MCPHS PA Interview
Questions to ask admissions at MCPHS - · What do you think sets this program apart from others?
· What do you believe PA students like most about this program?
· What do you like most about teaching at this program? What do you like most about working with PA
students?
· Do you find your graduates are more likely to work in a particular field?
· What is the curriculum during the clinical year? What happens at the end of a clinical rotation (exam,
return to campus, lectures)?
· How has the curriculum changed due to Covid? I did talk to some current students about the
curriculum and they said there was four lectures on campus. I was wondering if you were anticipating to
continue this way, how you see the future of the program running?
Massachusetts- regulations of profession - o Medication prescriptions: Anyone who holds a
license may issue written or oral prescriptions or medication orders for a patient
o Any prescription or medication order issued by a PA for a Schedule 2 controlled substance shall be
reviewed by his or her supervising physician, or by a temporary supervising physician
o Procedures: May operate fluoroscopic x-ray systems and perform fluoroscopic procedures
o Legal responsibility of PA: physicians remain legally responsible for the acts or omissions of said PA at
all times
o Surgery: assisting in surgery or other invasive procedures
What is the history of PA in US? - o In US the PA role came about in 1960s-70s, coming from
medics in Veterans war- for vets returning to society- this gave them a place in society- a role to help
them adjust to life out of war
o In between the doctor and nurse- building a bridge between trained medical professionals
o PA profession originally created to expand healthcare and improve it
o In the mid-1960s physicians and educators determined there was a shortage of primary care physicians
o Eugene A. Stead Jr., MD, of the Duke University Medical Center, put together the first class of PAs in
1965
o Four Navy hospital corpsmen, who had received considerable medical training during their military
service were chosen to participate in the class
, o Based the program on knowledge of fast-track training of doctors during World War 1
o First class graduated from Duke on Oct 6. 1967
o Pa concept gained federal acceptance and backing as early as 1970s to help relieve the physician
shortages
o Medical community provided abundant support of the new profession and spurred the developed of
accreditation status, national certification and standardization exam, and continuing medical education
requirements
PA and MD difference - o PA is a dependent practitioner while MD is independent
o PA needs supervising physician
o PA can generally change specialty with ease- not as easy with MD
o PA assist on surgery while MD performs independently
PA and NP difference - o PAs train using the medical model, similar to physicians, meaning they
focus on the testing, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease that the patient has
o NPs train on the nursing model, which means they focus on the testing, diagnosis, and treatment of
the patient with the disease
o PAs tend to look first at the pathology of the problem and then how to cure it. Looking for disruptions
in the pathophysiology of the body, a PA focuses on the biological aspects of diagnosing and treating the
disease.
o PAs train as generalists, which means they can practice almost any field in medicine- meaning you can
switch throughout career without need for re-certification
o On the other hand, NP programs focus on a concentration of a specific patient population
o NPs earn primary certification in their area of specialty
o PAs take the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE)- work under supervision of a
licensed physician
What do PAs do? - o Under supervision and delegation from MD
o Allows MD to perform more complex and acute cases
o PA deals with a lot of common illnesses, diagnoses, treatment, patient education
o Creating more access to healthcare, cost effective care
Questions to ask admissions at MCPHS - · What do you think sets this program apart from others?
· What do you believe PA students like most about this program?
· What do you like most about teaching at this program? What do you like most about working with PA
students?
· Do you find your graduates are more likely to work in a particular field?
· What is the curriculum during the clinical year? What happens at the end of a clinical rotation (exam,
return to campus, lectures)?
· How has the curriculum changed due to Covid? I did talk to some current students about the
curriculum and they said there was four lectures on campus. I was wondering if you were anticipating to
continue this way, how you see the future of the program running?
Massachusetts- regulations of profession - o Medication prescriptions: Anyone who holds a
license may issue written or oral prescriptions or medication orders for a patient
o Any prescription or medication order issued by a PA for a Schedule 2 controlled substance shall be
reviewed by his or her supervising physician, or by a temporary supervising physician
o Procedures: May operate fluoroscopic x-ray systems and perform fluoroscopic procedures
o Legal responsibility of PA: physicians remain legally responsible for the acts or omissions of said PA at
all times
o Surgery: assisting in surgery or other invasive procedures
What is the history of PA in US? - o In US the PA role came about in 1960s-70s, coming from
medics in Veterans war- for vets returning to society- this gave them a place in society- a role to help
them adjust to life out of war
o In between the doctor and nurse- building a bridge between trained medical professionals
o PA profession originally created to expand healthcare and improve it
o In the mid-1960s physicians and educators determined there was a shortage of primary care physicians
o Eugene A. Stead Jr., MD, of the Duke University Medical Center, put together the first class of PAs in
1965
o Four Navy hospital corpsmen, who had received considerable medical training during their military
service were chosen to participate in the class
, o Based the program on knowledge of fast-track training of doctors during World War 1
o First class graduated from Duke on Oct 6. 1967
o Pa concept gained federal acceptance and backing as early as 1970s to help relieve the physician
shortages
o Medical community provided abundant support of the new profession and spurred the developed of
accreditation status, national certification and standardization exam, and continuing medical education
requirements
PA and MD difference - o PA is a dependent practitioner while MD is independent
o PA needs supervising physician
o PA can generally change specialty with ease- not as easy with MD
o PA assist on surgery while MD performs independently
PA and NP difference - o PAs train using the medical model, similar to physicians, meaning they
focus on the testing, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease that the patient has
o NPs train on the nursing model, which means they focus on the testing, diagnosis, and treatment of
the patient with the disease
o PAs tend to look first at the pathology of the problem and then how to cure it. Looking for disruptions
in the pathophysiology of the body, a PA focuses on the biological aspects of diagnosing and treating the
disease.
o PAs train as generalists, which means they can practice almost any field in medicine- meaning you can
switch throughout career without need for re-certification
o On the other hand, NP programs focus on a concentration of a specific patient population
o NPs earn primary certification in their area of specialty
o PAs take the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE)- work under supervision of a
licensed physician
What do PAs do? - o Under supervision and delegation from MD
o Allows MD to perform more complex and acute cases
o PA deals with a lot of common illnesses, diagnoses, treatment, patient education
o Creating more access to healthcare, cost effective care
