Why Wake PA?

Now I may be a little biased, but I think Wake Forest has an OUTSTANDING PA program. But let me share my top 5 reasons why.

Before I dive in, there are a ton of great programs out there. I do believe that if you are a motivated student with the heart for medicine, you can become a great PA nearly anywhere. So anyone who went to another program that is maybe less well known, do not take this as a slight toward your education. But personally, I found the structure and focus of Wake PA’s program to be the perfect fit for me.

Reason #1: Inquiry Based Learning

Wake PA’s most unique feature is that it follows an inquiry or problem based learning format. Now you may be asking ‘what the heck does that actually mean?’. It means that rather than reporting for class at 8am Monday – Friday and listening to traditional lectures til 5pm, you are instead in lecture based format classes a lot less. (With the exception of the first month which is a crash course review of anatomy and physiology and very much is long lecture days with cadaver lab mixed in.) A typical schedule is no more than a couple hours of lecture a day with small group case studies forming the bulk of your learning time. You meet in a small groups and work through a ‘real’ patient case that touches on pathophysiology, social issues, diagnostics, physical exam, etc. Then, in between small group (‘IBL’) meetings, you research the ‘learning objectives’ you came up with as a group. I found this invaluable when transitioning to real world practice as we weren’t simply memorizing slides on a screen, but we were learning to think critically and applied our learning to cases which I still remember now 4 years later. I am not someone who can stay focused for an 8 hour straight day of lectures so this format was exactly what I needed. I was able to structure my days of studying in a way that worked with my learning style. Also, I was more easily able to schedule in fitness, self care, etc. I LOVED it.

Reason #2: Wake’s Focus on ‘Being’ a PA

One of our classes was literally called “Being a PA” and it was all about how to be a human in medicine. We talked about patient diversity, communicating hard news to patients, journaled, talked about art, and were reminded that having the honor of working in medicine comes with a great responsibility. I feel one of my strengths in primary care is getting to the root of who the patient is. I feel as though I am able to look beyond the medicines the patient takes or the lab values I’m seeing, and always remember there is a human sitting across from me. I am very comfortable talking about uncomfortable topics and have no trouble sitting in silence with my patient when needed. I think any PA program is doing a disservice to its students if they do not have at least some focus on those ‘soft skills’ which in clinical practice have actually become some of my strongest.

Reason #3: Wake’s Split Campus

AKA, I was a ‘Boonie’ and spent both my clinical and didactic year in Boone, NC. I LOVED being in the mountains, and I also loved being in a smaller portion of the cohort. It bonded us together and gave me a strong community to fall back on while I struggled through the trials and tribulations that PA school brings. I am still great friends with so many of my Boonie peers, and likely will be for life! Being in Boone for clinical year (which was optional), was also an incredible experience for me. The hospital there has a small family medicine residency so there were only a handful of other learners around and we hardly ever overlapped. This means I got to be first assist in every surgery, was hands on in the ER with the attending physician, was the only student in the orthopedic clinic, and never had to duke it out with another learner to see things up close and personal. I was also able to interact with a rural medicine community similar to that of which I knew I would be working in upon graduation.

Reason #4: It’s Reputation

Let me be clear – RANK IS NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT A PA PROGRAM. Getting into and graduating from ANY PA program is a HUGE accomplishment. However, knowing I wanted to stay and work in NC upon graduation meant that graduating from a more established and well respected PA program only HELPED when looking for jobs. I was able to find Wake PA alum throughout my job application and interview process which just helped me get my foot in the door and was a conversation starter.

Reason #5: The Faculty

Last, but certainly not least is the Wake faculty. Even know several years later, I am still in touch with several faculty. I have had the pleasure of going back to help out with some clinical year prep instruction, have precepted my first few students, and know that I could reach out to ANY faculty member even now a few years later and they would support me. The faculty are kind, incredibly smart, approachable, and professional. One of the hardest things about graduate school is that adult life keeps happening outside of school. Knowing I could discuss personal hardships and stressors with faculty without fear of judgement was invaluable to me during my 24 months of PA school. Life kept going outside of the classroom, and they truly were there to support us through it.