Interview Samuel Merritt exam with
complete solutions
Tell me a little bit about yourself - ANSWER-born and raised in the bay area, 5th
generation
raised by a buddhist mother
- compassion, empathy, providing for others
viola since I was 10
- taught me lessons in leadership, teamwork, and collaboration
College
- biopsychology
working at restaurant through college
- time management
- wanted to be working with people
started working in medicine
- tied together science, working with people, and providing for others
worked with a PA
- collaboration with physician
- supporting role + independence
- moved to bay area
- closer to family
- oral surgery for 3 years
- work with patients from start to finish
- initial consult, pre-op, 1st assist in sx, post-op
- excited to take the next step to also be involved in their diagnosis and treatment
planning
Why do you want to be a PA? - ANSWER-Intro: first interaction with a PA, saw how
closely he worked with the physician but had autonomy to treat and diagnose.
Teamwork
- Me: always part of a close knit team
- orchestras, restaurants, clinics
- always integral within the team viola vs violin, PA vs physician
, - PA: allow me to be integral part of a healthcare team
- SMU: Jocelyn talking about how she couldn't have gotten through school without her
classmates. With the simulation lab really work on collaborative problem solving and
collaborative treatment.
Lifelong learner
- Me:
- constantly learning things whether it's teaching myself to cross stitch during the
pandemic or always asking the surgeon questions when I see new things in surgery
- Buddhist mind
- PA:
- Being able to switch specialties will allow me to ensure that I am constantly learning
and will never fully be a master because I can always go deeper in my own specialty, or
start learning more about another specialty
Helping those in need
- Me:
- Buddhist upbringing, always a part of my life and ideals
- PA:
- As a PA, I like that if I want to devote myself to primary care I can, but I also know that
I can pursue it on a volunteer basis at underserved clinics should my specialty be
something else. PAs fill gaps in healthcare that traditional medical system does not
reach. As a PA you can go where you're most needed, like in the pandemic.
- SMU: SMU focuses on community outreach both globally and locally. Saw disparities
on SA and India, admire SMU ability to help people on a global level - medical service
trips to Panama and Mexican border. Also SMU makes a difference locally providing
healthcare to local underserved as well as doing outreach to underserved high schools
to introduce high schoolers to career in healthcare.
Medical service educates students on global health and empo
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? - ANSWER-In 10 years I will probably have a
few little ones running around with my boyfriend who will at that point be pretty freshly
out of residency depending on his specialty as a late bloomer in the medical profession.
- all my friends/family are in the bay area so I definitely want to stay here long term and
serve in this community as it's the community that raised me
- working in hospital in the East Bay
- preceptor for current students
- Right now I think surgery but the beauty of PA school is that I'll get to experience a lot
of different specialties so who knows which I will pick
- volunteering at least 4-6 hours a week at a local free clinic. SMU Allen Temple health
fair
complete solutions
Tell me a little bit about yourself - ANSWER-born and raised in the bay area, 5th
generation
raised by a buddhist mother
- compassion, empathy, providing for others
viola since I was 10
- taught me lessons in leadership, teamwork, and collaboration
College
- biopsychology
working at restaurant through college
- time management
- wanted to be working with people
started working in medicine
- tied together science, working with people, and providing for others
worked with a PA
- collaboration with physician
- supporting role + independence
- moved to bay area
- closer to family
- oral surgery for 3 years
- work with patients from start to finish
- initial consult, pre-op, 1st assist in sx, post-op
- excited to take the next step to also be involved in their diagnosis and treatment
planning
Why do you want to be a PA? - ANSWER-Intro: first interaction with a PA, saw how
closely he worked with the physician but had autonomy to treat and diagnose.
Teamwork
- Me: always part of a close knit team
- orchestras, restaurants, clinics
- always integral within the team viola vs violin, PA vs physician
, - PA: allow me to be integral part of a healthcare team
- SMU: Jocelyn talking about how she couldn't have gotten through school without her
classmates. With the simulation lab really work on collaborative problem solving and
collaborative treatment.
Lifelong learner
- Me:
- constantly learning things whether it's teaching myself to cross stitch during the
pandemic or always asking the surgeon questions when I see new things in surgery
- Buddhist mind
- PA:
- Being able to switch specialties will allow me to ensure that I am constantly learning
and will never fully be a master because I can always go deeper in my own specialty, or
start learning more about another specialty
Helping those in need
- Me:
- Buddhist upbringing, always a part of my life and ideals
- PA:
- As a PA, I like that if I want to devote myself to primary care I can, but I also know that
I can pursue it on a volunteer basis at underserved clinics should my specialty be
something else. PAs fill gaps in healthcare that traditional medical system does not
reach. As a PA you can go where you're most needed, like in the pandemic.
- SMU: SMU focuses on community outreach both globally and locally. Saw disparities
on SA and India, admire SMU ability to help people on a global level - medical service
trips to Panama and Mexican border. Also SMU makes a difference locally providing
healthcare to local underserved as well as doing outreach to underserved high schools
to introduce high schoolers to career in healthcare.
Medical service educates students on global health and empo
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? - ANSWER-In 10 years I will probably have a
few little ones running around with my boyfriend who will at that point be pretty freshly
out of residency depending on his specialty as a late bloomer in the medical profession.
- all my friends/family are in the bay area so I definitely want to stay here long term and
serve in this community as it's the community that raised me
- working in hospital in the East Bay
- preceptor for current students
- Right now I think surgery but the beauty of PA school is that I'll get to experience a lot
of different specialties so who knows which I will pick
- volunteering at least 4-6 hours a week at a local free clinic. SMU Allen Temple health
fair
