Duke Physician Assistant Program News

Should you retake courses for better grades, or take a completely different, higher level, course? When it comes to your GPA, CASPA includes everything. Retaking a course does not replace the grade in the GPA that CASPA sends to individual schools. So, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.

“Chúc mừng năm mới sức khỏe dồi dào!” This is a common Vietnamese Lunar New Year greeting that expresses celebration and wishes for good health in the coming year.

The Duke Physician Assistant (PA) Program held its traditional white coat ceremony for first-year students on January 4, 2023. 

For the first time since 2019, the entire first-year class gathered in one location to celebrate their journey into PA education.   

As we enter this new year, we have some suggestions of attainable resolutions that will further you along your path to becoming a PA and prepare you for your time in PA school.    

Growing up, I always heard about the challenges and adversities my family had gone through in order to immigrate to the United States and create a better life for my brother and me. It was not until we began visiting India regularly that I began feeling so fortunate for my life here in the States. In late 2016, I had gone on what I believed to be another family vacation to India alongside my family.

Over the past several months, we have discussed how you can plan a path to PA school that works for you. Once you have decided whether or not to take a gap year, and plotted out the course work needed at various schools, you should be cognizant of the fact that ultimately, admissions committees want to learn who you are.

“Pockets” was one of the first patients I treated as a street-based EMT. Our friendship started off on the right foot – literally - when I treated his right foot for a fungal infection. For patients with diabetes like Pockets, a simple fungus can easily become a critical infection, like MRSA, and a life-or-death matter.

You’re scrolling through ads and political fundraising emails when you see a letter from your top choice for PA school. Maybe you go get a glass of water and calm your nerves before checking, or perhaps you open it quickly before the anxiety can set in; either way, you find yourself staring at the dreaded rejection letter. The first thing to do is give yourself grace — nationally, only 37% of applicants are accepted to any PA school in any given cycle. A rejection letter is only a snapshot in time and does not reflect you as a person or your future success as a PA. Take some time to practice self-care.

Earlier this month, Duke PA Program faculty and alumni traveled to San Diego for the 2022 Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) forum.  

According to the PAEA website, “For over 25 years, the PAEA Education Forum has been the premier event in PA education, bringing together faculty and staff to learn and connect.”