I question I’m sometimes asked about, and one I feel like people don’t want to ask is how to handle relationships in PA school. It’s not the easiest, but it can be done! I applied to PA school with a boyfriend, went in with a fiance, and came out a wife! I can’t say that was necessarily encouraged, but it was important to me.
I know this may not be of interest to some readers, but I think it’s still important to address. PA school is very time intensive and can take a toll on relationships at any stage. It takes understanding on both sides to come out successful. My particular program very strongly encouraged students to wait until after school to plan any big events like weddings. At the end of the day, as much as I wanted to be a PA, I wanted to marry my best friend.
My (now) husband and I had been dating for 5 years at this point (yes, we met in high school), and we were going to both be in grad school. If you’ve followed along for a while, you probably know that while I was in PA school, my husband was in medical school. So double stress.
I lived at home with my parents for the first year and he had 2 roommates. Basically the only time we saw each other was to study or grab a quick bite to eat. Wedding planning was put on the back burner, and if it wasn’t for my mom, I’m not sure what my wedding would have turned out like.
All this to say, we made it work, and if you have concerns about being able to maintain a relationship or take the next step while in PA school, know that it’s possible. My wedding was during the break between the spring and summer semester at the end of didactic year, and I had classmates who got married during clinical year. Some even met their future spouses while in PA school! I’m always happy to answer questions about how I was able to make it work, and if you want to hear more about my story, check out the video below, or at this link.
