Author : Matt Delph, PA-C

First of all, congratulations for receiving the letter many have waited for! All that hard work has finally paid off and now you’re officially a physician assistant student (PA-S). But guess what? That was the easy part. 

You have now signed up for the most mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting 2-3 years of your life. But within that journey, you will make life-long friends and unforgettable memories. So now that you received you acceptance letter, you probably have 4-8 months until the studying starts. Some programs have courses they encourage you to take to get into the medicine mindset and maybe be ahead of your peers. Truth is, these are usually OPTIONAL for a reason. 

Why?

Because when you sit in that seat, you will have a melting pot of students with medical knowledge around you ranging from physical therapy aide (me) to critical care paramedics and doctors (yup doctors). When I received my acceptance letter to my #1 school, I was actually in the gym finishing up a workout. I went home and immediately started planning a pre-PA school trip. One of my best friends and college roommates lives in Toronto, Canada so that’s where I headed. It was a solid trip even though poutine didn’t live up to the hype.