Exclusive interview with pre-healthcare mentor Salaman Rasoli

A second-year PA student and a mentor of aspiring students pursuing healthcare careers, Salaman Rasoli is passionate about the life-changing mentorship he provides that impact aspiring healthcare students who believe in his programs.

We recently had a conversation with the soon to be PA-C. Here are the excerpts:

How do you balance between a rigorous PA program and your side business projects?

The simple answer can be answered in two words… time management. Being a full-time student, a student PA in free health clinics, entrepreneur, and trying to keep up with my fitness requires one to be proficient at time management. Most of my success and teachings to the young aspiring healthcare providers incorporates efficient use of their time. I am currently finishing my final year of PA school and pursuing a career in pediatric cardio-thoracic surgery or general pediatrics. Getting through any curriculum that has to do with learning medicine is both stressful and challenging. However, what is more challenging is the getting into a healthcare program. That is the reason why I founded a mentorship program and website that enables pre-healthcare students to not only be successful in their courses, but also be aware of the requirements. A lot of misinformation is given to these students by their undergraduate councilors, who provide very little value of information. Besides telling prospective students to have a high GPA, there are a variety of other factors that come into play to become a successful applicant. That is where my skills and experiences come into play. I aim to create and overlay a student-specific map for my students based on what point of their education they are currently in.

How are your services different in terms of preparation from the other mentorships out there?

I provide aspiring students the right tools to strategically prepare for their application cycle. From pre-nursing students to pre-med students, I have a very good understanind from personal experience of what these programs look for in their students. If needed, I also provide tutoring in one of my packages for programs that require an admission exam such as the TEAS/GRE/PACAT/MCAT. In addition, I incorporate effective learning methods backed up by literature and suited to an individual’s specific learning style. The part that makes my mentorship services different from the rest, is I start my students from scratch and go all the way until they get accepted. This includes tutoring, education map, mock interviews, and personal statement reviews. No other program or service out there that I am aware of includes all of these in one bundle. Saves the student both time and money, trying to find different individuals for each task. Remember, back to my initial point, it is all about time management.

Can you briefly explain the advanced study techniques you incorporate?

I incorporate evidence-based practice that has been proven to show the most benefit in terms of retaining the most information in the least amount of time. A major component of my teaching revolves around the popular pomodoro study method equipped with active learning. This method is versatile to all my students, regardless of what career they pursue. The analogy I use is this method is very similar to a HIIT workout. It involves studying in intervals, free from distractions with short breaks in between. Further breaking it down, I emphasize active study techniques during these intervals such as practice questions paired with spaced repetition to maximize memorization of the information.

How did you use the power of social media to promote?

Social media was the reason I have been so successful. I started mentoring kids as a side hobby for free, and word spread out and next thing I know I was getting multiple messages a week. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and my podcasts pushed me to launch my own website. My website was specifically dedicated to mentoring and helping pre-healthcare students but has now grown even more thanks to social media with the additions of nutrition, health, and fitness. I have experience as a personal trainer and former collegiate athlete with AA degrees in health science, nutrition, and kinesiology. With an active presence on Instagram and other platforms, I have built up my fan base and now able to reach out to thousands of individuals who are interested in any of my services.

When did you decide to become an entrepreneur?

Over the past couple years, I was always interested in becoming an entrepreneur. As I got more educated about passive income, the services that was once just an idea has now turned into a thriving business, and still growing exponentially year after year. I plan to further my health and fitness services in 2021, by hopefully launching my stimulant free and stimulant containing pre-workout supplement.

What caused you to take the entrepreneurial plunge?

Before starting PA school, I already had the skill set from being an organic chemistry tutor and assistant lab professor from my time as an undergraduate. I also was offered to be a chemistry MCAT instructor for ThePrincetonReview. It was shortly after this time; I noticed a lack in proper study techniques by students that translated to poor exam scores in their rigorous pre-healthcare coursework. I decided that some time in the future, I was going to create a program to teach these students how to properly study and the necessary steps needed to be a successful applicant.

Why did you choose medicine?

On being asked why he chose medicine, Salaman refers to his childhood loss of one of his best friends during freshman year of high school on the soccer field. From thereon, he wanted to know what had caused the sorrowful event, which drove him with an end career goal pertaining to pediatric cardio-thoracic surgery.

Salaman envisions a long career practicing as a healthcare provider, with the goal of providing care to underserved populations.