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You are here: Home / International Physician Assistant / American Cheese: The Origin of the U.S. Physician Assistant

American Cheese: The Origin of the U.S. Physician Assistant

BY Stephen Pasquini PA-C Leave a Comment

The Origin of the U.S. Physician Assistant

This is part one of a nine-part series by documentary filmmaker Adam Halbur on the physician assistant model around the world.

View all posts in this series
  • As Good As You Can: The PA Model Around the World Part One
  • American Cheese: The Origin of the U.S. Physician Assistant
  • PAs in the Netherlands: The Dutch Physician Assistant
  • Why We Really Need PAs in The UK: The British Physician Associate
  • Meet The PA Pioneers of Israel: The Israeli Physician Assistant
  • Trials and Tribulations of the Liberian Physician Assistant
  • South Africa’s Clinical Associate (Clin-A): The PA Model Around The World
  • The Indian Physician Assistant (PA): Past, Present, and Future
  • The Australian Physician Assistant: The PA Model Around The World
  • Laos: The Birthplace of the U.S. Physician Assistant?
  • Little Big Men: The Rise of Kenya’s Clinical Officer

What do American Cheese and PAs Have in Common?

U.S. Patent 2759308, for the first American processed cheese wrapper, was submitted in 1956, and individually sheathed slices of imitation dairy started rolling out.

At the same time, the first PAs were getting their medical corpsman training and experiences during the war in former French Indochina, known now as Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, from 1955 to 1975.

By the late 1960s, small bands of PAs from a handful of programs were already beginning to practice in various specialties and capacities (see The Physician Assistant: An Illustrated History, Thomas E. Piemme MD, et al.). Accredited PA programs now number well over 250 and PAs well over 100,000.

In 2018, retail sales of American cheese were $2.77 billion, an impact reminiscent of the growth of canned food after the Civil War.

American cheese and the PA (albeit the latter being a little better for you) are two effects of militarism on U.S. society, and I am living proof--with “cheese” sandwiches on my childhood menu and Dad (PA number 180 in Wisconsin) my de facto childhood primary healthcare provider.

I do not mean to attack the PA character by such a comparison. Coming from the dairy state Wisconsin, I know something about good cheese, but I am not a medical professional nor an expert in the field; rather, I am a practiced poet and journalist who has turned to documentary work in search of ways to connect to people and connect people with each other in this globalized digital age.

I have found one such opportunity in the PA, who along with with the nurse practitioner, has more than one manifestation in the U.S and many more around the world, some existing before the U.S. model.

In 2017, I took the opportunity of the American Association of Physician Assistants’ 50th anniversary to film PA-like practitioners in nine countries, starting with my father, in his 40th year of practice, and Ruth Ballweg and David Kuhns, PAs of the same generation who have been instrumental in promoting, educating and networking PAs internationally.

Ballweg, a graduate and professor emeritus of the MEDEX program at the University of Washington, sat with me at the AAPA conference in Las Vegas, to relate PA history and her advocacy, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

A successor to Dr. Richard Smith, who got many of his ideas for the MEDEX program from work with similar practitioners in Africa, Ballweg considers PAs necessary to developing countries like South Africa (clinical associates) and India (physician assistants) to compensate for the brain drain of physicians to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, stating“About 40 percent of the doctors in our country are trained overseas.”

And she considers PAs necessary to developing and developed countries alike to provide better care.

“I can see if there were a PA and an NP for every doctor,” she mused, “things would get better. And I think patients would get good care, and the costs would go down. And it would go much more with the Toyota lean technology model—the right person doing the right job at the right time at the right place.”

Ballweg’s colleague Kuhns is one of the first PAs lucky enough to have worked with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders), first in Somalia and then in Afghanistan after boosting his résumé with a master’s in public health.

The experience left him with PTSD and exasperated by his American patients.

“The context was such that ‘You’re here because you’ve had back pain for six months,’” he explained, “and over here you have people who don’t have access to health care and are dying because of simple things. You know, those kinds of things would drive me crazy.”

Kuhns believes the public needs to be better educated and more responsible for the state of their own health.

“If you’re going to have cardiac surgery, if it’s elective surgery, make sure you haven’t been smoking”

And yet for him, the U.S. privatized healthcare system could learn from the public systems of Ireland and the U.K., where he advised burgeoning programs and helped train some of their first PAs (physician associates).

“My passion is we don’t lose what we have in the Affordable Care Act,” he said at the time President Trump, and Congress were cutting funding to the ACA. “In Maine [where I work], it has meant a lot.”

With the PA’s ability to cut costs and provide quality care, Ballweg and Kuhns spoke favorably of a national system for the U.S.

American PAs have streamlined health care (more or less as American cheese has streamlined fast food), and this, according to my father, is why the profession has been successful.

“When I first started in this business, I did not know for sure if the whole entity of a physician assistant would continue,” he said. “But I think one of the reasons it did last is because we were an economically feasible solution for the healthcare industry. We can deliver medical care, high-quality medical care, and we can do it cheaper than the traditional way we delivered medical care. And a lot of the things that can be delivered through medical care, you don’t need a physician to do it.”

The main profiteer from lower practitioner overhead in the U.S. remains the healthcare industry, including pharmaceutical companies, which my father referred to as wasteful and not very helpful at times in their practices to market new products when older ones remain cheaper and work just as well or better.

Then there are the insurance companies, which have raised premiums as much as 20 percent per annum while attempting to deny reimbursement for covered items, so that not only do many citizens not have equal access to the highest quality medical treatment, some often have to be ever-vigilant over what they have purchased.

Part of the obstacle to national care is resentment among the general public. We do not have to like our neighbors, but we do not have to spite them.

On my way to an interview in Canada, where they are starting to use PAs to reduce costs in their public system, I stopped in an Indiana bar. Here, I met a retiree, a beneficiary of advanced cardiac care, who said his daughter was a PA and who in the next breath voiced his opposition to a national health plan because he was covered already by his union.

Perhaps we should view birth into the human race as admission into the union, which benefits its members whether they work hard or not, make a little money or a lot, and deserve to have a porcelain throne or just a pot.

There is only so much a person can do in a day.

PAs are some of the hardest-working best-compensated professionals in the U.S., but we can’t all be PAs. Or we can, but like poets, who would need them then? And what will happen if PA supply ever outstrips demand? And what will be the effects of AI?

At present, the PA profession in the U.S. continues to be one of the more accessible and immediately rewarding ways to get into medicine, and with the profession's continued demand by the industry and rising salaries highlighted in Forbes over the past years, competition for U.S. PA school admission is tight.

Contessa, a second-year PA student in Oregon and my father's preceptee at the time, describes her experience:

“One huge requirement that all PA schools [have] across the nation is patient contact hours. These are documented work hours that you are spending with the patient… So once I got over 2500 hours working at the hospital as a nursing assistant in the oncology department, I applied to PA schools, I got an interview, and I made the top five waitlist, and I did not get in… And so I went back and found a new job. I took a job as an anesthesia tech at the same hospital I was working at, I got new references and retook a couple of tests (you are required to take the GRE), I applied again, I got a second interview, and I finally got in. There were, I believe, 1400 applicants, and they chose a class of 42.”

Patients demand PAs, too. Citing PA dedication (not just handing out pills) and affability (the ability to communicate), one of my father’s regulars exclaimed, somewhat cheesily, “They will save your life!” Though, with Dad sitting in the same room, you could hardly expect them to be impartial.

My father, in fact, never wanted to be a PA. He got his start in the early 70s when he joined the U.S. Air Force as a corpsman to avoid being drafted and then sent to Vietnam.

He ended up at Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, watching the last bombing runs take off and return, and at the now-defunct Tachikawa Air Force Base, Tokyo, Japan, where you could already get a McDonald’s cheeseburger in those days.

Before being talked into considering the PA profession, he had hoped to become a full-fledged physician, a superhero, and still harbors some regrets for not following through with that dream. He has been quite fortunate with the choice he made, but listening to him and other PAs on my journey, perhaps there should be opportunities for them to advance to physician roles based on proven experience and continuing education.

“One of the ways to stabilize a lower level of health care,” reasoned Ballweg discussing Alaska community health aides, “is that you create opportunities for people to move up.”

Humans are, after all, not uniform products, but constantly seeking to exceed their limits.

The second installment of this blog series, “The Anatomy Lesson,” will consider the PA in the Dutch public healthcare model.

Adam Halbur is a writer and teacher living in Tokyo, Japan. A short version of his film As Good As You Can, As Professionally As You Can premiered at the 11th annual conference of the International Academy of Physician Associate Educators. Watch the “American Cheese” segment of the longer version here. Watch a short of the 50th AAPA Conference with interviews from Ruth Ballweg and David Kuhns here. Halbur is entirely self-funded, so if you appreciate his work, please consider making a small contribution to his feature documentary on the Kenyan clinical officer.

Resources and references

  • https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/5e/60/46/85702e75801611/US2759308-drawings-page-1.png
  • https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/7b/f3/1f/74eac5574c98f8/US2759308-drawings-page-2.png
  • https://www.amazon.com/Physician-Assistant-Illustrated-History/dp/1935089641
  • http://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation/accredited-programs/
  • https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-10/american-cheese-is-no-longer-america-s-big-cheese
  • https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2018/05/23/physician-assistant-pay-surpasses-107k-annually/#16250968762c
  • https://mosthustleanddesire.github.io/as_good_as_you_can/
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgr42W1zeLM&t=372s
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH0h9heJVTM
  • https://paypal.me/pools/c/8e6BvsmBe0
View all posts in this series
  • As Good As You Can: The PA Model Around the World Part One
  • American Cheese: The Origin of the U.S. Physician Assistant
  • PAs in the Netherlands: The Dutch Physician Assistant
  • Why We Really Need PAs in The UK: The British Physician Associate
  • Meet The PA Pioneers of Israel: The Israeli Physician Assistant
  • Trials and Tribulations of the Liberian Physician Assistant
  • South Africa’s Clinical Associate (Clin-A): The PA Model Around The World
  • The Indian Physician Assistant (PA): Past, Present, and Future
  • The Australian Physician Assistant: The PA Model Around The World
  • Laos: The Birthplace of the U.S. Physician Assistant?
  • Little Big Men: The Rise of Kenya’s Clinical Officer

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A PA since 2004 and creator of The PA Life and Smarty PANCE Board Review websites. A National Health Service Corps Scholar and a graduate of The University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ (Rutgers) PA Program and the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. Stephen's goal is to provide one-of-a-kind online resources for those interested in or practicing in the PA profession, to promote better access to healthcare for all and foster universal recognition/awareness of the PA profession. Read more about Stephen.

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Carly did more than help revise my grammatical errors and flow. She was able to show me the strengths and weaknesses of the concepts of my essay. She was able to tell me what it was missing as well as praise me for what I did correctly. It gave me confidence in my writing, and I truly believe it will make an impact on the way PA programs view me.

Sherry, Pre-PA

I’ve had several people look at my essay in an effort to gauge whether the content was strong and to help clean it up and cut characters – none were as helpful as Carly. Carly’s editing truly helped make a difference in the quality of the essay, and while there’s still quite a bit of character cutting I have to do, I am more prepared now than I was before. I am so happy I chose to work with The PA Life.

Kristen, Pre-PA

Carly took the time to listen to my concerns about my personal statement and apply them to what I had already written. I was so appreciative as I wasn’t sure where my personal statement stood before submitting it. I now feel more confident in my statement!

Chelsea, Pre-PA

I was very pleased working with Duke on my personal statement. I’m currently in the middle of applying to PA school, so I haven’t heard back from the programs. I’m looking forward to the experience though.

John R. Pre-PA

I greatly appreciate the help because it answered questions and doubts I had about my personal statement. I feel much more confident in submitting to CASPA. Thank you very much, Sue!

Sarah, Pre-PA

Your service was able to help me figure out exactly what I needed to include, what did not belong and helped me display my experiences the best way possible to form a great essay. Carly was able to help me create my best essay by just editing the order and grammar without changing much of any of my written work. I am very happy with how my essay turned out. Definitely worth the money, thank you for all your help!

Nicolas, Pre-PA

My editor was quick and responsive with her emails. Her explanations on how to improve my personal statement were detailed and organized. I’m very glad I chose The PA Life to help me with my personal statement and point me in the right direction. Thank you very much!

Phillip, Pre-PA

Carly blew away all my expectations. She not only suggested edits to refine the content, but she also made grammatical and structural changes that fine-tuned my essay and allowed it to flow. I came into the editing process feeling hopeless about my personal statement, but with her edits, I feel confident that it will stand out. On top of all that, Carly was very timely in editing and returning my essay – I got it back within a few days! I’m very pleased with her service and recommend it to anyone out there who needs a fresh, professional set of eyes on their personal statement.

Stephanie, Pre-PA

I am happy to provide an update. I received 5 acceptances for this cycle and will be attending Rush University PA Program starting in May 2022. Of course, I definitely have Sarah Schultz and Deanna Matzen from The PA Life to thank for their incredible help with my personal statement, instilling confidence in my ability to interview, and providing me with a lot of advice in this very difficult cycle.

Bristi (Future PA)

The feedback that I received through The PA Life editing service was more detailed than I expected! It gave me a clear idea of what direction I need to take in regard to my personal statement. I absolutely loved the edits!

Crystal, Pre-PA

Sue Edmondson was VERY thorough in her editing of my essay, as well as the promptness of her responses to me. She not only took the time to edit the grammar of my essay but helped me remove a large portion of it to focus on the important aspects of it and draw in more details. Overall, a fantastic service!

Megan Hunstad, Pre-PA

I just wanted to let you know I got accepted to Yale!!!! I’m so pumped. I can’t wait to talk more in-depth with you about my experience. For now I just wanted to say thank you!!!! You really were SO helpful.

James Hennessy, PA-S

I am so happy to have gone through this editing process! I did not think you would take so much time to not only give me great feedback but also to edit and revise my paper like you did. I am so happy with my new revised paper and will definitely tell my friends!

Eric, Pre-PA

Carly did a great job helping my personal statement flow from paragraph to paragraph. She truly helped me show throughout the essay why I wanted to become a PA. What I really appreciated was she explained why each change was made; comments and reasons which not only helped with this one time essay but for all my future essays as well. Definitely was worth it!

Kathleen, Pre-PA

I had a great experience with The PA Life essay revision service. They were very professional and made revisions in a timely manner. My editor was very understanding about my schedule and when it would take me longer to reply to emails. I would recommend this service to any new grad PAs!

Sandy, Pre-PA

Duke is great! I had such a great time with him editing my personal statement. So glad I found this site!

Melissa Nicole Aguilera, Pre-PA

I received an early acceptance! I just wanted to thank you so much for all your help. You are a pro and I’m so thankful for you! You helped me more than you’ll ever know! I’m so excited! You saved me!!!!

Shelly K. Pre-PA

I have been accepted to my first-choice program!! UC Denver, I don’t have to move! I have also received three other interviews so far. Thank you so much for your help with my personal statement. You helped me eloquently state my desires and strengths for the career. I am beyond thrilled and thankful.

Nika, PA-S

This is just a great service overall, because not only is it an editing service, it is specific to the PA personal statement. Sue did a wonderful job editing my essay, and pointed out important flaws in it that I otherwise might not have noticed. Her edits highlighted the main points that I was trying to get across in a much better way than I had originally written. Overall, very satisfied with the results, and will have to keep you updated about the interviews. Thanks so much!

Sabrina L. Pre-PA

I just wanted to share some amazing news with you! I have been accepted into the MEDEX PA program in Seattle!!! I can’t thank you enough for all your help!! I am beyond excited and still can’t believe it is actually happening! Thank you again from the bottom of my heart!!!!! 😀

Pavitra, PA-S

I am so happy with the service Sarah provided! My personal statement turned out exactly how I was hoping it would!

Jennifer, Pre-PA

This was even more helpful than I anticipated! I am someone who finds it very hard to let others read my writing because it feels too personal. This made it much easier to let someone edit for me and all the suggestions provided really helped me pull together the parts I was struggling with. I would highly recommend this editing service to anybody who is having trouble strengthening their essay!

Lindsey C, Pre-PA

The edit that I received from Sue was exactly what I was hoping for. She was able to tighten up my draft beyond my personal skill level and made edits that I was would have never thought to make. She has definitely made my personal statement stronger. Thank you, Sue!

Ethan, Pre-PA

I absolutely love the way my essay sounds! I truly appreciate all of your help. I will definitely recommend prospective PA students your way! It’s been a pleasure.

Natalie, Pre-PA

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for helping me with my personal statement. I have been accepted at Cornell, and will most likely be entering their program in March 2017. I have also received interview offers from Wake Forest, Duke, Pitt, Quinnipiac, Oregon Health Sciences, and Chatham so far. I am happy to share my success up to this point, because I would not be in this position without your guidance, wisdom, and talent.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with you, and I am profoundly grateful for your help. I wish you all the best in the future.

Stephanie Dwyer, PA-S

Thank you for all of your help with my essay. You used my content, but refined it and made it more relatable. I believe due to your help I gained three interviews this cycle! I was accepted to two of the three schools and I will be going to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston this May. Again, thank you for all of your help, it has definitely changed my life.

Lauren Clewley, PA-S

Carly was extremely prompt and helpful! She helped edit my personal statement into something that I am extremely confident applying with!

Danielle, Pre-PA

Very prompt response and turnaround time. While I did not speak with Duke over the phone, his team’s edits were thorough, clear and very helpful. Highly recommended.

Dave H. Pre-PA

I just want to let you know I got into the pa program! I want to give you a huge thank you for helping me nail the interview and make a great essay. Thank you, x 100,000!

Rachel J, Pre-PA

I used the personal statement editing service with Deanna Matzen (April/May 2021) and the mock interview service with Mary Jones (June 2021). Both were exceptional to work with and helped me to achieve my goal. I applied to three schools and received interview invites from all three (I’m a first-time applicant). I was waitlisted at one in June and later accepted in November, received early acceptance to my top choice in November (UTSW), and I chose to decline my third interview scheduled in December. Thank you for your services!

Rachelle, Pre-PA

An amazing experience. Glad to have worked with Duke. He did his best, and it was very enjoyable.

Anand T. Pre-PA

Thank you so much for helping me with my physician assistant program application essays and interview! I am so excited to let you know that I received multiple PA school acceptances and have decided that I will be attending Cornell University’s PA Program in New York City. The program begins in February 2019 and I cannot wait to begin!  I truly appreciate all your help and encouragement throughout my PA application process.

Christine Chen, PA-S

I wanted you to know about my acceptance into Elizabethtown College’s PA program. I am incredibly excited – I loved the school, the program and thought the staff was incredible, especially the director. I know my personal statement was a key component of getting an interview with them, and I am so thankful for your help in getting my statement polished!

Steve, PA-S

This review is long overdue, but my gratitude for how much The PA Life has helped me will never fade. Ms. Schultz went above and beyond to help me tailor my personal statement to my unique stories and qualities. She was open to my suggestions and often thought from my perspective instead of imposing her thoughts on my essay. I appreciate the time she took to help me create a personal statement that expressed my thoughts clearly and concisely. I am happy to report that I have been invited to interviews, and I’m on the waitlist for one of my top schools. If I don’t get in this cycle, I will be using the editing services again. Big shout out to Ms. Schultz!! Thank you for all your encouragement, patience, and support! I am honored to have the chance to work with you. 🙂

Amy, Pre-PA

Really great service, definitely worth the money! I am very pleased with the amount of work that went into editing my paper and giving reasons as to why sentences or paragraphs were changed around. Carly did an amazing job!

Christina, Pre-PA

Well worth the money. I consider myself a decent writer but found I was stuck on a few key points of my personal statement. After a few edits on my own and with a few people I trust, I decided to submit my essay for editing through ThePALife to make sure I was really on the right track. I am supremely satisfied. The essay I wrote turned out to be a solid base, but Sarah went to work, and every change and suggestion had a logical place. She polished it up and made it shine. Thank you so much!

Conor K. Pre-PA

Thank you so much for editing my essay and for your kind words. Your edits have definitely made it a stronger PS and I am proud to have it as a part of my application. Thank you for alleviating my stress on arguably the most nerve-wracking part of the CASPA app. You are incredibly talented and well-spoken, and any person that has you edit their essays is incredibly lucky! I will let you know if I have any questions, but I think each one of your edits are meaningful and super clear. I appreciate you shortening it and making it flow better. Thank you again!!!

Karina Kapani, Pre-PA

Oh my gosh thank you SOO much!!! I have been so busy with school so I haven’t been able to edit my personal statement, but I want to thank you soo much for making my statement look a heck of a lot better!!! I will be editing it over my spring break since that is the only free time I have, and I most likely will do a re-edit if I can (its $35 ish right?). Anyways thank you so much again!! Sorry for the late reply but I will get back to you again during my spring break if I need a second edit, thank you so much again for all your help!! I can already see how much of a difference you’ve made! Totally worth my money!

Melat Ashagre, Pre-PA

I am so happy I used your service. It really took all of my frustrations and anxiety about my personal statement away. I am really happy with the final product. While Maura did a great job with editing my grammar and making my essay sound better overall in my first edit, Sue did an amazing job turning my essay into a story that flows in my final edit.

Marissa Pre-PA

Sarah Morris Schultz was my PA statement editor and she was absolutely fabulous! She helped to shave my original 4-page long, winding PA statement down to a 2 page impactful, poignant, moving statement that lead me to get accepted to a Doctor of Medical Science program in Physician Assistant Studies. She has such a gift for writing and knowing how to say things in just the right way and use the right words! One of the DMS PA program committee members started off my video conference online interview by stating that my PA statement was the best he ever read, not “one of the best” but THE BEST statement. My heart leapt. My PA statement years ago had caused me NOT to get accepted to the school that I had hoped. I did get accepted to a good PA school, got my degree, and started practicing in this field that I love. However, this time I decided to humble myself and get help writing a good statement. Praise God, it paid off. I am so grateful for the PA Life service and fee for the one-on-one service is worth every penny! I recommend everyone get Sarah Morris Schultz. She’s the bomb.com! I love you, Sarah 🙂

Sonja D. PA-S

Sarah was super helpful and flexible in my schedule. Her editing really turned my essay around, and made me a much more confident applicant! I am so glad I utilized this service. I will keep you updated on my results for this round 🙂

Mollie, Pre-PA

This experience was great. They took my essay and gave great constructive comments that made it an even better essay. Very fast and efficient process.

Gabby, Pre-PA

Ms. Edmondson was incredible! She provided great feedback and answered all of my follow up questions. I will keep in touch as to my interview offers.

Ashley, Pre-PA

My reviewer was Deanna Matzen who was incredible. I reached out to The PA Life’s editing service after being disappointed by myparesource, whom I was referred to initially. Deanna composed two alternate ways to structure my journey and allowed me to find a novel way to present my personal statement. After revision, I was able to flip my lens, utilize my introduction as my conclusion, and the rest of the paper began to fall into place. Very satisfied with the quality of her work, thank you so much, Deanna!

Steven, Pre-PA

Kelly M. provided an exceptional experience with detailed recommendations. I am upset that I did not find The PA Life editing service sooner! I will be referring anyone I know applying to pa school to this platform!

Manny, Pre-PA

Sue was great to work with. Very prompt in responding to my submission. Asked good questions and incorporated my responses into my essay nicely. I appreciate the work.

Mary Peterson, Pre-PA

AMAZING EDITS. Really opened my eyes to a new perspective of what a personal statement should really be like!

Jasmine, Pre-PA

I rarely give all “Excellent” ratings, but this was exceptional work. Beth was quick, personable, and transformed my essay beyond expectations. I banged my head against a wall for months and was still unhappy with the final product, but reading her edit, I felt like PA school was within reach. I’d absolutely recommend this service to anyone who wants a glow-up for their personal statement.

Adam Johnson, Pre-PA

My editor did an excellent job with my essays. I struggle with writing emotionally and she took my material and really personalized it. I feel very confident sending in my essays after having her look at them. She promptly returned my essays and did a stellar job. Thank you!

Danielle, Pre-PA

Hope everything is going well! I just wanted to let you know I’m 2/2 so far with receiving interviews. I know your help with my essays has played a huge part. I just wanted to update you and tell you how grateful I am for all of your help!

John, Pre-PA

This service was invaluable – I felt decent about my essay, but it’s remarkably better. I appreciate the level of detail and courtesy even with my discounted rate. You guys are too great!

Taylor Hamstra, Pre-PA

Sarah was fantastic to work with. She is excellent at her crafted skill and can help any thought or sentence come to life, fast!

Jessica D. PRE-PA

I have never used a service like this before. All I can say is that I wish I had discovered it sooner 😀

Rebecca G. PA-S

Thank you so much for your assistance with perfecting my personal statement. This service is truly helpful. They were able to easily edit and help to convey exactly what was in my heart onto paper. I was accepted to my first choice PA program this week!!

Vincent, PA-S

Sue was awesome and ensured I received my edited version of the essay in a timely manner. The editing was above exceptional and exceeded my expectations. Thanks so much!! You guys are awesome!

HK, Pre-PA

Susan did a fantastic job of editing my essay! She guided me and gave me suggestions for strengthening certain sections and equally took out weak parts. After I followed her recommendations, I really felt like I had an essay where every sentence mattered and reflected who I was. Thank you so much Susan for your help. I feel that I have a stronger essay because of your honest feedback and your help!

Patrick, Pre-PA

Duke helped me with my personal essay writing for PA school. He was very patient and helpful with me. I made lots of mistake on my Essay, but with Duke’s help I was able to write a sensible essay which was good enough to get Interview calls. I highly recommend his service.

Rajni M, Pre PA

My editor with The PA Life was a grammar goddess! She provided amazing feedback and was quick with responding back to any emails, questions, and concerns!

Saniha, Pre-PA

Thank you so much for your help with my personal statement. The process was everything I could have wanted and more. You were wonderful to work with and I appreciate very much how you were able to connect to my personal experiences and combine that with the traits that you know make a statement successful. I have applied to my first two PA schools and I owe a big part of that to you! Once again, Thank you very much!

Louis T. Pre-PA

Deanna (my editor at The PA Life) is the GOAT. She went so far above and beyond all my expectations. My jaw was on the floor reading my personal statement after she worked on it.

Austin, Pre-PA

I wanted to reach out and thank you for all of your help throughout my entire application process — your words, advice, and support made a world of a difference to me, and I’m sure everyone who has had the pleasure of working with you feels the exact same way. I thought I’d let you know that after my Stanford and Duke interviews over the past couple of weeks, I received acceptance to both programs! I’m still on cloud 9 and I don’t believe I’ll be coming down anytime soon. And as of early this week, I officially committed to Stanford University’s PA program and I begin in August!!! Thank you again for everything you’ve done to help!

Celine, PRE-PA

Your services have eased the stress and anxiety that results from guessing whether or not your essay contains the content that many PA programs are looking for. Your services were prompt and genuine. It is clear that you have the applicants success at heart. Thank you!

Madison Holtz

Sue did an exemplary job at editing my personal statement. Her service was particularly useful once my essay was ready for fine polishing and trimming down – she really pulled the fat off leaving the meat of my personal statement remaining. I would recommend this service to others.

Sarah, Pre-PA

I was extremely stressed out about writing my personal statement, and finally decided to search the internet for advice and assistance. I came across the personal statement editing service on the PA Life, and decided to give it a try. I received a response within a day, and my stress was instantly relieved. I worked personally with Duke to edit my statement, and he is a phenomenal writer. He didn’t change the content of my statement, but rather helped me tell my story in a way that is much more desirable! I cannot recommend this service enough to others seeking help on their personal statement. Duke was friendly, sincere, and definitely experienced! I felt 100% confident in his editing abilities, and we worked together the entire time so that we were both pleased with the results! Thanks again, Duke, for all of your help!

Chelsie W. Pre-PA

Sue is so incredibly kind! I needed so much help on cleaning up my personal statement and overall flow of the writing. She provided great insights and explanation.

Laila, Pre-PA

Sue’s comments were very helpful. Her quick turnaround time is very impressive. She responded to my concerns and questions promptly. She clearly knows what to present to the PA school admissions team. I am very happy with her work.

Kitti, Pre-PA

I just want to thank you again so much for being so awesome and helping me perfect my statement. I promised you that I would let you know if I got into any programs, and I was offered interviews at all the five universities I applied to. And I got offered positions at my top two school choices shortly after I interviewed. I am so ecstatic to say that I will be going to my number one school choice. I know multiple factors contributed to this opportunity being offered to me and the personal statement was surely a big one. Thank you so much for all that you do. It was really a great investment to have you edit my paper. I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day!

Elisa, PA-S

I used your service for my personal statement and my top school secondary. I feel this is an amazing service and have recommended it to many of my friends who are currently applying to PA school.

Jeff, Pre-PA

I came into this with a half written personal statement and not a lot of time left. I am beyond pleased with the work Sarah and I were able to accomplish together, and I’m so grateful to have gotten the chance to work with her. She has helped me so much with getting my writing to where I wanted it to be, and has instilled in me a great sense of confidence in myself and my abilities. I highly recommend this service to anyone going through the stress of applying! Keeping my fingers crossed as I submit my applications!

Celine, PRE-PA

I’m not sure if you remember me but you helped me a couple of months ago on my PA personal statement. Just wanted to let you know — I got accepted into University of Pacific’s PA program! I’m overjoyed!

Thank you so much for all your help and encouragement! I really appreciate it.

Jennifer MurphyPRE-PA

Carly did an absolutely amazing job editing my essays. From my personal statement to my supplementals, she was thorough and methodically made them into stronger essays. I am glad I was able to work with her. With her edits, I am more confident about the essays I am submitting. I would gladly recommend her to anyone!

Jacob, PRE-PA

Lisa Tepper reviewed my personal statement and her edits were incredibly helpful. By asking me many specific questions and responding to my answers, she helped me add much-needed context to my personal stories that I didn’t even realize was missing. And she made a few subtle suggestions in my conclusion that really tied the essay altogether. I am very pleased with how my essay turned out and it is such a relief to turn in a statement that I am proud of.Thank you so much.

Kaitlin Emmerling, Pre-PA

Sarah Schultz was a great editor and was easy to communicate with. She answered my emails very promptly and made great suggestions while also helping me cut down and condense my essay to be in the character limit. She made me feel more confident in my work and helped me develop an essay that I am proud of. I would definitely use this service again!

Katie, Pre-PA

It’s very clear that Deanna, my editor, put a good amount of time and thought into this. She FAR exceeded my expectations, even providing me with two different possible drafts (my original copy was 1500 characters too long). After paying for two separate editing services, I was initially disappointed to find that the first had not provided anywhere close to the level of feedback/review/editing that I had hoped for. I thought I was on my own again with my personal statement and did not have high hopes for any additional edits at the time that I’d received the review from Deanna, of thePAlife. The first service I’d used provided reviews that were neither thoughtful, in-depth, nor helpful, but Deanna’s edits were each of those! My hopes had been shot down by the first service but were immediately uplifted after I received Deanna’s edits. Her feedback was timely, thorough, thoughtful, critical, and even supportive! She provided an exceptional service, and I would highly recommend her to anyone

Cierra, Pre-PA

Really helpful! Makes me feel confident.

Qui T. Pre-PA

Loved this service and working with Sarah. She was super helpful and easy to talk with. Will definitely recommend this service to others.

Diana, Pre-PA

Sue did a wonderful job. I know this is an extremely busy time of year as CASPA is accepting applications and Sue was great about responding to my initial submission and getting back to me. She provided thoughtful feedback and quality editing. Fingers crossed for an acceptance to PA school!

Jo Lynn, Pre-PA

I hope this email finds you well. I would like to thank you for your help with my PA school personal statement. I’m glad to share that I did get into my top choice – Drexel!

Ashley, Pre-PA

Sarah from The PA Life was an incredible resource for editing my personal statement. Her edits took into account the big picture of the message of the statement and helped guide me when writing additional content my statement was lacking. Her edits and responses were both prompt and thorough, and I truly feel that she made a huge positive impact on my personal statement.

Travis, Pre-PA

Sarah was a pleasure to work with the entire time. I felt very overwhelmed when I was working on my personal statement on my own, but once I started working with Sarah, she made me feel at ease while getting my personal statement to look its best. Sarah is very knowledgeable, understanding, and professional. One of the things I loved the most about working with her is that no matter the time of the day she was always available and got back to you in a timely manner. The whole time we worked on my personal statement she made sure I felt comfortable with changes that had to be made and I appreciated this as well. Sarah is excellent at what she does and I would recommend her and this one on one service to anyone that needs it.

Odilia, Pre-PA

Sarah was amazing from beginning to end. Her listening skills are just superb. She edits in a manner that captures your story in a raw format and complete format. I loved my experience.

Vivian, Pre-PA

Testimonials

Carly did a great job helping my personal statement flow from paragraph to paragraph. She truly helped me show throughout the essay why I wanted to become a PA. What I really appreciated was she explained why each change was made; comments and reasons which not only helped with this one time essay but for all my future essays as well. Definitely was worth it!
Kathleen, Pre-PA
I was very pleased working with Duke on my personal statement. I’m currently in the middle of applying to PA school, so I haven’t heard back from the programs. I’m looking forward to the experience though.
John R. Pre-PA
I have been struggling for a long time deciding if I want to go to medical school or PA school. I have wanted to be a doctor my entire life and I was so hesitant to give that up to be a PA but then I read your article “Why My Wife is Happy I’m a PA and not an MD“. I wanted to sincerely thank you for this because this was what I was searching for. Something that told me I wasn’t lazy or not smart enough to become an MD. I had been searching for this for so long. After I read this article, I called my mom to tell her I decided on PA school instead of med school and I felt so relieved. I myself have the same love for medicine as you do and I also have a love for helping people and the social aspect of medicine. Thank you for helping me realize this is what I want to do. I cannot wait to see where this profession takes me!
Jane A. Pre-PA
Awesome service. Duke did a great job editing my personal statement – his feedback was top-notch. For the 2014-2015 cycle, I applied to one school. I was selected for an interview and yesterday I received an offer of admission … which I quickly accepted. I know my Personal Statement played a huge role in my success. I highly recommend this service.
Nikki, Pre-PA
This service was invaluable – I felt decent about my essay, but it’s remarkably better. I appreciate the level of detail and courtesy even with my discounted rate. You guys are too great!
Taylor Hamstra, Pre-PA
Duke and I worked really well together. Seeing my first draft in comparison to my final draft was like night and day. I really appreciate all the help!
Kenzi H. Pre-PA
Hi Stephen, I just wanted to let you know that I have been a huge fan of your site for a long, long time. I started using your site a couple years ago when I was still struggling between the MD/PA decision. I had your site to go to when I started the CASPA application process. I used your school finder to locate the best schools that were a good personal fit for me. I used your advice as motivation through many personal statement drafts. Finally, I used your 46 most common interview questions to become better prepared for my PA interviews. Today, at 3:04 PM, I was accepted to my first choice PA program. I am beyond excited! Thank you for being my coach through this long journey.
Jax, PA-S
Sarah was absolutely wonderful. She not only helped take my personal statement to the best level, but she also made it easy to understand why certain changes were better. In the end, she went through and used a highlighting method to show how we connected things to PA and skills that were good. This made it easier to visualize everything. I’d recommend Sarah to anyone applying to PA school that needs that extra push on their personal statements.
Taylor, Pre-PA
I can not speak highly enough of Sarah. She was extremely helpful and easy to work with. I think she did an especially admirable job packaging the message I was trying to get across in my essay in a concise format that flows smoothly. Thank you again!
Ian, Pre-PA
I really appreciated Duke and his way of cutting out the unnecessary fluff in my essay. He was extremely helpful and helped steer me in the right direction to better my writing and make me a more competitive applicant. I am currently still applying to programs and will notify you guys once I get an invitation!
Ani S. Pre-PA

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