When applying to a Physician Assistant Program there are many facets but almost all of which begin with the CASPA Online Application. CASPA is an acronym for Central Application Service for Physician Assistants. There are 127 programs (as of 2009) that require this single application in order to apply to their program. It is a generic application that when filled out delivers all of the needed background information about the applicant.
The application is available for completion upon the first of May and is saved until the end of the application year which normally ends in April of the following year. No information is saved from year to year. At the end of the application year, CASPA will automatically generate an email informing you that you have til the end of April to print out your application or save it to your own computer in order to fill it out in the next application year with more ease. I was accepted in my first application year but found in helpful and informative to print out my application for future reference and to show others what the application is all about.
CASPA is a service that you subscribe to. With your log-in and password you are able to work on your application when ever you are able. Most applications are due in the fall (October 1st) though there are some varied due dates ranging from November through March. Given that you are able to start working on your application in May…..and the applications for the earliest programs are due in July (though rare) this is still more than enough time to get the application and your letters of reference together.
A simple break down of the application goes as follows:
CONTACT INFORMATION: In this section you present your Name, Email, Title, Address, Phone Number, and the User name that is the first part of your email address that CASPA will use to contact you. This email address is usually a school email address for those that are currently taking classes. The reason for a school email is that there are usually better filters and less junk mail so that notifications from CASPA are not relocated in junk mail folder and systematically deleted. The use of other email addresses are fine, it is just important to sort through junk mail as notifications of letters or reference having been received are automatically generated.
PERSONAL DATA: In this section you delcare your Citizenship Status, Gender, DOB (Date of Birth), Ethnicity, Birth Country, Birth State, High School, Year of Graduation, Highest Degree Earned, Professional Certifications (If any), and any applicable Tests (MCAT, GRE, TOEFL). This is basic information that you are going to have to provide to any program and enjoy these previous two sections because they only become more labor intensive as you move forward.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: In this section you are allowed to boast a bit in the Honors and Awards section. Things that I included were any leadership experiences i.e…. Captain of the Soccer and Track, President of the Latin Club, College Sailing Team. Also honors and awards can be looked not so much as the result of being voted by your peers or but simple things like a motorcycle licence, N.A.U.I. Dive Certification. It is important to know that having a licence of any sort is a privilege to operate in a certain manner and you have been awarded that by a governing body of which you have put in the time and effort to achieve and maintain your status as a safe and effective individual within some rule set.
Also, within Additional Information there are simple Yes/No questions about Military Experience, Have you already attended a PA Program, Any notable Disciplinary action taken against you, conviction of a misdemeanor or felonly, or ever had any certification or licence revoked?
This section is not meant to be hard. If you think and work at it there are a lot of life experiences that we participate in all the time that provide certifications and licenses upon our hard work. Health field licenses or certifications should be exempt from this section as you are able to more properly place those in another section later on in the application. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT IN THE CASPA APPLICATION TO NOT LIST ANYTHING TWICE. There are some sections whereby you are able to attribute an experience or clinical time to more than one section but you MUST divide up the clinical hours that you spent between between the two sections appropriately.
(Aside) To better explain this…take for example if I had worked for 2 years as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). On my CASPA Application I have the opportunity to list this full-time job as either “Patient Contact Experience” and/or “Health Related Experience”. 2ooo hours per year X 2 years = 4000 hours ….I have 4000 hours to list and I am better off separating my hours and splitting my time accordingly between the two experiences. This might take more time that you would like but this application is the application that you will be judged on. (If you don’t have the time to do it correctly, you probably don’t have the right mentality to do right by your patients either…..so I’d stop and think for a bit)
HEALTH RELATED TRAINING: In this section you list training or classes that you have taken that are based more in clinical practice or safety. Examples of this would be BLS/CPR or ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) training, Phlebotomy Coursework, Non-Violent Crisis Intervention, EMT course and the like. After listing the training that you have there is a follow up question that will ask you if you recieved a certification for successful completion of the training…..yes/no.
This is an obvious case in which more is better. Training and especially training that is not required for your clinical experiences is heavily desired. Additional training beyond your scope of practice displays interest and a desire to advance. It is very important that the training that you list should you have earned a certification is up do date current. It is hard not to exaggerate or inflate your application but you must know that this is going to be read and if you are privileged enough to be offered an interview, no stone will be left unturned.
NARRATIVE: This is not your undergraduate college essay. THIS IS NOT YOUR UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGE ESSAY. Having said that here is why….
In my undergraduate college essay I wrote about catching frogs. I ended up majoring in philosophy with a focus on medical ethics. There is no connection between the two and there needed no reason to be one. In your college essay you could have written about anything. ANYTHING. The admissions board at Where-ever-you-went University just wanted to make sure that you knew how to formulate a sentence, use correct punctuation and when asked to write about anything you didn’t include your penchant underage drinking or fetish for arson.
Your CASPA essay should be an informative glimpse in to your motivation for wanting to be a PA! There was some emphasis behind wanting to BE a PA because at the end of school that is what you are going to actually be. There are thousands of people that graduate from law school and never practicse law. There are plenty of wonderful reasons to be educated in Law with relation to one’s end career or eventual goal. The only goal of a Physician Assistant program is to become a physician assistant. Your essay should refelect this. Your wanting help others, heal others and your movitation behind wanting to take time and teach the importance of preventative medicine to the underserved is REALLY important. The essay should be formulated like any other essay….I want to give you the freedom to present your passion and desire to practice in the field in your own way. A narrative is what they ask for. Make sure the end product reflects and fulfills the requirements (word count, use the very max) and speeks volumes about who you are and why you’re appliying.
This is the first part of the CASPA Application advice…….more to come