Surviving Your Clinical Phase

We asked PA program directors for their top tips to survive your clincial phase.

You passed anatomy and pharmacology and became a master at time management. Congratulations! You’ve made it through your Didactic Phase and now you are ready for the second phase of PA school – Clinical Rotations. During Clinical Rotations you will put your theoretical medical knowledge to the test in real world clinical settings. Under the supervision of a preceptor, you will be placed onto health teams in several different medical settings and specialties.

Your experience in clinical rotations will help you become a confident member of the healthcare team and give you a deeper understanding of the setting and specialty that you may want to pursue in your PA career.

Here are PA program directors’ tips to ensure a successful clinical rotation:

What Program Directors Want You to Know

  1. Be courteous and professional.
    • “Always show up early to your rotation site. On time is 15 minutes before you were asked to be there.”
  1. Be prepared.
    • “Look ahead and learn what types of patient conditions are on the schedule for the next day, so that you can read about them the night before and be prepared to answer questions that the preceptor may ask.”
  1. Stay flexible.
    • “Be a chameleon. Adapt to your practice setting and to practice habits and needs. The more adaptable you are to helping your preceptor, and the more interest and curiosity you show, the more likely they are to teach you.”
    • “Be flexible and pay close attention to instructions provided by the program, clinical observation sites, and clinical rotation sites.”
  2. Be proactive and take advantage of the opportunities available to you.
    • “Strive to view every experience during rotations as a learning opportunity, even if it is not how you would choose to practice.”
    • “Take initiative! Volunteer to do whatever you can. Your clinical experiences are what you make them. If you stand back, the preceptor will not be as likely to engage you or let you see or try more things.”
    • “Trust your program’s curriculum and faculty such that if you learn the material and follow their advice you will become a successful PA. But more importantly, although a strong medical knowledge base will make up an important part of being a competent PA, always keep in mind that it will be your empathy, communication skills, cultural competency, integrity, common sense, and your service to your patients that will really make you a great PA.”

Thank you for your interest!

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