Inside Wake Forest’s PA Program: Inquiry-Based Learning, Service, and Leadership Training [Episode 627]

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What makes Wake Forest University’s Physician Assistant Program different from the hundreds of PA programs applicants can choose from?

In this episode of Accepted’s Admissions Straight Talk, host Dr. Valerie Wherley speaks with Sobia Hussaini, MHA, assistant professor of PA studies and director of admissions and strategic recruitment for PA studies at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, about the program’s curriculum, campuses, culture, and admissions priorities.

Sobia explains how Wake Forest’s 24-month Master of Medical Science PA Program brings together a large class with a small-group learning environment across two North Carolina campuses: Winston-Salem and Boone. She describes how the program’s inquiry-based learning model asks students to work through patient cases from the beginning of PA school, building clinical reasoning, self-directed learning, and collaborative problem-solving skills before they enter rotations.

The conversation also explores Wake Forest’s leadership focus, including its Emerging Leaders Program pathways in business and law, and the service-oriented experiences that begin during orientation. Sobia connects those experiences to the PA profession’s responsibility to understand the social drivers of health and serve patients in context.

The episode closes with practical advice for applicants. Wake Forest looks for academic readiness, meaningful hands-on patient care experience, teamwork, service, leadership, resilience, and a clear answer to one essential question: why do you want to be a PA?

00:00 Introducing Wake Forest’s PA Program

03:35 Comparing the Winston-Salem and Boone Campuses

07:38 Serving Rural and Medically Underserved Communities

09:12 How Inquiry-Based Learning Works

14:21 Leadership Development Throughout the Curriculum

18:21 The Emerging Leaders Program in Business and Law

22:08 Community Service, Orientation, and Social Drivers of Health

28:38 What Wake Forest Looks for in PA Applicants

33:26 Closing Thoughts and Next Steps

Related Resources:

• Wake Forest University School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program
• Wake Forest PA Program Emerging Leaders Programs 
• Inside Wake PA, a digital publication
• The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Physician Assistant, an Accepted guide
• Accepted’s Physician Assistant Application Packages

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