Commonly Asked Questions

I am in the fortunate position to have received many emails, over this past year and a half, with questions regarding the field of pathology and pathologist's assistant schools. It is always my pleasure to be of help to anyone who asks. The following are some of the more common questions that I have received.

I have a background in... what can I do to be competitive in getting into PA school?
I can't speak for each and every PA program, however, I believe that your competitiveness in getting into PA school can basically be broken down into three main categories.
-Your background/experience.
-GPA/GRE score.
-Letters of recommendation/essay score/interview score.
Now, there are always exceptions and it is even quite possible that the exceptions predominate. As far as West Virginia University's PA Program is concerned, of course having a background in the health sciences is going to be to your advantage, but people who have majored with other degrees (for example, art or business) have been accepted into the program and done just fine. As long as you have the prerequisite courses taken (WVU's can be found here: http://medicine.hsc.wvu.edu/pa/Admission-Process)  then it should not be a hindrance, though you should still have a good reason why you changed directions in life.
Experience in the pathology laboratory or in any healthcare laboratory will be seen as a plus. But, you shouldn't give up just because you've never worked in a laboratory. You should try your best to get some experience working in a lab or at least shadow someone. I'll talk more about shadowing below.
Your GPA is also a big factor that makes you competitive. If you have a 3.5 GPA from undergrad, then you are competitive enough grade-wise, but WVU and other programs will accept as low as 3.0. However, I must say that people who achieved close to a 3.0 in undergraduate school are going to really have to amp up their studying. The PA program is basically a shortened version (2 years) of medical school and we take courses alongside other medical school and dental school students. Any average GPA of below 3.0 while in the program gets you kicked out. You may be asked during interviews (not just at WVU) how you think that you will be able to handle the academically rigorous schedule with a low GPA from undergrad.
I believe that each PA school places a different emphasis on how much they value letters of recommendation, essay scores and interview scores. Try to get your letters of recommendation from health professionals who have observed your work, preferably a pathologist or pathologist's assistant. Your personal statement may be one of the few things that interviewers will remember you by. During the application process, the interviewers see so many applicants that it becomes difficult to remember who was who. You should spend a lot of time on your personal statement and how you can make yourself stand out from the dozens and dozens of other applicants. As far as the interview is concerned, it feels more like a formal procedure. It is a way for the faculty to know whether you have the right personality and focus for being successful in the program. The usual rules for interviews apply. Before your interview, the interviewers already know your background and may have at least partially decided whether they want to accept you or not. During the interview, don't give them a reason to disqualify you.

Should I take the GRE?
As you may already know, many PA programs require applicants to take the GRE. West Virginia University is one of the programs which does not require the GRE. Nonetheless, I would still recommend taking the GRE even if you are applying to WVU. In my opinion, because the competition is so high, even if you are perfectly qualified to enter the program there may not be enough seats open for you. If you really want to get into PA school, be prepared to move. You should apply to PA school as if you were applying to medical school and do a shotgun approach. Apply to as many programs as you can. Before I was accepted into the WVU PA Program, I too was studying for the GRE. There's always a very real chance that you may not be accepted due to space limitations and taking the GRE is like having insurance to apply for other programs.

How can I get shadowing experience?
Depending on where you live, it may be difficult to get access to a laboratory or to see an autopsy. Don't be put off if you are rejected. My best advice is to write a very polite letter to the head of the laboratory or the medical examiner/coroner explaining your situation. State your background and write your request professionally. It may be hospital policy or laboratory policy that non-personnel are prohibited from entering and they have no choice but to turn you down. You may have to broaden your horizons and travel a bit from your hometown to get the shadowing experience.
One of the great parts of WVU (in West Virginia, Morgantown) is that the pathology laboratory is always open to shadowers. Of course, you should contact our program director if you are interested. If you have been unable to get shadowing experience anywhere else then after your interview at WVU you may go see the hospital surgical pathology laboratory. I would highly recommend it even if you already have shadowing experience.

What undergraduate classes should I take?
Once you have met the requirements for the programs that you are applying for, it is up to you what other courses you would like to take. If you have the opportunity to take any of the following classes, I would highly recommend it. The list below is what I think the most useful courses will be for you while an undergrad in descending order.

-Anatomy and Physiology  <---- very highly recommended (including any courses on autopsy dissection)
-Pathology (usually offered as a graduate course so may not be applicable to your case)
-Histology
-Clinical laboratory science related courses
-Medical Microbiology
-Immunology
-Cell Biology
-Genetics

As always, keep your grades up and you will be competitive.

What should I write for my personal statement essay?
Some programs give you a specific question that you must answer as your essay to enter the program, but at WVU the essay that you must write is much more broad. This can be a good or a bad thing depending on how well or analytical of a writer that you are. Your personal statement essay should cover basically, "Why should they accept you over all of the other applicants?" You are going to need to make yourself stand out because at the end of the whole process when the interviewers have to go over all of the dozens and dozens of applicants, faces can get blurry, who said what, and which face went with which interview (Which is why you are requested to send your photo in. So they can remember your interview!) can become a real mind-boggling task.
You'll want to emphasize the experience that you have or have had and relate that to how that will make you a successful student and future PA. You can try to give a specific example of something that you did that makes you qualified or gives you an edge over other applicants. You can even use your experience outside the field of pathology. For example you can mention your leadership activities within your church or your mentoring experiences or how people depended on you during your job or how you successfully organized and carried out a project. The possibilities are near limitless. The hardest part is thinking of something to write about in the first place. Once you have an idea, write out your essay and have someone read it over.
One thing that I should mention is that this is a hard-professional program so stick to Times New Roman or Arial and don't put anything that might detract from your essay such as printing on colored paper.

How will having a family affect my school experience?
It is true that the majority of students who are in the program have yet to form their own families, but that doesn't mean that family will prevent you from being successful in the PA program.
As I have yet to form my own family, I am only speaking from conjecture, but if you are accepted into a PA program, then you must be willing to put school as your highest priority for two years. Tests do not wait for children's soccer games, sick family members, cooking for dinner or laundry. It is very highly recommended that you attend every lecture that you have and that may conflict with your other obligations. You may even have to be willing to separate from your family for months or longer at a time. Now that we are in the digital age, living far from home is not so alienating. I have used SKYPE and email to stay in contact with my family members and some of my classmates do the same with their families.
If you are lucky and your spouse can afford to stay at home, then having a family close by could actually be a great boon for you. There have been many times when I have wished for a good home-cooked meal but not had the time to make it day in and out, so I settled for quick microwave items. (Usually this only occurs during heavy test weeks.)
It goes without saying that being responsible for a family will put a considerable amount of financial strain on you. Working is highly discouraged while in the program so you should have enough funds saved up to afford your cost of living for the next two years as much as possible.

How did you get interested in the field of pathology?
I had always been interested in the laboratory sciences ever since elementary school when my mother took me to her workplace during my summer vacations. She worked as a laboratory assistant in a county public health laboratory and I got to see a lot of neat bugs and blood specimens under the microscope. In high school, my favorite class was anatomy and physiology and I knew from then on I wanted to go into a field using that knowledge. I had considered going into medical school to study pathology, but before that I absolutely had to experience life in another country. There's really only one chance that you get, (for me it was after graduation from undergrad but before entering into graduate school) and I couldn't pass it up. Upon returning to the U.S., I couldn't bring myself to study another 10 or so years in medical school, so I decided that the field of pathologist's assistant was my best and most preferred option. I don't regret my decisions at all and I'm quite happy so far with how everything has turned out.

How do you feel about Morgantown?
Morgantown is a college town set in a rural area of rolling green hills. There are many conveniences such as fast food, supermarkets, restaurants and large chain stores such as Walmart. I personally prefer the country life to city life and I really enjoyed my time in Morgantown. I purposefully lived close to campus so that I could walk to school and in fact, this entire time I have never owned nor driven a car. (For transportation, I take the bus, taxi or pay gas money to my classmates.) Morgantown has a small town feel to it but can get really lively during football season. I would have stayed in Morgantown longer if given the choice.

How do you feel about your program?
I have never taken any other PA program, so I have no set point to base any of my opinions off of, but I can say that this program will ensure that you enter into the field as a prepared pathologist's assistant. There is a lot of information to absorb throughout all of your courses and at times it can feel overwhelming. Because the grading structure is strict (no less than a 3.0 GPA) it will keep you on your toes studying. The large amount of studying is for your benefit so that you pass the ASCP certification exam (all graduates of WVU's PA Program have passed the ASCP certification exam on the first try.) The range of rotation sites during the second year is fantastic. You will get experience through UPMC's "Centers of Excellence" where each site focuses on something different such as gynecological pathology, GI pathology, genitourinary pathology and pediatric pathology. You will get experience performing autopsies, working at general hospitals and even a tissue bank.

What do you do for housing?
It's best to live as close to campus as possible, as that is where you will be commuting for the majority of your days. If you can get in contact with another student who has been accepted into the program and share rent, that would be even better. Craigslist is hit or miss. You will be moving around quite a bit during the second year, so try to find someone who is flexible with their leases. Don't lock yourself into a 12 month lease if you're only going to be in Morgantown for 3 months.
Housing in Charleston, West Virginia is provided by the kind pathologists who work at Thomas Memorial Hospital.
For Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, you will again need to find your own housing. Try to double up with a fellow classmate to share the cost.

What is the job market like?
There is one disturbing trend in the pathologist's assistant field and that is that the average age is decreasing. (I believe that it is somewhere in the 40's, but please correct me if I'm wrong.) That means that there are a lot of new graduates coming in to fill up job vacancies. There are still a number of job openings available, but the market will get tighter as time goes on and the PA programs graduate more students.
It seems that there are jobs open all across the country, but significantly more so on the West and South West. States like California and Texas are hot spots for PA job opportunities. The reason for this is that all of the PA schools are located on the eastern side of the US and graduates typically stay close to family.
I have written another post regarding factors that affect the future of the PA profession here:
http://pathotoko.blogspot.com/2012/07/how-supreme-courts-ruling-on-individual.html

What books can you recommend to learn more about pathology or start studying from early?
The two most helpful books that you can get, in my opinion, are: 
-Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease 8th edition
-BRS Pathology
These two books complement each other and will probably form the meat of your studies. 
Besides books, there are some great anatomy websites that you should study from. They can be found either through google or on the right hand side of this page.

Are there any other ways to become a pathologist's assistant?
It used to be that pathologist's assistants were on-the-job trained and many of the older PAs got into the profession through their workplace. Recently, there has been new regulation stating that for high complexity testing, either a certified PA (one who has graduated from an ASCP certified PA program and has passed the PA certification test) has to do it or a pathologist must be on site while the specimen is being processed. I do not know of many laboratories which are training people on-the-job, however. Many laboratories now want a PA who is ready to go from the first day. Your best bet is to still graduate from one of the PA schools.

As time goes on I am sure that there will be other questions that come my way and I will be happy to expand this list as I see them. Feel free to add to this list by sending me an email or asking me in the comments!