Sorin Circa, MS/PA '23, grew up in Hoschton, Georgia, about 20 miles from PCOM Georgia, graduating from North Gwinnett High School in 2017. He traveled east a little more
than 30 miles to Athens, Georgia, where he earned a bachelor's degree in biology from
the University of Georgia, graduating summa cum laude in 2019.
However, the road to Hoschton when he was a child was quite a bit further. His family moved to the United States in 2004 from the Transylvania region of Romania.
Circa was introduced to the medical field as a young child due to a patent foramen ovale, a minor cardiac abnormality, which has since resolved. “I felt like I wanted to help others as I was being taken care of,” he said. I felt an innate attraction towards medicine and, growing up, I was always willing to help those around me when I could.”
During his undergraduate years, Circa participated in a medical trip to Romania for two months where he worked in the contagious diseases department of a local hospital. Throughout his two-month stay, he acquired valuable experience working with a diverse range of diseases, such as hepatitis, Lyme disease, varicella, shingles, measles, HIV and AIDS.
“This experience opened my eyes to some of the differences in the healthcare system that we have in the United States compared to my homeland,” he said.
He said he found it “very intriguing” how doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners can “apply their knowledge to help patients at a point in time when they are most vulnerable.”
Circa decided to further his studies after working as a patient care technician at a local hospital. “I felt like I wanted to do more for my patients,” he said.
He chose the physician assistant path because of the role's flexibility. “I did not want to limit myself to working in just one specialty. The lateral mobility that the position provides makes it possible for me to explore different areas of medicine in the future without needing to go back to school,” he said.
“I can start serving the local community in a shorter amount of time (as compared to medical school) since PA school is only 27 months. And most PAs also enjoy a very generous work-life balance depending on the specialty they work in,” he said. “Though we are not completely independent practitioners, we do have variable degrees of autonomy and can diagnose illnesses, order labs and imaging, form treatment plans, prescribe medications and manage our own patients,” he said.
“Being able to perform all of these tasks places a lot of responsibility on my shoulders, but at the same time allows me to make a significant positive impact on someone’s life.”
Circa chose to attend PCOM Georgia due to its proximity to his home, but also because of its smaller class size “allowing more one-on-one teaching and mentoring from the professors,” whom he had heard “great things about.” In addition, he noted that PCOM's first-time Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam pass rates are high compared to the national average.
Now that commencement is just around the corner, Circa said, “The PA program has done a great job of providing foundational and supplementary knowledge needed to become a successful physician assistant.”
“During our didactic year,” he added, “we had multiple standardized patients which helped better prepare me for real patients during clinical year. Our preceptors during the clinical year have always challenged us to be the best version of ourselves and have provided various tips and tricks that may not have necessarily been found in the textbooks.”
While at PCOM Georgia, Circa has worked as a student ambassador for the physician assistant class of 2023. In addition he has helped recruit future PA students by participating in interviews. He advises future students to “put your best foot forward in everything that you do. The more time that you invest now,” he said, “the easier things will be in the future.”
“If you want to be successful,” he said, “come to school prepared to learn and be willing to put in the effort that your courses require.” He has special words for physician assistant students. “Learn as much as you can in your clinical medicine classes, but don’t stress out too much if you do not remember everything the first time. You will see topics multiple times over and over and it will become easier with time to remember different concepts.”
Circa said, “I want to extend my best wishes to all those who are pursuing a career in the medical field regardless of what role you may have.”
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