Speaker: Natalia Trevino
Natalia Trevino: Hi, my name is Natalia Chirino, and I'm a sophomore biology student on the prepaid pathway. And when I found this course, I realized that it was exactly what I needed to get my foot through the door into the healthcare field, and could be like the ticket for me gaining extra patient care experience that I need for PA school application and just PA school in general.
Describe your overall experience at ACT. What stood out to you the most?
Natalia Trevino: Um, I had a great time with ACT, actually, what stood out to me the most in comparison to other programs was that I could do the work on my own time. And as a student, that was super important to me, being able to be flexible, prioritize other things like clubs or student work or tests, you know, for my university. It was super important that I get that flexibility and be able to work completely asynchronously and, you know, start my externship whenever I was able to, and not just in the middle of the school year.
Natalia Trevino: So the interactive activities like the quizzes and the simulations were probably the most impactful for me because they allowed me to apply what I learned in like a video or reading to a real life situation that would happen. And it really challenged me and it tested on like whether or not I actually knew the information or not. And that is what made me learn the most out of everything.
In what ways did ACT make you feel supported, even though the program was online?
Natalia Trevino: So despite ACT being completely online, I still felt really, really supported, especially since they give us all the resources we needed already. But if I did have a question and I emailed the instructor, they would respond pretty like pretty fast. On top of that, there were also discussion boards where you could view other people's responses and get their feedback or their input on the question and their perspective. I thought that really created a community within this program.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering enrolling in an ACT program?
Natalia Trevino: So, some advice that I would give to someone considering enrolling in this, in an ACT program is to consider how much you're able to time manage and able to prioritize getting stuff done in this program, like putting aside time. Despite other duties that you have to complete assignments like giving yourself due dates or goals on how much you want to complete in a certain amount of time. On top of that, it's also really important to be able to know and apply what you've learned. To real life clinical situations instead of just knowing the textbook definition. So going beyond what the reading is or what the video says, like being able to use that information. In a helpful way.
