Lindsey Brown graduated from UVM in 2020 with a degree in Biochemistry and is now a second-year physician assistant student at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Manchester, New Hampshire. During her undergraduate years, Brown gained meaningful exposure to a variety of medical environments, through shadowing and hands-on healthcare experience.
While at UVM, Brown contemplated her career options in medicine while participating in impactful experiential activities. She volunteered in Child Life at the UVM Medical Center, and valued the opportunity to play a positive role in the lives of hospitalized children. Brown also gained leadership experience through serving as an orientation leader, a WEventure leader, and participating in an 11-day medical mission trip to Chantilly, Jamaica. Her most intense health-related experiences were gained in her role as a caregiver for the elderly through Home Instead Senior Care. Her responsibilities ranged from bathing, providing palliative and hospice care, and providing companionship to clients. Shadowing various health care providers also gave her valuable insight. Lindsey believes all these experiences were meaningful, motivating, and further strengthened her passion to become a health care provider. After reflecting on her values and future goals, Lindsey concluded that becoming a PA would best allow her to dedicate her career to patients while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
The first year of PA school, known as the didactic year, is “like trying to drink from a fire hose.” However, Brown recommends that you must “take as many sips” as possible.
Lindsey shared that her UVM pre-health advisor provided a piece of advice that made a large impact on her application process to PA school. The advisor encouraged her to keep a pre-health journal to write about each experience that had an impact on her pre-health journey, which turned out to be especially useful when writing her personal statement and in the interview process.
Following graduation from UVM and while applying to PA school, Brown continued to work in health care, improving her patient interaction skills, gaining a better understanding of the hospital environment, and learning about various medical conditions. She took a full month off directly before starting PA school in order to relax, get organized, and prepare to put her best foot forward as she embarked on her professional training.
Soon after becoming a PA student, Lindsey recalls being told by a peer mentor that the first year of PA school, known as the didactic year, is “like trying to drink from a fire hose”. Lindsey’s own advice is to “take as many sips” as possible in order to retain a great amount of the information. She also shares how important it is to use the support systems available throughout PA school. She has found the connections she has made with her PA school peers to be extremely valuable. Now in the clinical phase of her training, she is busy rotating through multiple specialty areas. At the time of this interview, she was completing a 5-week pediatrics rotation in Manchester, NH. Although pediatrics is a field that has always intrigued her, she has also enjoyed other rotations in family medicine, dermatology, and OB/Gyn. She finds the clinical year highly rewarding, allowing her to learn about a wide variety of patient conditions, while directly applying her newfound knowledge, and seeing the impact of her care on others.
Outside of her studies, Lindsey pays attention to self-care. She does this by studying in a comfortable Outside of her studies, Lindsey pays attention to self-care. She does this by studying in a comfortable environment with light music and a candle, as well as getting a massage at the end of semesters to relieve tension and have something to look forward to. Brown enjoys boating, spending time on the water, hiking, and spending time with her new French Bulldog, Tito. Lindsey will be spending this summer, May-November in Northern Vermont for five clinical rotations, where she is looking forward to the Vermont summers.