Video summary
The video begins with a provocative statement advising viewers to stop preparing for Physician Assistant school interviews, only to immediately refute this notion as completely wrong. The speaker argues that while one should never read a patient's chart in advance or know their medical history before an actual clinical encounter, this same principle of preparation does not apply to the interview process itself. For aspiring PAs and doctors who will soon hold positions of high responsibility, it is essential to prepare for every aspect of life, including the most critical interviews that determine whether one can achieve their career dreams or face rejection.
To illustrate the importance of preparation, the speaker shares a personal story from their own interview experience where they applied to only two schools and secured an acceptance at one after intense preparation. The night before the successful interview, they spent five to six hours quizzing themselves on potential questions and practicing how to formulate responses aloud. The speaker emphasizes that interviewing is not merely about thinking or consuming content but involves a physical act of reading or hearing a question, mentally formulating a response, and physically speaking it out loud. This specific type of practice helps candidates stand out from the competition by ensuring they are ready for anything mentally and verbally.
The emotional impact of this preparation is highlighted through a contrast between the speaker's confidence and the distress of other applicants. After leaving their interview feeling like they were "walking on air" due to their thorough effort, the speaker observed other candidates crying in the parking lot because they felt they had not done their best. The root cause of their regret was a lack of practice and preparation, which left them unready for the moment of truth. Ultimately, the video concludes that even if an applicant is not accepted, having put in the effort to prepare ensures they can walk away knowing they gave everything they possibly could, thereby avoiding unnecessary regret and emotional turmoil.
Read the full video transcript
You guys, stop preparing for your PA
school interviews.
>> You guys, she's totally right. You
should definitely not prepare for your
PA school interviews or any interview.
You shouldn't prepare for anything in
your life, especially when you're a
medical provider. You should definitely
not read the patient's chart and then
know exactly what's going on before you
walk in there. You shouldn't learn
anything about the patient or why
they're there or their health history or
the medications before you go see them,
right? Wrong. Completely freaking wrong.
No, you should absolutely prepare for
every single thing in your life going
forward if you're trying to become a PA
or a doctor or anything where you're
going to have such a high level of
responsibility. Do you think it's a good
idea to just wing it when you do the
most important interview of arguably of
your life? The thing that's going to
determine whether you do get to reach
your dreams and become a PA or whether
you get to get rejected and go cry about
it. Uh why did I say cry about it? I'm
not just trying to be callous. I'm going
to tell you a very quick story. So,
when I did my PA school interviews, I
only got two interviews because I only
applied to two schools. I went on both.
I got wait-listed at one. I got accepted
at the other. The one that I got
accepted to, the night before
the night before, I spent I want to say
at least five or six hours just quizzing
myself and preparing for any kind of
question that I could have possibly
foreseen. And so,
that really showed. Now, was I a little
bit uh sleep-deprived? Was I a little
tired and stressed the next morning
because I stayed up doing all that?
Yeah, 100%. But, I was ready for
anything. And I was not only ready for
it mentally, but I had actually
practiced getting the thought, like
getting the question on the screen,
formulating a thought, and getting it
out of my mouth. Because as I say to you
guys all the time, it's not just about
reading or consuming content or about
thinking about the interview, it's about
actually practicing the
um
the action, the physical action of
interviewing, which I know it doesn't
seem like a physical action like hitting
a tennis ball or throwing a basketball
or a football, but it is. It's reading
the question or hearing the question,
formulating a response, and actually
practicing forming words that come out
of your mouth and somebody else hears.
Okay? That is a physical act that does
take practice, and if you do put in that
practice even for an hour or two, you're
going to set yourself apart from a lot
of your competition. And why did I say
crying earlier? Well, because that one
interview that did get me the
acceptance, I remember leaving that
interview walking on freaking air, man.
I felt so happy. I felt so confident. I
made such a good connection with the
one-on-one interview,
and I took a leadership role in the
group interview, and I felt like I wrote
a good essay, and I was like, I just I
did as best as I as well as I possibly
could have, and I feel so good about
this. And even if I don't get accepted,
I know that I did my best. And I was out
there like just walking on air. And a
couple of girls that were kind of going
to the parking lot at the same time as
me were crying because they knew they
didn't do their best. Why did they not
do their best? Because they didn't
practice and prepare.