From Current Students
Tyler Martin
Why did you choose to become a PA?
I was an undecided major until halfway through undergrad. Once I decided healthcare was the path for me, I was set on heading to med school. This was more of a default choice than anything, but I later became excited when I learned about the PA profession and what it could offer. I soon decided that, for me, the pros of PA school outweighed the cons. It’s great that we are thrown into hands-on learning from day one. Upon graduation, I will be trained as a generalist and have the ability to work in a variety of medical fields without having specialize through a grueling residency. Plus I will be able to switch specialty fields, a huge plus for people like me that like to bounce around. PAs also practice with lots of autonomy, while at the same time avoiding the responsibility of running a practice.
What attracted you to MUSC?
Who knows more about a program than the students currently in it? I went straight to the source and spoke to a friend who was already in the program. Hearing only good things about how nice the faculty are and how fun Charleston is, I immediately applied. After visiting for my interview, I knew this was definitely somewhere I could spend the next 2 years. Luckily, my acceptance letter came a couple weeks later.
In what field(s) of medicine are you interested in working?
Emergency medicine because it’s high pace and covers a broad spectrum of illnesses/conditions.
Also maybe some sort of surgery like CT or orthopedics because I think they are cool.
What would you have done differently to prepare?
I wish someone had told me about the PA profession earlier in my undergraduate career. Then I could have taken a more direct route and taken the correct classes (I had to go back after graduation and finish pre-reqs). Also I would have loved to have gotten my EMT certification and worked some during undergrad. That could have been a valuable experience. Oh, and learning more medical terminology beforehand.
What’s your favorite thing about Charleston?
Lots, so I’ll make a list (in no particular order): Walking to class, biking everywhere else, being 20 mins from 3 sweet beaches, great weather, a large medical university with lots of high tech stuff, subway in the hospital food court, chickfila in the food court, frozen yogurt in the food court
If you could choose a superpower, what would it be?
Make every basketball shot I ever took….from anywhere.
When you get away from school, what do you do for fun and/or burn off stress?
Play every intramural sport available, River dogs games in the summer (minor league baseball), go out to eat at the 1000 restaurants in Charleston, go to the beach, go to the aquarium and see the albino alligator, go see a movie at the movie theater that serves food and drinks, go bowling, eat at Sarah’s dinner parties, ….I get away from school a lot
What’s your favorite medical TV show?
Gregory House, M.D.
My favorite class/professor is…
Gross anatomy lab, although I didn’t know it would be my favorite class while I was in it. Now I wish I could go back and take it again. I think I would remember more the second go around. But really, that was one of the coolest things I’ve done.
Any advice to give prospective students?
Shadow a bunch. Talk to practicing PAs and see if they like the decision they made. Apply early. Enjoy yourself in the month before school as much as you can. Get a good computer that can handle having 10 powerpoints open at once. Live downtown! It takes me 3 mins to walk to class, which equals more sleep. Sleep = GOLD in PA school.
