A year ago I kicked off our PA vs MD section with a video interview of my classmate, Sundance. Before starting PA school at UC Davis School of medicine, she was a medical student there, and chose to switch paths. When she first spoke on camera we were just one quarter into our PA training. She spoke with me again today to give us an update as a second year PA student with somewhat more perspective. As always, she was candid, and shared some great insights about what physician assistant education is really like.
PA vs MD: Sundance Second Year PA Student Interview
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
These are great interviews with Sundance. I like her honesty. I’d be interested in hearing about her experience (or others) in PA school while raising a young child. How did she get her studying in and be a good parent? When did she study? The idea of being in PA school while raising a family is daunting, but I know it can be done. I’d like to know how other students have done it.
Paul & Sundance,
You have provided us with another wonderfully informative interview. I wholly appreciate being given such great insight through the informal tone & Sundance’s candid responses.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences.
- Nicole
Thanks, Nicole – we really lucked out finding Sundance. Glad the interview was helpful!
Thank you Paul and Sundance for providing your experiences throughout the program. I am nervous about starting UC Davis’ program this summer, but after listening and reading about your two experiences, I feel more excited. Keep up the the good work and I am an avid supporter of this wonderful site!
Hey Paul and Sundance,
Thank you both so much for these interviews! I’m especially grateful for the insight into work/life balance. I’m in the early stages of completing prerequisites and accruing HCE and I have an 8-month-old, so I very well may be 33 with a 2.5 year old when I’m in PA school too. It’s so helpful and heartening to see that it can be done. Thanks again, and best of luck to you both in your final quarter!
Great video, thank you both for sharing!
Thanks, Carl! I’ll pass your words on to Sundance.
First off these videos are great and I thank you and Sundance for some excellent insight. I am currently finishing my undergrad as a health science student, and am trying to find summer jobs that deal with direct patient care. Most of these require to be certified or take month long classes (EMT,message therapist, etc.)… Although I am certified in first aid and CPR, I am having difficulty finding the right summer job as nurse assistants and physical therapist assistants also require you to have completed certified programs. I have applied to a few hospitals as patient transporters but most of them do not want seasonal employees.
Any tips or ideas would be very appreciated.
Also, if you have any experience or know any one experienced with the NHSC (National Health Service Corps) as I’m looking into their loan repayment program.
Thank you so much for sharing your insight! I’m 26, 4 years out of undergrad, and have been accepted to an osteopathic medical school for 2012. But I’m trying to take a good, honest look at myself, what I want in a work/life balance, and whether the medical school path is truly for me. I do not currently have a family, and while I’m fairly certain I don’t want children, I know I want a partner. I also know that I have interests outside of medicine that I would like a bit of time on the side to explore.
I’ve always wanted my career to be a big part of who I am. The only role I’ve truly felt comfortable in is serving others, doing my part to alleviate disparities. But if a medical school path is truly going to consume ALL of me to a point where I feel depersonalized, then I don’t know that I will even have the energy to fill the role I want to.
Didn’t mean for that to turn into a marathon comment, but thanks for letting me share, and any advice you have would be super appreciated. Best of luck with the rest of your education!