With only 600 characters, it may be hard to include everything you want. The CASPA application is broken down into four parts: personal information, academic history, supporting information, and program materials. Limiting your description to one or two sentences may come off as lazy and underprepared to apply to PA school. If you are unsure how an experience should be classified, we recommend contacting CASPAs customer service line and asking them. Instead say: I communicated with both providers and scribes. How should you word your experiences? For this reason, many applicants are tempted to expand on their experience in narrative or emotional ways. First, lets break down the Experience section of CASPA. 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. 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. I paid most of my way through college by waiting tables, but describing the skills I gained as being genuinely relevant to work as a PA would be a stretch, and it would look like one on an application.). As DarcyJ stated, save the stories for your essays/ interviews! The Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) simplifies the process of applying to physician assistant programs. Get right to the point and leave the reader impressed by your involvement in these experiences. As DarcyJ stated, save the stories for your essays/ interviews! Related activities you would like your selected programs to review; for example, academic clubs and competitive teams. Everyone else (those with lower GPAs and minimal healthcare experience) should apply to 20 or more. CASPA defines verification process as follows: Verification is the process used to ensure all of your coursework was entered correctly and consistently. First, judge where it's relevant enough to include. 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! Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The blank space is just about the facts. CASPA Applicant Help Center - Liaison What sort of details should you include? Starting Your CASPA Application Get started with an overview of the process, important dates and fees, and contact information. Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences (Mary Baldwin University) 2022-2023 Cycle. Include any procedures you watched (keep it short) and the types of visits (follow-ups, new patient evaluations, presurgical assessments) you witnessed. If you want the reader to take you seriously, dont try to sell them a used car. The "supporting information" section is where you'll list volunteering, patient care experience, health care experience, non-health care work, shadowing, and extracurricular activities. If you made Deans List, describe what that means: Deans List is reserved for students who achieve a 3.5 or higher GPA for any given semester. Even if you think they will know what a phlebotomist is, or what it means that you are CPR certified, give at least some description of that achievement. 18. All rights reserved. Your goal is to attract a little attention to yourself and to be memorable. Let the experience speak for itself by saying specifically what you did. . You will then enter the number of average weekly hours and the number of weeks. Describe your patient care experience(s) in detail, including direct patient care responsibilities and duration in estimated . By List what you observed, accomplished, or learned without describing how you felt about it. Why would you pass on giving them a few details about you? Enter the date or date range in which the experience took place. This portion of your application will be discussed in detail below. This post will discuss a few CASPA tips and strategies to approach the CASPA application that will ease stress when the application cycle opens, and make sure you can avoid any potential application mistakes. For over three years, I have been working as a clinical assistant at an Internal Medicine practice. You start by selecting the programs you wish to apply to, then you submit one application that includes all necessary materials. You cannot view these CASPA calculated GPAs until you submit an application. Describe the type of practice and provider (e.g., dermatology, PA) you observed. Options to categorize you experiences include non-healthcare employment, research, volunteer, patient care experience, healthcare experience, shadowing, leadership experience, extracurricular activities, and teaching experience. I served as the primary liaison between provider and scribe teams. If you showed up for the day to volunteer, keep the description simple and don't embellish. If you are going to share an experience make sure it is not a clich and it is absolutely necessary as to why this experience played a role in wanting to become a PA! The Act ensures that reproductive health services, such as birth control, abortion, and emergency contraception, are available to all . So, if position duties encompass more than one section, enter the position in both sections and divide the hours and duties accordingly. Todays post is going to discuss the ways to properly and strategically describe your experiences that you enter into CASPA. Your CASPA GPA may be slightly different than your universitys calculated GPA for a few reasons. Describing your background in this way will allow the person reviewing your application to better understand the breadth of your experience. While the other details are straightforward, the wide open blank space is your only opportunity to add subjective information about your experience. In this post, you'll learn exactly how to approach that application blank space. 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. Sometimes waiting makes sense, but in most cases applying too late is the bigger risk. Change). List what you observed, accomplished, or learned without describing how you felt about it. You never know who will be reading your application and whether that certain experience might catch the attention of the reader! Maintained a clean environment for each patient and followed standard precautions. 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. The experiences section of CASPA is a crucial part of your application. If you made Dean's List, describe what that means: "Dean's List is reserved for students who achieve a 3.5 or higher GPA for any given semester." This was my first experience working with patients and it ignited my passion for helping others.". Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, https://www.reddit.com/r/prephysicianassistant/search?q=bullet%20points&restrict_sr=1. 0 Describe everything. About two weeks after that your courses will be checked, CASPA GPA calculated, and your application will be Verified. Youll check either the yes or no box. Lets backtrack to Step 5: describing your experience. After you hit the big SUBMIT button, your job isnt over. You should, however, always say "yes" to authorizing contact with the organization or individual when prompted on the CASPA application, even if you don't have all of the details available. Youll check either the yes or no box. Feel free to add as many experiences that you would like. Talk about the setting, what you observed, things you learned. It is best to aim to have your application submitted a few weeks prior to this deadline, so that by the time that December 1st deadline rolls around your application is submitted AND verified. Want more help on your CASPA application? The project included assessing the time from arrival to discharge . (I'm not bashing servers. Introduction to CASPA - The Centralized Application Service for If youre not a born writer, not to worry get help. Experiences in which you are directly responsible for a patient's care. Instead say: I helped to managed needed patient services such as. You want to make them see you as a real person theyd like to meet (interview). If you want to be a physician assistant but you feel that your GPA isn't high enough, you still have hope. You want to jam-pack this section with details about the experience and your role. Write The Perfect PA School Personal Statement [With Examples] - LinkPAs They cant save a seat for you if they dont know you want one! Pep Talk #15: How to Describe Your Experiences in CASPA Do You Share These Burning Questions of PA School Applicants? Do not include paid work experience in this section. Teaching Experience, *if you find yourself confused about the difference between, PCE and HCE, please refer to [Pep Talk #8] for clarity. This is known as the experiences section. My key responsibilities include taking patient vitals, recording patient medical histories, discussing current patient medications, administering vaccinations, and performing electrocardiograms. Your PA school wants to learn more about you and your past experiences. Take advantage of the space they allow you to further prove your readiness for PA school and always max-out each description box. Instead say: I cared for and interacted with patients. You will then enter the number of average weekly hours and the number of weeks. You don't have to avoid sentences completely in your descriptions, but overall, your descriptions should be direct and to the point, whether you are using bullet points or not. You want to jam-pack this section with details about the experience and your role. List the additional number of weeks you have completed since originally submitting your application. Applying to PA school is stressful which makes it easy to procrastinate. This will strengthen your application tremendously! If you are looking for the best PA schools in Minnesota, here is a guide to top-notch schools. Awards Honors and Achievements - CASPA - Physician Assistant Forum Trying to squeeze in unnecessary impassioned information will only exhaust you and anyone else who will eventually be reading through your application. Some programs list a submission deadline and some list a verification deadline, some have whats considered rolling admissions. "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 That's what the essay is for. You should also go over how your family life was when you were growing up. If it's important enough for you to include, you should allow it to be verified. The method to document this experience is through the CASPA online application. (LogOut/ Upload or insert images from URL. Leave out irrelevant details that are non-specific to this particular experience in order to leave room for the necessary material. You can attend PA program schools to pursue a degree in some of the best PA schools in Kentucky. Note that since each program's definitions and requirements vary, CASPA has no specific preference as to which category you choose. comment sorted by Best Top New Controversial Q&A Add a Comment . Certain information from your application transfers over from one application cycle to the next (i.e. Or maybe they havent received a transcript from University of Whateverville. Every week or so you should log into CASPA to check your applications progress. Note that this may take a few weeks, but the average time it takes for your application to be verified is two weeks. This is the part of the Experience section that you want to pay very close attention to while completing. June is early enough to stay ahead of the masses, and just late enough that youll have your Spring course grades. Im curious if the use of "bullet points" are encouraged instead of typical narrative paragraphs in description of experiences. 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. There are free online resources that can help you estimate it. PDF Tips for CASPA Experience entries - University of Colorado Boulder As a resident of Colorado, the Colorado Reproductive Equity Act has had a positive impact on my life. and your supervisors information (name, title, contact information). Note that you cannot repeat hours between experience types. So, what does that look like? The level of detail you should include for a volunteering entry depends on the relevance of that experience to a career in medicine. Avoid this mistake! You will be given a 600 character limit, not including spaces. As anyone who has tackled the CASPA application in the past can attest, it's not something that can be done in an afternoon. If the experience was a student-organized group and there was no advisor, list a member who can verify your experience. 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 . A Touch of Humor The "experiences" portion of CASPA is one of the most valuable parts of your application! By lenn19 Started June 23, 2022. Whether youre planning to apply during the upcoming PA application cycle, or during next years cycle, beginning this part of your application can put you ahead of the game. Save time & gain momentum along your path by getting the kind of everyday support that a future PA needs. Your recent experience is most important, so don't stress if you can't find the phone number for your boss from six years ago. You will need to collect and prepare several documents such as writing a personal statement or essay, contacting your references and getting letters of recommendation ready, previous job experiences, and submitting your transcripts. Extracurricular Activities A question? This portion is one of the couple parts of CASPA you can work on before the cycle youll be applying. Stocked supplies for patients on isolation and followed appropriate isolation precautions. 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. How to Describe Your Experiences in Your CASPA Application Once your application is submitted and all required material is received, your applications status will update to Complete. Your application is then in line to be verified. 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. How do you calculate your hours? Most students list them but leave the experiences description blank. Describing Your Experiences In The CASPA Application First, have your "experiences" descriptions prepared before the cycle opens. CASPA Application Tips My PA Resource Please read our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) before submitting questions. endstream endobj startxref 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. I'd say stick to your roles/ responsibilities! If you volunteered at a 5K run, we don't need to know that you helped fold chairs, handed out race bibs, or passed Gatorade to participants. CASPA will tell you if your application hits a snag of some kind, and if it does, you can fix it quickly to avoid delays. (LogOut/ Clear editor. Six programs is the bare minimum, and only for top tier students (over 3000 hours patient care experience, 3.5+ GPA and strong essay). All tutors are evaluated by Course Hero as an expert in their subject area. . The Experience section is one of the most time-consuming, yet vital portions of your CASPA application, so preparing your descriptions beforehand can save valuable time during application season. Here is where you will describe to the admissions committees your responsibilities, job duties, involvement, etc. It's equally important not to overstate your duties in a role as PA schools will see through this and question your integrity. Experiences in which you held a leadership role within an organization, such as the president of a club, fraternity/sorority, etc. So sorry I'm just replying, I'm in my 2nd week of PA school and getting my ass handed to me lol. "As a CNA, I conducted various patient care activities and tasks. For example, prescribing medication, performing procedures, directing a course of treatment, designing a treatment regimen, actively working on patients as a nurse, paramedic, EMT, CNA, phlebotomist, physical therapist, dental hygienist, etc. 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. It is your chance to go into detail about the diverse experiences you have had leading up to PA school. 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. Learned the importance of taking time with each patient and that each patient has different needs and expectations. Experiences are documented through CASPA and we do not project hours for the future. Check out the r/PAstudent subreddit once accepted and r/physicianassistant after graduation. 338 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<3DEFC28824D45D47906D5F311E7E49C6>]/Index[311 52]/Info 310 0 R/Length 121/Prev 178179/Root 312 0 R/Size 363/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream How to Dive into the Fine Details of CASPA, with Real Applicant A couple examples weve run across: I strove to provide excellent patient care and gain an intimate understanding of patient needs. Notice how all of these examples sound complicated, biased, or use sales words like liaison or successful. I'd say stick to your roles/ responsibilities! This gives a much clearer picture of the applicant's experience. Those are subjective descriptions. Step 3: You will then be prompted to enter the Experience Dates, which will give you the chance to enter both the start and end date, whether it is a current experience, and the status of the experience (full-time, part-time, per diem, temporary).