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Wake Forest School of Medicine PA Interview Questions

Advice & Insight From PA Application Specialists

General Interview Information

The Wake Forest class of 2023, the most recent year for which the university publicly releases information, consisted of 89 students with an average GPA of 3.57. Applicants must sit the CASPer test, an online situational judgement test designed to assess non-cognitive attributes and interpersonal characteristics. The CASPer, despite what its creators might say, can and should be prepared for using a question bank in order to familiarise yourself with the format and correct method of answering. Additionally, you should have healthcare experience that involves direct interaction with patients. You must have at least 1000 hours of healthcare employment or other direct patient contact in order to apply.

The following courses must be completed with at least a C grade achieved:
– genetics (one semester)
– general chemistry (one semester) or organic chemistry (one semester)
– biochemistry (one semester)
– human anatomy or human physiology (one full academic year)
– microbiology (one semester)
– statistics (one semester)
– medical terminology (one course)

Interview Format for Physician Assistant Studies at Wake Forest

The Wake Forest School of Medicine PA program has a rolling admission format, although you should note that early applicants are more likely to be prioritised. Interview day will include the opportunity to speak with faculty, staff and current PA students, to interview with faculty, and to participate in a mock IBL session. You would do well to learn more about IBL in advance, to be prepared for the interviews as well as the IBL session itself. IBL, Inquiry Based Learning, should be seen as separate to PBL, Problem Based Learning, and you may wish to do some academic research on its benefits compared to its better known cousin.

Key Dates

The CASPA application deadline is September 1st, although early applications are highly encouraged. The GRE submission deadline and supplemental application deadline is October 1st. You must have completed pre-admission health care experience by October 1st. CASPer score distribution must be by October 6th. Interviews will happen in Fall. All course prerequisites must be complete by December 31st.

Sample & Recent Interview Questions

The school emphasises the following areas as being of particular importance: leadership, volunteering or military service, diversity of life experience, success in overcoming adversity, and aptitude for self-directed and adult learning.

Leadership

  • What defines a good leader? What attributes and characteristics must one have in order to lead?
  • What experiences do you have of leadership? What experience has informed your own ability to lead?
  • Who leads a medical team?
  • What one experience illustrated the importance of leadership to you more than any other?
  • What sort of characteristics might make someone a poor leader?
  • Have you ever had to take over leadership from someone else, or experienced difficulties with someone else’s leadership?
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Service

  • Please tell us about your experience of volunteering, or of charity work.
  • Why do you think it’s so important for PA candidates to have a range of healthcare experience?
  • Can you think of one particular volunteering experience that showed the importance of volunteering to you?
  • Can you think of a difficult situation from your time volunteering or doing charity work?
  • Can you think of a particularly rewarding experience that happened during your charity or volunteering work?
  • Have you ever set up or organised a charity or volunteering association or event? If so, please describe how you went about doing so.
  • [If military experience] We see that you have military experience. Thank you for your service. How did your time in the military inform your desire to become a PA? What have you gained from your time in the military?

Diversity of Experience

  • Please compare and contrast two experiences that you had at college which illustrate your personality.
  • What does the term ‘diversity’ mean to you? Why is a knowledge of other cultures – or an awareness of them and a willingness to learn from and understand them – so important to those looking to work in healthcare?

Overcoming Adversity

  • What adversity have you faced in life?
  • How would you respond to adversity during your time studying here?
  • How do you deal with stress?
  • Can you think of a competitive situation in which you or your team were struggling, but you managed to succeed nonetheless?

Aptitude for Self-Directed Learning

  • Tell me about your learning style.
  • Are you good at directing your own learning?
  • What do you expect the majority of the learning on this course to consist of? Do you think it will be lectures, seminars, or self-directed?

Wake Forest School of Medicine PA Interview Questions

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