Q&A with Physician Assistants

Interviews with Augustana Alumni in November 2025 as guests of the Pre PA Group

Allison Carlson:

  1. Attended Augustana College for undergraduate
  2. Majored in biology and neuroscience, with a minor in Spanish
  3. Attended PA School at Midwestern University in Downers Grove
  4. Specializes in Orthopedic spinal surgery
  5. Works at Illinois Bone and Joint Institute in Barrington, IL

Isabelle Anderson:

  1. Attended Augustana College for undergraduate
  2. Majored in biology and psychology with a minor in biochemistry
  3. Attended PA school at the University of Dubuque
  4. Specializes in general surgery with a focus in endocrine surgery
  5. Works at SSM St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, WI

Jazmin Martinez:

  1. Attended Augustana College for undergraduate
  2. Majored in biology
  3. Attended PA school at Marquette University
  4. Specializes in family medicine
  5. Works at Crusader Community Health Clinic in Rockford, IL

Suzanne Peppers:

  1. Attended undergraduate at St. Ambrose University
  2. Majored in biology with minors in psychology and chemistry
  3. Attended PA school at St. Louis University
  4. Specializes in Otolaryngology (ENT)
  5. Works as a PA-C at ENT Professional Services in Davenport, IA and is the PA program Director at St. Ambrose

Makenna Hulet:

  1. Attended undergraduate at Augustana College
  2. Majored in biology
  3. Currently a PA student at Betel University
  4. Hopes to specialize in emergency medicine or pediatric oncology

Questions Specifically for the PA’s

  1. What does your work-life balance look like?
    1. Allison: It was important to her that she lived close to work; she lives about 10 minutes away, and says it is helpful after a long day to have a shorter commute home. The doctor that she works with feels that a work-life balance is important as well, so it is important to choose the right people to work with.
    2. Isabelle: Working in surgery, schedules can be unpredictable. She works with several other PA’s, so they take turns being on-call. On-call for them is typically 48 hours long, which can be strenuous, but it is helpful that they take turns and have days in between for breaks.
    3. Jazmin: She works more regular hours in more of a clinic setting, but is a newer graduate, so she is still working out the balance. Some days consist of finishing documentation at work but sometimes, she must take it home to be able to keep up. Overall, she says that her work-life balance got easier the longer she worked and gained experiences.
    4. Suzanne: She initially started as a PA working 5 days a week. When looking into jobs, it was very important to her to choose the right schedule and location, which was close to home. Focusing on free weekends, she was able to find a job that doesn’t require weekends or holidays.
  1. How did you end up choosing your specialty? What do you enjoy about it, and what do you dislike about the specialty?
    1. Allison: There weren’t many choices at the time, so she chose orthopedics. She found in shadowing spinal surgery, she enjoyed it because she was able to spend so much time with her patients explaining what they were experiencing and what they were going to experience. However, she has found that many patients often push back on feedback, so she says it takes a lot of patience to manage that. She also dislikes working with insurance companies as it can be challenging. She does however, still love what she does, and time helps make the job easier to manage. 
    2. Isabelle: In PA school, she realized that she is more of an introvert and was intimidated by the idea of meeting with patients all day. This led her to choose surgery, as she is able to spend more time on the surgical and medical end. 
    3. Jazmin: She enjoyed the variety of experiences she had in PA school, especially because they included a vast difference in ages. She enjoys family medicine, and always wanted to work with individuals within disadvantaged communities. Working at a primary care, she dislikes the amount of patients a day she works with as she doesn’t get to spend as much time with them as she’d like to.
    4. Suzanne: The practice she chose has a lot of experience with PA’s and were willing to put in the time needed to get her and other PA’s up to speed. Her family found difficulty with managing sick days for their kids as her husband has a career that isn’t easy to take off days from, and that was a dislike of hers.
  1. What would you do differently if you could go back to PA school?
    1. Allison: Says she would keep an open mind about PA school. She’d ask all the questions she could as the schools care about your success.
    2. Isabelle: She feels that she made great connections throughout PA school, but wishes she had done better at keeping those connections. It’s very important to maintain them because you never know who you might need to ask a question of based on a situation you’re in.
    3. Jazmin: She wishes she kept an open mind on specialties, and asked more questions. She says that being on good terms with faculty is important as they will write recommendation letters for you.
    4. Suzanne: She says she wished that during PA school, she took every opportunity she was handed. She shared a story of being asked to attend an opportunity early in the morning, and denied it because of the commute and timing. 
  1. How has your role evolved since you first started working as a PA?
    1. Allison: She works with a lot of patients on the phone with post operative calls, check-ins, as well as conversations with insurance companies. She felt that she gained a  lot of confidence as she continued having experiences.
    2. Isabelle: She feels she has mostly evolved in confidence. She started off working on simple cases but now sees more complicated ones. 
    3. Jazmin: Still a new in her career, but one of her goals is to be a preceptor to lead future PA’s once she has a few years under her belt.
    4. Suzanne: It takes a few years to get comfortable in whatever area you start in, but as you gain experience you take on more responsibility. 

Questions for Entire Panel:

  1. What inspired you to work in healthcare?
    1. Allison: She knew when she was young that she wanted to help people in some way. She likes taking challenging information and translating it in a way to patients in a way that helps them understand their situation better.
    2. Isabelle: At Augie, she loved the team aspect of activities. She always felt she loved helping people as well, and loved the idea of working with a team in healthcare and surgery.
    3. Jazmin: She had good experiences in healthcare growing up, but when she had bad ones it made her want to find a way to help improve people’s experiences. Overall, she wants patients to have a good experience.
    4. Suzanne: She was an athlete for many years, which often came with the need for physical therapy. At St Ambrose, she was working as a physical therapy tech, but ultimately found that this wasn’t the patient experience that she wanted, and that PA fit her expectations more closely.
    5. Makenna: She has always been curious about the human body, and with her own health issues she didn’t have good experiences with her doctors. She wanted to approach patient care differently and so she chose the PA path.
  1. What was your biggest concern entering PA school?
    1. Allison: Didn’t have much time to worry as she started 3 weeks after undergraduate. She says that the PA programs are set up in a way for you to succeed, and as long as you have a good relationship with staff, you can trust that they’ll guide you well.
    2. Isabelle: She was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to find her way as she started PA shortly after undergraduate, and it was her first time moving away from home. She made great friends at PA school, and spent so much time with others in the same situation as she was.
    3. Jazmin: She didn’t have a lot of faith in herself, and others she talked to about PA school often gave negative feedback on their experiences. But she felt once she started, she gained confidence, and made good connections that were very helpful for her.
    4. Suzanne: Was concerned that healthwise, PA school would be an issue as she was recovering from health issues at the time, but was able to get through it.
    5. Makenna: Was concerned she wouldn’t be prepared for it. But they do teach you everything you need to know, just at a very fast pace
  1. Why did you choose to become a PA over a NP or MD/DO?
    1. Allison: She wanted to be an MD, but did not want to be in school for so long. She appreciates the work life balance of PA as well.
    2. Isabelle: The idea of sticking with one part of medicine gave her anxiety, so PA school allowed her to have the flexibility of different focuses over time.
    3. Jazmin: She was on pre-med track, but didn’t want to go to school for as long and wanted to work sooner. As a PA, you start off as a generalist giving you the experiences across several areas.
    4. Suzanne: She wasn’t interested in committing to that length of school. She loved the ability to move within specialties
    5. Makenna: Because of her poor exp with doctors, she wanted to be a PA to give patients better experiences than what she had.
  1. How did you prepare for the application process (GRE, CASPA, interviews, patient care hours, etc.)?
    1. Allison: She attended the Texas Medical Center Research program through Augie in Houston; while there she took a GRE prep course which was helpful. As far as preparing for interviews, she says to try not to get psyched out seeing others doing well as it doesn’t mean you’re not. Most of her patient care hours were from working with athletic trainers.
    2. Isabelle: She took the GRE, focusing on studying for the math section. Regarding interviews, but she did some mock interviews  with CORE at Augustana, and found those helped. She suggests considering work through interview questions in the mirror, and try to let your personality shine through. For her patient care hours, she was able to get good experience interacting with patients.
    3. Jazmin: She sought out schools that didn’t require the GRE, she applied to 10 and interviewed with most of them. She was able to avoid taking the GRE. She did use CORE and the mock interviews helped a lot.
    4. Suzanne: She had a group interview at one of her schools, and really dislikes them and they’re not done as much anymore. Don’t be afraid to interview in front of the mirror. Be unique with your answers, don’t try to give scripted answers on what you expect the panel wants to know. 
    5. Makenna: Did not take the GRE, majority of the schools in the midwest did not require it. She recommends taking it if you don’t have that good of a GPA as it helps show you are good at standardized tests. For interviews, she found this the hardest. She wishes she practiced more for interviews and highly recommends doing that. She was an EMT, patient care tech, and more for patient hours. Having a well rounded application with many experiences as well as leadership is helpful.
  1. Did you take a gap year, and do you recommend one? If you do, what do you recommend utilizing that time for?
    1. Allison: Did not take a gap year. If you do take time off, make sure to focus on getting good patient contact hours, as they provide the most value. 
    2. Isabelle: Did not take a gap year. If you do take a gap year, explore areas you’re interested in so you can get more focused patient hours.
    3. Jazmin: She did take a gap year, mostly to gain more patient hours. She did CNA work during her gap year. Looking back, it did help and it did give her a break from studying which helped her feel more refreshed going into PA school. Recommends considering that gap year as long as you focus on the hours needed
    4. Suzanne: As an educator, she says it’s not uncommon that students don’t have the time to do the health care hours so a gap year would help with this. Also can help with maturity. Consider taking additional courses that you weren’t able to take in school. 
    5. Makenna: She graduated in 3 years, but took a gap year. She had an interview every week as she was trying to get into PA schools, so it can be hectic and hard to do during your senior year. The way to go is to work in healthcare and gain many experiences in the meantime. 
  1. What made you choose your particular PA program, and what factors should I look for when choosing one?
    1. Allison: Don’t lose heart as you’re applying. Look for a program that has been around a while and is well established. It helps finding roles after graduation.
    2. Isabelle: She recalls feeling that her school in Dubuque felt like Augie in terms of size; it felt “homey”. Don’t lose hope if you get waitlisted by a school.
    3. Jazmin: She appreciated the smaller classrooms she found at Marquette. She also liked how well connected that school was with hospitals in the area. She found that her school had a good success rate for the PANCE exam as well.
    4. Makenna: Only applied to accredited schools. She was accepted by a couple, and felt that she chose one that would best set her up for success. 
  1. How do you recommend financially preparing for PA school?
    1. Allison: Did not work during PA school, but came out with debt and just got aggressive paying it down after. Save money where you can
    2. Isabelle: She took out loans for living expenses, but now has a job where she can afford to pay down those loans and live comfortably. If you do want a gap year, living at home and working is helpful
    3. Jazmin: She stayed home to save money during her gap year, but still had to take out loans. She doesn’t recommend working during PA school. If you’re good at budgeting, you can pay it all off fast.
    4. Makenna: Aside from being a member of the military, it’s hard to avoid taking out loans
  1. Final words of wisdom as they prepare for PA school
    1. Makenna: Whether you take a gap year or jump right into it, try not to worry about comparing yourself to others and letting that affect you. 
    2. Jazmin: In undergrad you may have compared yourself to each other often, but in PA school, the comparison isn’t important anymore and it will be a big relief. Don’t compare yourself with other peers; you deserve to be there. There will be hardships and challenges, but don’t give up.
    3. Allison: You will learn a ton in school, but will learn a ton as a PA as well. Work hard, learn as much as you can, but don’t beat yourself up. 
    4. Isabelle: Remember to be present and enjoy what you are doing now. Make the most out of every day, it will go by fast.

Interviews with Augustana Alumni in 2022

  • Alex Hembrey
    • Graduated in 2010
    • Des Moines PA school
    • Worked as a medical assistant
    • Worked in orthopedics and now is an APP manager, 300 APPs and practices one day a week
    • Played football at Augie here and was involved in Habitat for humanity
    • Worked nights as a CNA
  • Isabelle Anderson
    • Graduated in 2019
    • Went to Dubuque
    • Involved in softball and basketball
    • Biology Club
    • Works in cardiac surgery in Madison, Wisconsin
  • Marcus Maier
    • Graduated in 2012
    • Played football and lacrosse at Augustana
    • Was in Biology club
    • Several gap years working as a Medical assistant and did a one-year masters in Rosalind Franklin graduating in 2019 from PA school
    • Works at ortho spine in Madison Wisconsin
  • What is one piece of advice for creating a strong resume?
    • Isabelle– Showing you are committed to one or two things is very important. A lot of schools are doing MMIs and weighing interviews versus different aspects of your resume
    • Alex– Get involved in anything you are passionate about so you can speak highly on those few things. Academics come first so do not spread yourself too thin. The patient care component is big so gap years are becoming very common. The earlier you can get patient care hours the best so you do not have to overwhelm yourself near the end. 
    • Marcus– Become a well-rounded applicant so you can show who you are during the interview process. Building connections with people that you can talk about is important.  Networking during things like this helps a lot to learn more about the career and opportunities.
  • What do you now know that you wish you knew before and during PA school?
    • Alex– Knowing the business side of medicine while doing a supervisory role is an entirely different side of medicine.  The business side can be a shock to people that only know that patient care is the only thing PAs are apart of
    • Marcus– It looks like everyone knows what they are doing, it is okay to not know and to be confused.  You have to learn a lot from the job and you have to be adaptable to learning real-life situations.
    • Isabelle– Two big things she thinks about are the business parts and …. She stayed far away from business classes at Augustana so learning this now might be beneficial to learning the other side of a business. Working before PA school in the field that you enjoy might help you find where you would like to go is important. CNA, EMT, and PCT are not the only options.
  • What went well and how many PA schools did you apply to, would you do anything differently?
    • Alex– It was challenging to know that credits did not carry over from certain places. Look way ahead of time for prerequisites.  Some schools throw out applications so do not apply to these schools that would do this.  Be smart and organized about planning ahead and keep on top of admission requirements.  
    • Isabelle– Spreadsheets are your best friend.  Look at what schools you want to apply to early, being on top of requirements will widen your selection.  Schedule mock interviews with CORE.
    • Marcus- You want to be prepared as possible for interviews, there are also online resources to practice interviews.  You want to keep many short stories in your head that you can say during the interview.  There is a lot of busy work up front so be as prepared as possible.  Do not be who they want you to be, be who you are and you will be okay.
  • What is your favorite and least favorite part about being a PA?
    • Marcus– Nobody knows what a PA is, not really that bad.  You have to make decisions that may postpone personal or family plans.  If you have to do surgery it needs to be done, some things can be prepared but there will need to be sacrifices.  This is also rewarding because although emotionally taxing, helping people at their worst moments.
    • Alex– Nobody knows what PAs are.  This is getting better.  The impact you have on your patients is very rewarding.
    • Isabelle– Helping people realize what the role is challenging especially when working with other providers.  The learning curve is also very challenging.  There is a lot of on the job learning that was unexpected.  Life is good but is more difficult than initially expected.  Her favorite thing is her ability is spending more time with her patients and helping surgeons be prepared for surgery.  There is more of a PA-Patient teaching role because of her increased time with patients.
  • What does a typical day look like?
    • Alex- He was always on site with the doc, but he had a lot of his own patients.  There is also a lot of on call work also.  Depending on how many APPs the on call time varies.
    • Isabelle– Fairly regular, three 12 hour days. She works nights every 8th week and weekends every 6th.  What happened overnight? Go over patient charts.  Present patients to social work, therapy, case managers, then all patient care.  She places chest tubes, pacing wires, central line placement but often the residents need to do them because she works in a teaching hospital.  Working patients towards discharge.
    • Marcus- 8-4, his day is mostly the same, he has been at this job for a year. He used to do clinic and surgery with one surgeon.  They would share patients.  13-14 on call days per month, sometimes it was very busy, sometimes not.  Working on call a lot is not great for families.
  • What are other patient care hours?
    • Marcus- He did medical scribe, and home health care.  Not many places take medical scribes
    • Alex- He did CNA, it wasn’t his favorite while working nights, but it is good to have the hospital exposure.  Having an in hospital role is good for learning the nursing model since this is not taught in PA school.  What is the cheapest and quickest way to get patient care hours
    • Isabelle- She took night classes as a CNA and worked nights and weekends at a nursing facility.  She got a lot of hours early so did not need to take a gap year.  MAs, phlebotomists, lab techs, x-ray techs, EMTs.  Look at which schools because some schools do not take all of these as options.
  • It seems like gap years are becoming the norm, what is common?
    • Alex– It is a very competitive field and very popular profession
    • Marcus– Taking a step back is good because you might change what you want to do, it is a good time to learn
    • Isabelle– She agrees that the trend is going more towards gap years.  She only had 700 hours when she was accepted.  More schools are recognizing this and taking it into account.
  • How would you describe your relationship with attending physicians?
    • Alex– His physician became his best friend and it was difficult for him to take this administrative role.  Some physicians are not APP supportive, every trend and literature says that healthcare will be very reliant on PAs and NPs.  Pas are trained as generalists and a majority go into specialty practice so there is a lot of on the job training.  It takes years to feel like you are mastering what you are doing.  Most fields do not have fellowships so being humble and open to learning is very important.
    • Isabelle– She works with many attendings, some do not like them, some love them and teach them everything.  You will have to gain trust so asking good questions people will respect you more.  Autonomy will come with time and you cannot get frustrated with it in the short term.
    • Marcus– Staying humble and working hard is important.  Try not to make the same mistakes twice. At his first job, he had one surgeon to work with, building this relationship is important to enjoying your life and job.  Most doctors are very nice but there will always be criticism.  Do your best to improve what you can while not being too hard on yourself.
  • What are some ways you suggest getting shadowing hours for someone that does not know any APPs?
    • Alex– Having a great advisor is very important.  Getting into college is one thing, getting into PA school is another.  Send emails and call, most PAs will be willing to help.  Do not be afraid to cold call or email people.  
    • Marcus– Linked in is a great way to find people, Can I buy you a coffee and shadow or talk about PA career?  AAPA has networking available.  There are also PA conferences where you can meet people at.  
    • Isabelle– Finding people to shadow was tough for her.  Dr. Koontz was her advisor and she did it through CORE.  Creating a network of Augustana alum is big, if anyone is in the Madison area she would love to have people shadow, do not get discouraged by no