write an essay during interview

[sassy]

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Ok, I finally got an interview at UNTHSC, and I know that during the interview I will have 30 minutes to write some type of essay. Does anyone have any info about this? What kind of question, etc...??? This is for PA school by the way. Please help!! 😛

 

[emtp2pac]

sassy- all pa schools do this.
the typical question involves an ethical dilemna in which you are given options and asked to explain your course of action. questions involving a conflict with a physician are common. for instance:
you see mrs x a frequent flyer to the er for cough and think she has pneumonia. you tell dr m about this and he tells you to send her home without examining her because she is probably faking. do you
a: send her home without treatment
b. send her home with treatment but don't document it on the note
c. present the patient to another doctor and hope dr m doesn't find out about it because he has a nasty temper


explain your answer.

just do what is right for the patient and legal and that is what they are looking for.
good luck with your interview, you're almost there.....

 

[Rob77]

My essay question was something on the line of a patient refusing to be seen by a PA and how you would handle that situation.

 

[sassy]

Thanks so much...that is not really what I was expecting, so at least now I have it in mind. How long have you been a PA? Do you like it? So, in your question, a "right" answer doesnt really exist. What would you suggest? Also, another suggested question was "What would you do if someone refused to see the PA." Has that ever happened to you?

 

[sassy]

Thank you! Has that ever happened to you? Any suggestions? I want to nail this interview so bad!

 

[Febrifuge]

questions involving a conflict with a physician are common. for instance:
you see mrs x a frequent flyer to the er for cough and think she has pneumonia. you tell dr m about this and he tells you to send her home without examining her because she is probably faking. do you
a: send her home without treatment
b. send her home with treatment but don't document it on the note
c. present the patient to another doctor and hope dr m doesn't find out about it because he has a nasty temper

explain your answer.

Wow. It's the Kobayashi Maru of PA school!

Well, putting aside the issue of how sketchy "send her home without eval because she's probably faking" is, and how insulting to good physicians...

How about 'get a CXR anyway, since she's your patient? You can accept Dr. M's apology later if it is pneumonia, vs fight about it later as to whether it was indicated - since he/she didn't examine the patient - if not?' 😀 Or, 'convince Dr. M to come and listen to Mrs. X's lungs for two seconds, so that when she comes back tomorrow sounding like a backed-up laundry sink, it's documented that he/she put his/her hands on the patient at some point?'

Hmm. Maybe I should think about PA school... Eeeeevil PA school, that is...

 

[emtp2pac]

the real( as opposed to pc essay answer) that a newbie wouldn't ever know is :
fully evaluate the pt, treat them appropriately, send them home on abx or admit as indicated then if dr m bitches about it 12 hrs from now when he sees the chart show him the rll lobar infiltrate on cxr and the cbc result.....
the essay questions are more about ethics and resolving conflict than reality.