About
Hey everyone! My name is Matt Delph and I’m a practicing Emergency Medicine/Urgent Care/Pain Management Physician Assistant on Long Island, New York. I studied at Touro College for 24 months, was able to graduate with honors and was fortunate to get a job in my desired field right out of school. During those 24 months, I kept getting approached by classmates as to where I would find specific mnemonics, videos, pictures, etc. for various topics. Because we were all on the same team and working toward a common goal of completing PA school and passing the PANCE, I was always willing to help. With regards to this website, the inspiration came to fruition when I was planning my post-PANCE vacation and was on a travel site that had every airline compared, price by price, different departure times, hotel fees, etc. All the information for my trip was in one simplified location and the lightbulb went on. All the videos, charts, pictures, and online practice resources that I saw incredible value in and were helpful during my PA school journey, are all compiled into one place. Thus, the PA School Prescription was born.
My journey to PA school started about my sophomore year of college. Originally when I graduated high school, I wanted to be a Physical Therapist because of the many hours I spent in PT offices rehabbing ankle injuries and an ASIS avulsion fracture. PT was such a success, I ended up accepting an offer to play Division 1 soccer in college. In my first semester, I heard chatter about the PA profession but didn’t know exactly what it entailed. I did some research and was able to shadow an orthopedic PA the following winter break. As I was shadowing, I saw the impact he was making and I had an “Ah-ha” moment of, “I can do this.” I was still unsure which route I wanted to go, but I definitely had a better grasp of what the PA profession was after that winter break. After getting an astounding 2.9 GPA my first semester (see below), I knew I had to focus and improve my study habits and GPA if I had any shot of getting into graduate school. I switched up my study regimen and got a 48 on my next Biology test. I then cut out all distractions and went completely tunnel vision for the rest of the semester and ended up with a B in the class.
I decided midway through sophomore year that I was going the PA route, so I tailored my schedule accordingly. Senior year I had the opportunity of shadowing another orthopedic PA. However, this time I was in the clinic AND operating room setting. I knew I wanted to take a gap year and work to accumulate money if I got accepted to a school out of state. At that point, I was getting my application ready, perfecting my personal statement, and constantly meeting with an advisor to see if there was anything else I needed to do. He recommended taking an EMT course during my gap year to show additional medical training prior to PA school. Done. I took the course and completed it and applied to 14 schools. Yup, 14.
Luckily, the interviews were coming in and I was fortunate to get into a few of my top schools. However, my car broke down, so whatever money I had saved up for an apartment to move away, I had to put toward a new car. I decided on Touro College because of it’s phenomenal reputation, PANCE pass rating, and encouragement the director gave at each open house I went to. Thus began my journey as a PA-Student.
Connect with me here! –> mattdelph_pac