PA Q&A: Annamarie Dotzler

My path was a little different than a lot of my classmates. I went all the way through undergrad as pre-medicine. I took the MCAT and got into the University of Iowa for medical school. I went through White Coat and orientation, and then I decided I needed a gap year. I felt very burnt out from undergrad, and I just wasn't sure at that point if this was really what I wanted to do. During the gap year, I worked as a nursing assistant and did a lot more shadowing to expose myself to other fields of medicine.  

I found that the PA path has everything I wanted out of a physician career, but with more flexibility and better work-life balance. The two professions are similar in that you’re filling that provider role. You’re able to see your own patients, have your own panels, and prescribe medications. The difference is that when you graduate from PA school, you’re trained very generally, and you can apply for any job in any specialty. For medical school, you have four years of medical school and then a minimum of three years of residency to specialize in whatever field. Then, if you want to switch fields, it's another, say, three years of residency. It's very uncommon for physicians to switch into a different field. 

I wanted to have the ability to change my mind. I have so many varied interests. Maybe I'll be in family medicine for five years and decide I really want to get into a subspecialty, and I'll have that opportunity, as a PA. 

I pulled out of my spot for medical school to apply to PA school—again at Iowa—and I got back in, thankfully. That was probably the hardest decision of my life so far. But it was totally worth it. I've had such a great experience in PA school and met so many great people. It all worked out. 

It motivated me having classmates to talk to and knowing that we're all going through this really difficult time, but also fun and rewarding time, together. It can be draining, so being able to talk to people that are going through the same experience as you is very cathartic.  

Gwen Hoffman on the PA staff was always super nice to talk to and a great resource to ask questions or if you just needed to chat. I really appreciated her support. 

So many memories. Late-night study sessions, coffee runs, movie nights... but also many group study sessions together. We made a fun video one time when we were studying for our standardized exams. You had to have patients walk in a couple different ways, so we had this whole dance routine that we made to it just for fun.  

You don't need to know what you want to do right away, and it's never too late to decide. We have classmates that are in their late 30s and 40s who are having a whole career change and going back to become PAs. We also have students that are fresh out of undergrad. It runs the whole gamut. 

It's never too late or too early to start shadowing. I feel like that's a great place to start. Talking to faculty members or anyone in your life who is a PA is a great starting point to "live a day in the life” and see if it's something that piques your interest.   

I'm applying for jobs. I'm most interested in dermatology, but I’m also applying to pediatrics and family medicine. I'm trying to cast a broad net to apply to a lot of different places and hope for the area that I want or the field that I want.  I would love to stay in Iowa and practice dermatology, but if I can't make that happen, then I hope to get back to Iowa when those jobs open up. 

I'm trying to remember that a job goes two ways. They may interview me and like me, but I'm also interviewing them.