HS106 Unit 6 Informational Interview Reflection Example

Reviewed by Elspeth Marlowe, MSN, RN Health Science Profession and Career Planning Purdue University Global Free custom sample in 24 to 48h

Two video interviews, with a hospitalist physician assistant who was once an Army medic and a respiratory therapist with fifteen years at the bedside, are the basis of this HS106 Unit 6 informational interview reflection. The PA said a third of her shift goes to documentation and that prerequisite grades matter as much as patient care hours; the therapist described the airway role the whole room depends on in an emergency. Both suggested, unprompted, that respiratory therapy could be a route into PA school. Three published sources frame what was heard: a history of the profession's start among military medics, a national survey of PA program directors and a review of teach-back. Purdue Global HS 106 asks BS in Health Science students to learn from people in the work. The interviews changed the question from which career is better to which route to take.

CourseHS106 Health Science Profession and Career Planning
UnitUnit 6
Paper typeInformational interview reflection
LengthAbout 840 words, 6 pages double-spaced
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolPurdue University Global
ProgramBS in Health Science
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for HS106 Unit 6

1

Two Interviews on One Ward: A Unit 6 Informational Interview Reflection on What Physician Assistants and Respiratory Therapists Actually Do All Day

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

HS106: Health Science Profession and Career Planning

Unit 6 Informational Interview Reflection

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The interviewees, hospital and conversations are composite; the sources cited are real.

What this part is doingNaming two interviewees with backgrounds close to the writer's shows the interviews were chosen to answer the writer's own question.
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Why I Chose These Two

I wanted to talk to people doing the two jobs I am weighing, in the kind of hospital where I would work, and I wanted one of them to have made the military transition. A former Navy colleague introduced me to a PA on the hospitalist team at a Norfolk hospital, who left the Army as a medic and went to PA school at 31, following a route the profession was first built around (Cawley et al., 2012). The PA introduced me to a respiratory therapist who works on the same floors. Each gave me thirty minutes by video, and both agreed to be described by role rather than name.

What the Physician Assistant Said

I asked what a normal day looked like. She described rounding on fourteen patients, writing notes, calling consultants, talking with families and admitting from the emergency department. I expected her to talk about medicine. She talked about documentation and time. "The medicine is the part I trained for," she said. "The charting is the part nobody warned me about." She estimated that a third of her shift was spent in the record.

When I asked about the military transition, she said the hardest part of PA school was not the science but being a student again at an age when her classmates were 24. The easiest part was patients. "You will walk into rooms already knowing how to talk to someone who is scared." She also warned me that a strong application needs more than patient care hours; her program cared just as much about prerequisite grades. Program directors surveyed nationally have described both benefits and barriers in admitting veterans, so her warning fits a wider pattern (Michaud et al., 2015).

What the Respiratory Therapist Said

The respiratory therapist described his day by patients and machines: ventilator checks in the ICU, breathing treatments on the floors, a rapid response, two arterial blood gases and teaching a patient with COPD to use an inhaler correctly. He spoke about his work with obvious pride in mastery. "When a patient is crashing, the room looks at me for the airway."

He was honest about the limits. Pay rises slowly after the first years, and some therapists he trained with went on to nursing, PA school or anesthesia programs. He was also clear that the national credential matters: his hospital requires the registered credential within a year of hire.

The PA described her day by decisions and the therapist described his by patients' breathing, and I recognized myself in both.

What this part is doingContrasting how each person framed the same workday shows the writer listened for values, not only facts.
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What Surprised Me

Three things. First, how much of the PA's day is documentation, which I had never considered and which matters, since I enjoy the hands-on part of care. Second, how central the therapist is in emergencies; I had thought of respiratory therapy as treatments and equipment, not as a role the whole room depends on. Third, that both of them suggested the same thing without being asked: that working as a respiratory therapist could be a good path toward PA school, not only an alternative to it.

How the Interviews Changed My Question

Before the interviews I was asking which career is better. After them I am asking a different question: do I want to reach the PA role directly, with six years of school, or through respiratory therapy, earning and gaining civilian experience along the way? The second path is longer to the PA license but could be easier on my family's finances and would make my application stronger. It also gives me a career I would be glad to stay in if I decided not to go further.

Talevski et al. (2020), reviewing teach-back, found that checking understanding by having patients explain what they learned improved outcomes across many settings, and I noticed both interviewees describe doing exactly that with patients without naming it. It reminded me that the skills I would bring from the Navy, explaining care to scared people, are valued in both roles.

What this part is doingLinking an unexpected observation to published evidence shows the reflection drew on more than the conversations alone.
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What I Will Do Next

I will ask the respiratory therapist whether I can shadow a shift, ask the PA which local programs value respiratory therapy experience and add both options, the direct and the stepped path, to my career plan. The interviews also reminded me to check prerequisite grades, not only hours, since my military training will not replace them.

Closing Thought

Reading about careers told me what each person is allowed to do. Talking to people in them told me what they actually spend their days doing, what wears on them and what they are proud of. That was the information I could not get from a data table.

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References

Cawley, J. F., Cawthon, E., & Hooker, R. S. (2012). Origins of the physician assistant movement in the United States. Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, 25(12), 36-40. https://doi.org/10.1097/01720610-201212000-00008

Michaud, E., Jacques, P. F., Gianola, F. J., & Harbert, K. (2015). Education of military veterans in physician assistant programs. Journal of Physician Assistant Education, 26(2), 77-85. https://doi.org/10.1097/JPA.0000000000000025

Talevski, J., Wong Shee, A., Rasmussen, B., Kemp, G., & Beauchamp, A. (2020). Teach-back: A systematic review of implementation and impacts. PLOS ONE, 15(4), e0231350. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231350

Reading the HS 106 Unit 6 instructions

Unit 6 usually asks students to interview a professional in a career they are considering and to reflect on what they learned. Expect to explain whom you interviewed and why, summarize what each person said about the work, describe what surprised you and explain how the conversation changed your thinking or plans. Instructors look for reflection, not a transcript, so the paper should focus on meaning. Interviewees should be described by role unless they agree to be named. A source or two can help interpret what was heard. Most prompts end by asking what you will do next as a result. Interviewing someone in a setting where you might work, or someone with a similar background, often produces the most useful insight for your own plans.

How the HS 106 Unit 6 example is put together

The reflection opens with why these two people were chosen, one in each career and one with a military transition. The PA's section reports her day, her comment that charting is the part nobody warned her about and her advice on prerequisites, linked to Cawley and colleagues and Michaud and colleagues. The therapist's section reports a day organized by patients and machines, his pride in airway work and the importance of the registered credential. A highlighted line notes that one described her day by decisions and the other by patients' breathing. Three surprises follow, then the changed question about routes, a link to teach-back research and next steps: a shadow shift, program advice and both routes added to the plan.

Where the points sit in the HS106 Unit 6 rubric

Interview reflections are usually graded on insight and connection to the student's plans. A clear reason for choosing each interviewee earns credit. Summaries should be brief and selective, focusing on what the job description leaves out. Graders look for genuine surprise or a changed view rather than confirmation of what the student already believed. Respect for interviewees' privacy is expected. Sources should help interpret the conversation, for example by showing a pattern the interviewee described is common. Concrete next steps show the reflection had consequences. Professional first-person prose and APA 7 entries for the three sources earn the last points.

HS106 Unit 6 help: mistakes that cost points

Interview reflections often read like transcripts, listing questions and answers with no interpretation. Another weakness is choosing an interviewee whose work has little to do with the student's actual options. Some students name interviewees or workplaces without permission. Others report only what confirmed their existing choice, missing the chance to learn something new. Reflections that end without next steps feel unfinished. Sources added without any link to the conversation earn little. Before interviewing, write three questions that a job posting would not answer, such as what the hardest part of the shift is. Send your notes from the conversation, and the reflection can be drafted around them.

Get an HS106 Unit 6 example written to your instructions

Send your interview notes and the reflection prompt with its rubric. A custom reflection connects what you heard to your plans. It is free the first time and arrives within 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

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HS106 Unit 6 questions, answered

Who should I interview?

Someone working in the career you are considering, ideally in the setting where you would work.

Can the interview be virtual?

Yes. A phone or video interview is usually acceptable.

Should I name the person?

Ask permission first; many students use a role description instead.

Where can I find a free HS106 Unit 6 sample paper?

The complete HS106 Unit 6 informational interview reflection is on this page, drawing on conversations with a physician assistant and a respiratory therapist about what their work really involves.

What changed after the interviews in the HS106 Unit 6 sample?

The writer stopped asking which career is better and began asking whether to reach the PA role directly or by first working as a respiratory therapist.