Ryanne Coulson, PA-C, writing for Be a Physician Assistant (October, 2018):
Regardless of your age, you're better starting-PA material than you were five years ago. You've gotten better at relating to and interacting with others and have navigated more tricky situations than the younger version of you did.
PA schools care about this. A hot topic in PA education at the moment is how to assess the maturity level of PA school candidates as part of the application process.
The curriculum of PA programs is packed; there's no time to try to teach students how to behave in social situations or how to approach patients on a basic human level.
That last bit might point to the shortcomings of many health profession academic programs. As a patient advocate, I’m often shocked at the way some people talk to patients. I think 75% of empathy and humanity comes from within. You can only teach and refine that other 25%. If you don’t have an innate ability to connect with people, it’s impossible to make that fundamental change. We are who we are.
Some of the best PA students I've ever worked had a winding path to a PA career, and their training experience was heightened because of everything that came before it.
There's unlikely to be 80 students interviewing for your program who are just like you, so being a bit different is an advantage.
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But this doesn't happen to new-grad PAs who are a bit older. Patients will automatically assume you've been practicing for a while and know what you are doing.
While that may be a bit scary for the first 6-12 months, it will give you confidence and the freedom to practice without worrying that patients are second-guessing you because you seem "too young" to be doing what you're doing.
If all goes according to plan, I’ll be 34-35 when I’m all finished school. There seems to be many benefits to entering the PA profession in your mid-30s. Patients will assume I know what I’m doing? Hey, I’ll take it.