Alumni Profile: Aurora Foster '15, '19MS
Aurora received her bachelor's degree in kinesiology in 2015 and her master's degree in 2019. The department reached out to Aurora with a few questions, which she was gracious enough to answer.
Q. Can you share what year you graduated, and what you currently do for work?
A. I graduated with my BS in kinesiology in 2015 and MS in kinesiology in 2019. Currently I am a physician associate (PA) working in OB/GYN. I get to see patients in the office and assist with many different surgeries.
Q. How did your involvement in the KIN department set you up for success in your current role?
A. The KIN department has done so much to help prepare me for PA school and my current role as a PA. My undergraduate work gave me a broad education in the different aspects of the kinesiology field with real world application, along with the ability to take prerequisites outside of the KIN department. The faculty, staff, and graduate TAs were so supportive and helped guide me in the right direction based on my interests. It felt like a small world within a large university. I was able to work in different kinesiology labs starting sophomore year as well as serve as an undergraduate TA for various courses. This is what led me to pursue graduate work in Mark Miller’s Muscle Biology Lab.
During my time as a graduate student, I learned organization by having to handle multiple roles at the same time including research, teaching undergraduate classes, mentoring students, and taking my own coursework. I learned how to use science as a way of thinking, which I apply every day with patient care.
By the time I got to PA school I felt more than prepared for the coursework and beyond. I learned how to get comfortable with being uncomfortable which promotes continuous growth (something that is absolutely necessary for providers). Learning to interact with a myriad of people in KIN prepared me to be better at the bedside for patients and a good colleague. I still keep in touch with a few classmates and faculty members who serve as a network. The list of ways the KIN department helped me is probably too long for this article!
Q. Can you share a little about what you recall from your PA application process?
A. The PA application process was competitive, difficult and stressful! You have to be focused, motivated, and organized. Since I was applying years after [being an] undergrad, and I was not “pre-PA” until within 1 year of starting PA school, I had limited options as I scrambled to complete prerequisite courses and rack up patient care hours.
There are so many schools and all with their own requirements, so I made a spreadsheet with a list of schools and requirements for each including prerequisites, direct patient and health care hours, exams, shadow hours, etc. with details for each requirement because those varied by school as well.
Direct, hands-on patient care hours vary widely as well, anywhere from a minimum of 500 hours to 2,000 hours. It is also important to consider location, cost, length of program, class size, and clinical rotations. I also kept a spreadsheet of my experiences so I could input them accurately into the application and provide proof where needed. It is manageable as long as you stay organized and take it bit by bit.
I probably applied to less than 8 schools, mostly in the northeast [but] all the way to Idaho. I certainly felt the odds were against me with my almost out of date course work and bare minimum of 584 direct patient care hours. But I did have a strong application with UMass KIN all over it from my courses to patient care hours working on NIH grants with the lab to faculty references. I ended up at Westfield State University–they were the only public PA program in New England (and still are, I think), my top choice.
Q. What advice can you give others that are interested in pursuing the career of a PA?
A. Reach out to anyone you know in the medical field and ask to shadow! While not all schools require shadow hours, it is how you will find out if being a PA is truly something you want to pursue. Shadow in different disciplines with different providers because every field and person is different. Find a mentor. Start getting direct patient care hours as soon as you can. Take time between school and PA school if you need [it]. If it’s what you really want, don’t give up.