Michele Neskey, PA-C

A little throwback to my first ever viral video 😂

I cannot believe this was 6 years ago..ah how far we’ve come 😂😂

Pre-PA TikTok can give you a million tips.

The problem? Not all of those tips belong in your application.

You don’t need to chase every trending piece of advice, rewrite your personal statement every time someone tells you a new “secret,” or add experiences just because you saw another applicant doing them.

Your application needs to tell one clear, cohesive story about YOU.

Your experiences.
Your strengths.
Your growth.
Your reason for becoming a PA.

Because admissions committees aren’t looking for an application built from a checklist of things TikTok told you to do. They’re trying to understand who you are and why you’re ready for PA school.

Before you add one more thing to your application, step back and ask:

Does this strengthen my story (or am I doing it because I saw someone else doing it?)

Save this for application season + send it to a pre-PA friend who needs to hear it.

The waiting might be the hardest part of PA school application season.

No news doesn’t automatically mean bad news. And someone else’s interview timeline tells you nothing about yours.

Stop trying to decode the silence. Stop comparing timelines. And please stop letting Reddit convince you that you’re already out. 😅

Put that energy into what you can control: being ready when your opportunity comes.

You can’t control when the interview invite arrives. You can control whether you’re ready for it.

Save this for the next time you start refreshing your inbox. 🤍

What kind of career do you want to build?

Clinical practice can absolutely be part of the answer. But a PA career can also include education, leadership, consulting, industry, entrepreneurship, writing, speaking and so much more.

You don’t have to choose just one path.

Your PA degree can be the foundation of your career without defining the boundaries of it.

Want to see what else is possible?

Comment BEYOND and I’ll send you my free guide: 7 Careers Beyond the Clinic.

This is NOT about PAs vs. physicians. AND it shouldn’t be.

Removing a mandated physician agreement does not mean removing physicians from the healthcare team or suggesting that collaboration is no longer important.

I’ve been a PA for 20+ years, I’m married to a physician, and I have tremendous respect for the depth and intensity of physician training. His years of medical school, residency, and fellowship are a level of training I have never had or endured, and I would never pretend otherwise.

But that’s not what this conversation is about.

The real question is:

Should an experienced PA be legally required to have a formal agreement with a specific physician in order to practice?

That’s a very different question from whether PAs and physicians should work together.

We can advocate for modernization of PA practice laws and recognize the importance of collaboration, appropriate scope, knowing our limitations, and above all, patient safety.

Those things are not mutually exclusive.

And I think we need to be able to have nuanced conversations about where our profession is headed without turning every discussion into one against the other

👇 PA, physician, patient or future PA, I’m curious what you think. Keep it respectful. There’s room for thoughtful disagreement here.

A LOT is changing in the PA profession right now 👀

And unless you’re actively following legislation and policy updates, it’s pretty easy to miss.

This month alone:

→ The PA Licensure Compact continues to grow
→ States are removing outdated practice restrictions
→ “Physician Associate” is officially becoming law in more places

And these aren’t just semantics.

They could impact where we practice, how easily we move between states, and how the PA profession evolves over the next decade.

As someone who’s been a PA for 20+ years, I think we need to be talking about this stuff more.

So welcome to a new series:

📰 WHAT YOU MISSED IN PA NEWS

I’ll break down the updates, and more importantly, what they actually mean for PAs and future PAs.

👇 What PA news or issue do you want me to cover next?

You worked SO hard to get into PA school… but do you actually know everything this career can offer you?

Because being a PA can go way beyond seeing patients.

You can switch specialties. Teach. Work in health tech. Pharma. Leadership. Build a business. And honestly, there are probably opportunities you haven’t even heard about yet.

I wish more future PAs understood this BEFORE PA school.

Because the more you understand what’s possible with this career, the more intentional you can be about why you’re choosing it in the first place.

Don’t just focus on getting in. Think about the career you’re building.