This week on the podcast we are diving into the medical school experience for veterans. We’re joined by Karyna Bravo, US Marine Corps veteran, first generation college student, current Physician Assistant (PA) student at Stanford Medical School, and 2024 Tillman Scholar. We discuss the benefits of shadowing providers in the admissions process, Post-Bacc program benefits, funding a medical education, and much more. If you’re a veteran considering medical school, you don’t want to miss this!

Main Topics

• Karyna’s background & introduction (0:35)

• Decision to leave the military & pursue college (2:55)

• Paying for undergraduate degree (4:50)

• Getting started in clinical psychology career (6:20)

• Decision to apply to PA programs (9:05)

• Finding & funding a Post-Bacc program, benefits of Post-Bacc & preparation for applying for medical school (10:20)

• Benefits of shadowing healthcare professionals before applying (13:00)

• Researching Physician Assistant (PA) programs & finding Stanford Med (15:00)

• Veterans in the PA program & the veteran community (16:05)

• Population of PA program & funding medical education through VocRehab (19:15)

• Best parts of PA school at Stanford (22:10)

• Long term career plans & advice for fellow veterans pursuing the medical field (23:30)

Additional Resources

• Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program

• FAFSA

• VR&E

• Healthcare Professionals Admissions Support

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

• Spotify

• Apple Podcasts

• Amazon Music

• Service to School Website

• Sign up for Admissions Support

• Events Calendar

• Facebook

• Instagram

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• YouTube