How to Stay Healthy in PA School

By: Savanna Perry, PA-C

TL;DR

Staying healthy in PA school is tough, and perfection isn't the goal. In this interview, surgery PA and nutrition coach Ashley Turner says the key is staying active for stress relief, managing your expectations of what healthy means right now, and not letting school become all-consuming. Movement and downtime matter more than a perfect diet during the hardest stretches.

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Who is Ashley Turner and why talk about health in PA school?

This post is an interview with Ashley Turner, a full-time surgery PA who graduated from UAB's program and has a background in nutrition. She also does nutrition coaching, and Savanna has done her program and loved it. The conversation covers their PA school experiences and how to make good choices when life gets overwhelming.

Ashley took a year off after undergrad, reapplied, and got into UAB, even moving to Birmingham to make it happen. That leap of faith earned her in-state tuition and a program she sings the praises of. The health topic came up because, as Savanna admits, staying healthy in PA school is something a lot of students, including her, didn't do well when they were just trying to survive.

In this post:

How do you actually stay healthy during PA school?

Ashley's biggest tip is to stay active, because it doubles as stress relief. During her didactic year she kept coaching cheerleading, which let her work out and get her mind off studying. That active outlet did wonders for her even when her diet wasn't where she wanted it. As she puts it, you're up at 3 a.m. studying and grabbing a cinnamon bagel to stay awake, so be realistic.

Savanna agrees that her own workouts only happened because friends dragged her to the gym, and she's grateful they did because it was good stress relief. The theme: you don't need a perfect routine, you need movement and a way to decompress that pulls you out of study mode.

In Our Experience

Guest perspective from Ashley Turner, PA-C: I stayed active through PA school, mostly by coaching cheerleading during didactic year, and that was huge for my stress and energy even when my diet wasn't perfect. My number one tip is to find your stress relief and not let PA school become all-consuming. Savanna adds that her own healthiest habit was simply letting friends drag her to the gym to walk the track.

What does 'healthy' really mean in PA school?

Ashley's most important point is about managing expectations. A six-pack and bikini body probably aren't realistic goals while you're in the thick of PA school, and that's fine. Healthy in this season means thriving in school, having the energy to study, and keeping your relationships intact during a very stressful time.

That means digging into your feelings and redefining what healthy looks like for you right now. Her number one tip is to find stress relief and not let PA school become all-consuming. Go out, have fun, and protect downtime. Savanna adds the flip side from her own experience: skipping meals and saying no to every dinner invite isn't taking care of yourself either. Checking in with yourself and doing basic things like eating regularly counts as health too.

Every Pre-PA Should Know...

When you're in the thick of PA school, movement and stress relief matter more for your health than chasing a perfect diet.

Where can you find Ashley?

Ashley shares a lot of nutrition tips and the science behind them on Instagram, which she says is the best place to follow along. She got into coaching after a low point postpartum, when she leaned into intermittent fasting and the strategies she'd learned, and found they genuinely helped her feel better.

What Savanna appreciated about working with Ashley is that she's actually qualified, with a nutrition degree and a PA background, rather than a random person offering nutrition advice. If you want to dig into the nutrition side of staying healthy, Ashley's the kind of evidence-minded coach worth following. You can find her on Instagram at @ashleyphillipsturner.

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Listen: Stress, Boundaries, and Burnout with Cardiothoracic PA Sabrina Runbeck

Healthcare is hard right now. Let's talk about that.

Episode show notes & key takeaways

Healthcare is hard right now. Let's talk about that.

Sabrina Runbeck is a surgical PA in cardiothoracic surgery and a productivity coach, and she came on during the early stretch of the pandemic to talk about stress, boundaries, and how you keep going when everything feels heavy.

A lot of this is about managing your own expectations. Sabrina talks through building resilience, protecting your mental health, and actually setting boundaries instead of just saying you should. She also has a message for pre-PAs specifically, which is to use a hard season as a chance to check in with yourself about why you want this. That's not a reason to quit. It's a reason to get clear.

If you're feeling stretched thin, this one is worth your time.

What we cover

Sabrina's work in cardiothoracic surgery
Handling stress when healthcare gets overwhelming
Managing your own expectations of yourself
Setting boundaries that actually hold
Why pre-PAs should reflect on their commitment during hard seasons
Protecting your mental health long term

Resources

Follow The Pre-PA Club: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · All episodes

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