3 Techniques to Overcome Setbacks on the Road to PA

People who want to become PAs face a catch-22: to ultimately succeed, you often have to fail along the way, but experiencing failure can shake your confidence and make future success feel harder to reach.

Failure can bring feelings of helplessness, inadequacy, and demoralization. When that happens, your goal can seem further away, and you might start to believe your success is out of your control. A tough semester, a rejection, or a waitlist can all trigger that spiral.

The good news is that there is real research on how to recover from setbacks and set yourself up for success. The point is not to avoid failure entirely, because you cannot, but to build the habits that help you learn from it and keep moving. Throughout the PA process, you will hit setbacks at some point, so knowing how to handle them is one of the most useful skills you can develop.

The first technique is to actually let yourself feel the emotions tied to failure, even though that is the last thing most people want to do.

Common advice says not to dwell on mistakes or beat yourself up, but research complicates that. According to a study in the Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, people who allow themselves to feel their emotions about failure try harder to correct their mistakes, while those who make excuses and ignore failure learn less from it.

The goal is improvement and growth. Without making yourself feel terrible, acknowledge that bad things happen sometimes, and that avoiding them in the future means trying harder. You can have self-compassion and still push yourself.

It also helps to look for the good. A tough class might have taught you better study techniques. A waitlist spot actually means your application was strong enough to nearly earn an interview, so it is not a no. Find the positives and hold onto them.

Once you have let yourself feel the emotions, the second technique is to put them to work. Break the failure into two categories: the parts that were in your control and the parts that were not.

Then review your lists, because sometimes things land in the wrong column. Something that felt out of your control may actually be something you can influence by improving your skills, planning, or knowledge. Whatever remains truly outside your control, set aside, and focus your energy on the parts you can change.

This matters because of how control affects motivation. When you believe you cannot change an outcome, you feel paralyzed and helpless. The more you feel in control of a problem, the more motivated you are to tackle future challenges, according to research published in Core Psychiatry.

So take ownership where you can and resolve to take small steps. Using the grades example, maybe you commit to recognizing earlier when you are struggling and reaching out for help instead of drowning in the material.

The third technique is to talk about failure with people you trust. It can feel nerve-racking, but it is one of the best ways to overcome setbacks and set yourself up for future success.

Call someone you trust and let them help you process the loss while you feel supported. It also helps to remember you are not alone. Plenty of successful people failed repeatedly first. One nurse, Clara Jones, BSN, RN, shared on Instagram that she failed exams, barely passed others, failed her first Foley catheter skills evaluation, and missed most of her IV starts early on, and yet she pushed through and got better.

Failure is a normal part of learning and progression. Surround yourself with people who succeeded despite their mistakes, talk openly about your shortcomings, and listen when others do the same. A supportive community of people going through the same thing, like a pre-PA group, can make all the difference.

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Setbacks on the road to PA are not the end of your journey, they are part of it. Feel the disappointment, get clear on what you can change, and lean on people who understand what you are going through. If you want that kind of community and support, our Pre-PA Academy is full of people working toward the same goal.