News
Smaller Interactive Classes Made The Difference For My Health Care Education
August 23, 2021
Taylor Bills recently completed her Bachelors of Allied Health Science at GVSU Traverse City Regional Center and is now pursuing her Masters of Physician’s Assistant Studies through GVSU Traverse City Regional Center.
From the beginning, Taylor had always been the nurturing type and drawn to medicine. She stated, “even in high school I knew I wanted to go into the medical field- I enjoyed taking care of people so much. I have a passion for children and there are so many options in the medical field to work with them.” This propelled the direction for her academic career.
While in high school at Traverse City Central, she took the opportunity to dual enroll her senior year at Northwestern Michigan College to gain college credits and graduated high school in 2016.
She was accepted to Michigan State University but decided to defer and stay in Traverse City for another year so she could use her dual enrollment credits to complete her associate degree at NMC by the Spring of 2017.
In the Fall of 2017, Taylor went to MSU for pre-med with a focus on becoming a physician. Taylor stated, “the teaching environment was very different from what I was used to at NMC. The class sizes were much larger, and I wasn’t able to form relationships with the students or professors. NMC provided me with a more personal, hands-on, and interactive approach that I missed and wanted.”
With much thought, Taylor realized that if this is what her undergraduate and graduate schooling was going to be like moving forward, she would rather shift her medical focus in hopes to fast track her education. Instead of pursuing a doctorate degree, she thought about nursing or other medical field options that required less school time.
While studying at MSU, a pop-up for Grand Valley’s Traverse City Regional Center appeared on her laptop screen. As if it was fate, she explored the site and found the Allied Health Science Bachelor's Degree which directly prepared students for the Masters of Physicians Assistant program offered at GVSU; all located in her hometown of Traverse City.
During Taylor’s winter break of 2017 she met with Advisor, Jackie Abeyta, and was walked through all the current credits she had obtained and how she could remain on course for pre-med through GVSU’s programs.
After one semester at MSU, Taylor moved back to Traverse City to begin the GVSU Allied Health Sciences program offered through the NMC University Center. Taylor said, “I am still amazed at how well the Allied Health Science courses prepared me for PA school”.
Taylor was a graduate of the 2020 class. Although she wasn’t able to have an in-person ceremony to celebrate the earning of her bachelor’s degree, it didn’t stop her from moving towards her end goal of being accepted in the Master of Physicians Assistant program.
Knowing that there was a large possibility of not being accepted in her first cycle of applications, Taylor applied for the GVSU PA program as well as programs at Central Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University, and Detroit Mercy in an attempt to increase her chances of getting into a PA program right away.
Although Taylor applied to other PA programs across the state, her first choice was GVSU’s Physician Assistant Studies Program at the Traverse City Regional Center. Since she had already experienced what higher education at major universities was like, she knew that the small, 12-person design of the TC extension was the optimal for her. She applied in September of 2019 and was invited for an interview in November of 2019.
Delighted, Taylor described the process, “During my application season, 99 or so people applied with only 24 spots available for interviews and then only 12 people were given the opportunity to be accepted into the program”. After being placed on the waitlist, she was accepted to the GVSU PAS Program in January of 2020. Taylor was overjoyed to be selected in her first round and at her dream school.
As Taylor thought back to her journey she recalled, “the length of time required to become an independently partitioning physician, seven to eleven years, made me feel like I couldn’t plan for the family, travel, and personal life that I yearned for. The two- and half-year PA program felt like a perfect balance of education, work, and personal life. As a Physician Assistant I can still provide complete care to my own patients, but also have extra perks such as decreased liability, increased opportunities for inter-professional collaboration, and complete lateral mobility in the medical field. As my knowledge and interests in medicine grow and change, I am able to change specialties at any time without having to go back to school.”
Taylors advice to anyone pursuing the Physician Assistant program at GVSU’s Traverse City Regional Center; network with people in Traverse City! Network for letters of recommendation, shadowing medical careers, and simply talk with fellow locals about your dreams- You never know where a connection may be. It was the difference that got me accepted in my first round when I applied for the PA program. They are looking for people that want to stay in touch with this community and give back.”
Taylor would like to thank her parents, fiancé, and fellow classmates for supporting her along her journey.
Get connected with GVSU’s advisors to walk through your options and learn how you can have a balanced life while making an impact in your community.