 yr. ago Props to you for getting things done ahead of time. At this part of the PA school application process, youll have to brush up on your interview skills. As another example for a non-healthcare related experience entry, if you were a teaching assistant for a college course, consider expanding on how you guided students to the correct answer using critical thinking skills, kept open communication with the professors and team you are working with and managed your time efficiently! If it is, do your best to add in the details. Sentence to describe your main role, your responsibilities, who you worked alongside, etc. As DarcyJ stated, save the stories for your essays/ interviews! Basically, your goal should be to succinctly describe your setting (including the types of patients you cared for), the general scope of your patient care, and any areas in which you went above & beyond that. Applying to PA school can be challenging and time consuming. Describing your experience in succinct points will help you to collect your ideas and avoid "fluffing up" your experience with unnecessary information. All Rights Reserved. But, that doesn't mean you are required to spend hours figuring out what to include or mulling over what to write in the sometimes-intimidating "description" section of each entry. It seems strange if you don't. Or maybe they havent received a transcript from University of Whateverville. CASPA experience section explained: advice on how to crush the experience section on CASPA! Paid work done outside of the health care field or a research lab; for example, a retail or restaurant job. The Central Application Service for Physician Assistants. You will have their attention, and a good essay can leverage that attention into an interview. You know this is a competitive undertaking, so cast a big net. The level of detail you should include for a volunteering entry depends on the relevance of that experience to a career in medicine. Inside PA Training offers a comprehensive CASPA Application Review service so your application will look its absolute best. Direct patient care duties included taking vital signs, blood glucose monitoring, and answering patient calls. This portion is one of the couple parts of CASPA you can work on before the cycle youll be applying. Tips for Updating Your Personal Statement as a Reapplicant, my PA Resource, PO Box 153, Woodstock, GA, USA, Maximizing the Experience Description Sections of CASPA. "my duties at this job included 1.23etc") I feel like they won't know me unless I'm able to say subjective things, but I also feel like that could be against "rules"..or whatever 2018 PhysicianAssistantForum.Com. Press J to jump to the feed. We dont think applications need to be in as soon as the starting gun goes off, but waiting until September is a mistake. We had an AI computer write a 5000 character personal statement. After you hit the big SUBMIT button, your job isnt over. They can be accessed from the sidebar as well as the TOP menu bar. You can reach their customer service line at (617) 612-2080 or caspainfo@caspaonline.org Monday through Friday, 9-5 Eastern. Enter information about the organization where the experience took place. Its important that you use the 600 characters in such a way that gives PA programs a clear understanding of the specific experience that you are describing. How to Choose Your Best Programs: Understanding Curricula, What Is Optimal Team Practice? I have gained many qualities that will help me as a future PA. Can you see the difference that a thoughtful description of your experiences can make on your application? This was my first experience working with patients and it ignited my passion for helping others.". Display as a link instead, 2018 PhysicianAssistantForum.Com. If one of your reference hasnt submitted their letter and a schools deadline is approaching, you can call him/her and encourage them to turn in in ASAP. When you were cared for by a physician assistant. The Advice You Can Ignore When Crafting Your PA School Application Essay, How to Prepare Now for a Potential Second Application Cycle, How to Assess the Impact of Geography on the PA School Experience, What to Know About Interprofessional Opportunities Offered by PA Programs, How to Increase Potential Employer Interest When Exploring a New Specialty as a PA. If you ever have a question about the CASPA application, reach out to a representative through their website! Describing your background in this way will allow the person reviewing your application to better understand the breadth of your experience. CASPA defines verification process as follows: Verification is the process used to ensure all of your coursework was entered correctly and consistently. hire us to coaching you through the process. Step 2: After categorizing the experience, you will enter details about the organization (name, location, etc.) Pep Talk #16: How Many PA Programs Should I ApplyTo. . What you discovered from a friend or family member in the healthcare field that touched you. Want more help on your CASPA application? A PA personal statement is really a personal essay that offers you a time to shine. Maybe you led a team of volunteers or you worked with another organization on a project, either of which shows a higher level of responsibility in your role requiring skills that could help you in a future career as a PA. . Get right to the point and leave the reader impressed by your involvement in these experiences. If you want to be a physician assistant but you feel that your GPA isn't high enough, you still have hope. The "experiences" portion of CASPA is one of the most valuable parts of your application! Stay tuned for the answers to all . The FAQ spells out what counts as: Make sure you use the right category when you describe your experiences. You can all Whateverville and to figure out whats going on. Options to categorize your experiences include non-healthcare employment, research experience, volunteer, patient care experience, healthcare experience, shadowing, leadership experience, extracurricular activities, and teaching experience. I work at a doctors office and my responsibilities include interacting with patients and performing different tests on them. Send the few descriptions into the writing center at your college, send them over to a former professor, or a knowledgeable colleague. Also, the last bullet point takes a vague statement from the original paragraph and describes a direct lesson. Select the appropriate experience type from the drop-down. 311 0 obj <> endobj The CASPA application has separate sections where you are asked to list your achievements, memberships, certifications, and licenses. First, judge where it's relevant enough to include. Make this part easy by not stressing over the blank spaces. Those are subjective descriptions. I assist each doctor with a variety of tasks, which include aiding them in dressing wounds, chaperoning breast and pelvic exams, and contacting patients with lab work results. We are also in the planning stages for a webinar on making your CASPA application shine. Note that this may take a few weeks, but the average time it takes for your application to be verified is two weeks. Instead, try to submit around mid June. If you want the reader to take you seriously, dont try to sell them a used car. Time spent officially following and observing a health care professional at work, preferably in the physician assistant field. Sometimes waiting makes sense, but in most cases applying too late is the bigger risk. In mine, I wrote specific things that I witnessed - lacerations, sutures, MVCs and so on. Through this role, I have gained valuable clinical experience, strengthened my communication skills with both patients and fellow medical colleagues, increased my medical knowledge, and learned the art of team-based care. In the supporting materials section of CASPA, you are given the opportunity to list and describe the various roles and work experience that add to your CASPA application. Several schools offer PA programs. Yes, it costs more, but Its a numbers game, and the alternative is another year waiting to reapply. The Act ensures that reproductive health services, such as birth control, abortion, and emergency contraception, are available to all . It's essential that this information is accurate as a PA program may reclassify your experience from PCE to the less-favored HCE if your described level of responsibility does not meet their standards for PCE. Only then can you rest for a bit until you are invited to interview! The Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) simplifies the process of applying to physician assistant programs. If the experience was a student-organized group and there was no advisor, list a member who can verify your experience. Volunteer Trying to squeeze in unnecessary impassioned information will only exhaust you and anyone else who will eventually be reading through your application. You start by selecting the programs you wish to apply to, then you submit one application that includes all necessary materials. How do you calculate your hours? Experience Title: Use same title as original entry, but add "Continued," such as "Ambulance EMT, Continued" Experience Description: No need to repeat what you already told them about this . Next, youll be prompted to enter in the Experience Details. CASPA will ask for your Title at the experience and the Type of Recognition you received through this experience (compensated, received academic credit, volunteer). Also, it is a good idea to have these proofread, just like your personals statement should be. Enter the average weekly number of hours that you completed for this experience during the date range that you indicated. Touch is the feeling of contact between a living creature and its environment. Notice how all of these examples sound complicated, biased, or use sales words like liaison or successful. This is the only information that PA programs are given about your patience care experience, so the information that you provide in this section will serve as the only reference a program has when determining your quality patient care experience. ^lW(y $k^ r x#1, 0 | Use your best judgment to relay the information that you need the reader to know, rather than all the information you would want the reader to know. How should you word your experiences? Leadership Experience All rights reserved. This is THE subreddit for all pre-physician assistant students seeking help with their applications. Enter the date or date range in which the experience took place. You must keep track of these deadlines! The essay is your chance to tell them whatever you think they should know about your desire to become a PA, and to do so as you see fit. Being a nursing assistant is a great work experience before getting into a PA school. Please try again. Applicants dress up their experiences with descriptions that try to inflate their experiences or sound educated. Enter information about your supervisor at the organization. Your previous content has been restored. This will strengthen your application tremendously! Since patient care hours are a huge element of your application for many PA programs, its important that you carefully and strategically explain your experience so that PA programs get a clear understanding of that specific experience. 18. CASPA experience descriptions . You can post now and register later. Since credit values, grade values, and course subjects vary widely from school to school, your programs need some type of standardization so they can accurately compare applicants. Have at least three people you trust read and critique your essay. Experiences are documented through CASPA and we do not project hours for the future. In this section you list all of your experiences, from PCE to HCE to volunteering to shadowing and more! Your personal statement may touch on some of your experience entries, but this part of CASPA is where you can elaborate on each one individually. and your supervisors information (name, title, contact information). If you feel you have an experience that may not relate to PA school, but may make you stand out as an applicant, then definitely add it! Be very picky about the words you use to describe your experiences and avoid using any filler words or sentences. If your university offers grade forgiveness, your college GPA may appear higher than your CASPA calculated GPA. You should also go over how your family life was when you were growing up. If something is important enough to mention in the description, you should give specific details. Include any procedures you watched (keep it short) and the types of visits (follow-ups, new patient evaluations, presurgical assessments) you witnessed. If youre not a born writer, not to worry get help. A Touch of Humor Applying to PA school is stressful which makes it easy to procrastinate. Research in public health or nursing is a critical component of advancing healthcare and improving health outcomes for individuals and communities. Therefore, writing descriptions that are loaded with valuable details and examples will not only benefit your application, but will help give admission committees a true picture of your experiences. They can be accessed from the sidebar as well as the TOP menu bar. Feel free to add information you gained from your observation or in discussion with the PA, but remember to frame it as a fact rather than a magical moment. Next you will enter the Description/Key Responsibilities of the experience. As DarcyJ stated, save the stories for your essays/ interviews! I suggest keeping this information saved on a Microsoft word document or on a Google document. Its important to put a lot of thought into these descriptions, because this is the only information that admission committees receive regarding your experiences. It's equally important not to overstate your duties in a role as PA schools will see through this and question your integrity. Question: Describe your experience of (or your interest in) research, in public health or nursing. There are free online resources that can help you estimate it. Whether youre applying for the first time or youre a re-applicant to PA school, its important to follow CASPA application best practices to you dont make critical mistakes or delay your Caspa application status for PA school. Both paid and unpaid work in a health or health-related field where you are not directly responsible for a patient's care, but may still have patient interaction; for example, filling prescriptions, performing clerical work, delivering patient food, cleaning patients and/or their rooms, administering food or medication, taking vitals or other record-keeping information, working as a scribe, CNA (depending on job description), medical assistant, etc. Teaching Experience, *if you find yourself confused about the difference between, PCE and HCE, please refer to [Pep Talk #8] for clarity. Think about how what you've done in the past can align with what you will do as a PA. As anyone who has tackled the CASPA application in the past can attest, it's not something that can be done in an afternoon. Example 2 (lacks sufficient detail): I work at a doctors office and my responsibilities include interacting with patients and performing different tests on them. Aim to be as descriptive as possible when completing your CASPA application. There are stages to the process. Here is where you will explain to the admissions committee your responsibilities, job duties, level of involvement, etc in this particular experience. Upload or insert images from URL. (I'm not bashing servers. January 12, 2018 in CASPA. They cant save a seat for you if they dont know you want one! Most students list them but leave the experience's description blank. Please read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) before submitting questions. The 2018-2019 PA school CASPA application cycle is here. All Rights Reserved. This can be really helpful when you've held several similar positions. Also, if you have taken courses outside of the main college you earned your degree at, you must use these in your cumulative/science GPA calculations. Experiences in which you are directly responsible for a patient's care. While you should be detailed with every experience that you add. Maintained a clean environment for each patient and followed standard precautions. Pretty straightforward, right? Hey all, Im curious if the use of "bullet points" are encouraged instead of typical narrative paragraphs in description of experiences. Here is where you will describe to the admissions committees your responsibilities, job duties, involvement, etc. PAI 20: Rejected by PA Schools! CASPer Test - What You Need To Know About The Exam, my PA Resource, PO Box 153, Woodstock, GA, USA, you can work on before the cycle youll be applying. CASPA provides a general guideline of limiting your entries to the past ten years of experience and including only activities that are college-level or above. You never know who will be reading your application and whether that certain experience might catch the attention of the reader! Conclusion sentence connecting the experience back to your goal of being ready for PA school. Your PA school wants to learn more about you and your past experiences. Otherwise, leave it out. For over three years, I have been working as a clinical assistant at an Internal Medicine practice. Learn More. Many rely on generalizations or fail to show readiness for PA school. transcripts, references, and your personal statement). All tutors are evaluated by Course Hero as an expert in their subject area.
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