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You are here: Home / Physician Assistant Stories / If You Take the Red Pill: Reflections on the Future of Medicine

If You Take the Red Pill: Reflections on the Future of Medicine

BY Stephen Pasquini PA-C 3 Comments

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhumane.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

This blog post is an excerpt (and my PA friendly adaptation) from a speech by Dr. Paul Farmer given at Harvard Medical School, Class Day June 5, 2003. Featured in "To repair the world". 

Red pill Blue Pill Phizer

The Matrix...

It’s an action film starring that great thespian, Keanu Reeves.

The plot is murky but not uninteresting: his character is a cog in the great wheel of industry and finance, just another programmer working in front of his computer screen in a gray cubicle.

Lives in a big city, looks like Chicago or Toronto.

Mr. Anderson, as he is called, knows something is very wrong with the world but doesn’t know what it is.

It’s “like a splinter in his mind.” There’s got to be more to life than this, he’s certain. He feels most alive under a different alias, his hacker name, Neo.

To make a convoluted story short, Neo is contacted by a certain Morpheus, someone the company drones and police term a terrorist.

Morpheus is played in completely over-the-top fashion by Laurence Fishburne.

If Neo wants to find out what’s bugging him— all the mediocrity and meaninglessness of life in the machine— then he, the fellow named Morpheus, will be only too happy to show him.

Neo hooks up with Morpheus, of course. And Morpheus offers Neo a choice: he can choose to see the world as it really is, to extract that splinter from his mind. Or he can chicken out.

Morpheus outlines Neo’s choice with all the subtlety of a mediocre Shakespearean actor who’s had a few too many vodka tonics.

Morpheus pulls a pillbox out of his stylin’ leather coat. He proffers a red pill and a blue pill.

Morpheus says something like this:

“You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you remain in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.”

Like any good action hero with a splinter in his mind, Neo goes for truth, which is all that Morpheus promises. And the truth is ugly.

It’s that Neo, and indeed everyone he’s ever known, is a slave.

The message is clear: Neo’s been duped, deluded by job security and certain material comforts like cool club music and hip garb. It’s all fake.

If You Take the Red Pill

The-Agent-and-The-Red-Pill-in-Medicine

It’s my contention, of course, that a certain amount of red-pill popping is just what we need in medicine and public health. But how many of us want to see how deep the rabbit hole goes?

Do we dare take the red pill? A serious question from a guy who is gagging on the red pill and still falling down the rabbit hole.

As a character in the film says— he’s a bad guy, of course—“ Ignorance is bliss.” But ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is just that— ignorance— and ignorance and medicine are simply not compatible. Our own red pill may well be more bitter than any other, because it’s easy to argue that, for doctors, as for scientists, the blue pill is an unacceptable option, even if it’s what most of us have swallowed.

If you take the red pill and you’re a medical provider, you see that there’s unnecessary sickness and suffering everywhere on this planet.

You see too that certain epidemics are completely out of control and that there are horrific health emergencies all over the third world.

You see that some people are denied access to the most basic fruits of science, to the tools developed over the past few decades as medicine itself earned its name as “the youngest science.”

You think diseases such as SARS is bad, and it is. But allow me to put this in perspective. As of today, although fewer than a thousand people have died of SARS, several Fortune 500 companies are scrambling to put together a global SARS fund; I’m told that hundreds of millions of dollars have been pledged.

During the 2003 scare, certain airports in Asia installed thermal scanners to identify febrile travelers. All this in the space of a couple months.

All good. But over 8,000 people die every day of AIDS, the leading infectious cause of death in the modern world. And many more die of tuberculosis and malaria: during the course of this year, six million people, most of them children and young adults, will die of these three diseases alone.

Six million deaths, almost all of them preventable with modern medicine, but the red pill reminds us that we have no plan in place to serve those most in need.

And even the newspapers, whose editors and publishers seem to subsist on a steady diet of blue pills, report that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria will soon run out of money.

The plagues of the poor don’t seem to interest industry, the press, or even basic science. So it is everywhere.

  • Take the red pill and suddenly you see that 40 million Americans have no health insurance and as many more are poorly insured.
  • Take the red pill and you see that the bottom billion of this planet don’t have enough food or clean water while in other places, including this country, we are called to subsidize agribusiness and then destroy excess crops or dump them on faltering peasant economies, so delivering their coup de grâce.
  • Take the red pill and you wonder why it is that, in the global era of connectivity, millions die of hunger while others battle obesity.

You learn that some companies short-date perfectly good medications and equipment in a process known as “planned obsolescence” while tens of millions will die without ever having benefitted from the discoveries of Salk or Sabin or even Pasteur. This has been going on for some time in the desert of the real, and it’s getting worse.

Why dredge up this dreary stuff?

Because you can change all this

Stopping the Blue Pill

Indeed, we must. It’s urgent.

Sure, it’s utopian, but it’s also feasible. Here’s a glass half full for you: as PAs, you are granted special license to fight for a better world. You can carp about health insurance in a way that politicians cannot because you are merely fighting for your patients.

You can gripe about drug prices in a way that others cannot, for the same reasons. You can even deliver a red-pill speech like this one without being considered a pill yourself.

Because this is what we’re called to do: to fight for the survival and the dignity of our patients, especially the sickest and most vulnerable.

You don’t have to travel far to meet people who receive substandard care.

Many students are astounded at how few of your patients have ever had a medical provider visit them in their homes.

But the red pill suggests that it’s after the patients leave the hospital that many of them have troubles:

  • Troubles understanding or following their provider's orders.
  • Troubles filling prescriptions.
  • Troubles getting to clinic appointments.
  • Troubles paying rent or utility bills.

You could address some of these troubles yourselves. Say you’re an orthopedic physician assistant and on the way from the gym to the hospital, you pop by and see the lady who fell and fractured her femoral neck. You helped to put in the hardware and all went splendidly, as you noted in your brief (very brief) op note. She lives on the fifth floor of a run-down public housing building not a mile from the medical mecca in which you train. The elevator’s out. If you’d taken the blue pill, you wouldn’t even know this fact, because she lives in the desert of the real, invisible, it would seem, to the majority of doctors.

Whether a Physician Assistant or Nurse Practitioner or internist or pediatrician or pathologist or cardiac surgeon, we are working for others.

It’s not about us, or our incomes, or our sense of personal efficacy. It’s about what happens to our patients.

After a few long workweeks, there may be moments when you want to take the blue pill. Don’t do it.

Wonderful things are happening in clinical medicine and the allied sciences, in large part because of medicine’s embrace of science.

The yield of this embrace has been nothing short of marvelous. No branch of medicine has been untouched.

From pathology to oncology to infectious disease, the revolution continues. But for those who take the red pill, we are obliged to see the dark side of progress.

More and better discoveries, every day, but an erosion in our ability to use them wisely and equitably.

More capacity to engineer new therapies but a lack of commitment to directing our efforts toward the world’s great killers.

In my field, there have been many victories, certainly. But there hasn’t been a new class of antituberculosis drug discovered in decades. As of October 2014, there are no effective vaccines for AIDS, TB, or malaria— the big three modern plagues. Visits to the lifeworlds of the sick help us see how terribly behind we are in the equity arena.

We’re failures in the equity department.

There are many reasons to visit patients in their homes:

  • They help us understand why excellent in-hospital care can come to naught if we lack an equity plan.
  • Visits help us understand why prescriptions go unfilled, why appointments are missed, why medications are taken incorrectly or not at all.
  • Visits connect us to people whose lives are very different from our own.

This failure, which you can see for yourselves, is emblematic of the even more shocking failures one can see when one leaves behind nationality, a blue -pill side effect, and takes on the globe’s medical problems.

If you’ve agreed with me so far, then you’ll see all the vast promise of modern medicine and also the dismal state of our global village.

More and more for fewer and fewer

It’s true in so many realms, but it’s excruciatingly so in medicine and public health.

Martin Luther King is credited with having said the following: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhumane.”

Taking the red pill is a scary process.

There are those of you out there today who threw back the red pill but are now reaching for the ipecac.

And who wouldn’t be?

We live in a world of medical haves and have-nots, a world in which most of the bottom billion have no modern medical care at all, a world in which current trends promise that the situation will get worse during the early years of your medical practice.

What are the boundaries of your world?

Over time, they will shrink to a hospital or clinic, and all you’ll want to do when you leave work will be to watch an action film by yourself. Or listen to some music. Or do whatever it is that transports you out of the desert of the real.

But in your heart, and in your practice, you know that most of the boundaries are ones we create ourselves.

They’re boundaries we erect in order to lessen our pain, not the pain of others.

Where exactly do you fit in?

System-Failure

Taking the red pill and seeing the world of the sick as it is today leads us to painful choices. I’m not seeking to be Manichaean: the choices before you are not between good and bad.

They’re between doing good and doing better.

To do better, don’t we have to take that red pill and fight? Your generation is going to have to answer this question. Because unfortunately, as Morpheus says, you and I have run out of time.

Of course, the clock isn’t really ticking on us. It’s ticking on others. Again— how many people have died of treatable diseases during the time it took you to read this blog post.

Allow me to leave you with two take-home messages.

First, apply the Golden Rule in your practice — especially during that last admission, in the wee hours of the morning or at the end of a long day in the clinic. Or to a particularly difficult or crabby patient. Could you ever care as much about her as you do about, say, your own mother? Could you ever love someone as much as you love yourself or your own child? The answer to these questions may well be “certainly not,” but at least the red pill pushes us to ask them.

Second, make home visits now and again. Don’t buy the received wisdom about “respecting boundaries.” What’s wrong with helping housebound patients wash their dishes? Or helping hut-bound patients transform dirt floors into cement floors? Break down boundaries. Think outside the box.

Do you want to wake up some day and discover that your life has become dim, without color? That you took the blue pill?

Even though your ectopic soul, stowed away, say, in your left axilla, forgotten, neglected, was exhorting you all along to make the leap, to take a chance?

You know the questions. The answer is out there, and you will find it if you want to.

Now you know. And knowing, as another action figure was fond of noting, is half the battle.

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About Stephen Pasquini PA-C

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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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Austin Page says

    October 27, 2014 at 6:38 pm

    Stephen, I really appreciate this article. I’ve recently just decided to take the perverbial “red pill” and this was a refreshing spin on things. We could easily look at this from a cynical and burnt out point of view, but as you said we have a special license to do something about this. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article. Much appreciated the dedication you have towards medicine.

    -Austin Page

    Reply
    • Austin Page says

      October 27, 2014 at 6:40 pm

      Proverbial* 🙂

      Reply
    • Stephen says

      October 28, 2014 at 5:27 pm

      Thank you Austin,

      If you haven’t yet read Tracy Kidder’s book “Mountains Beyond Mountains” based on Paul Farmer’s work in Haiti, I would really recommend it. I have read it once and listened to it twice and each time I am reminded why I went into medicine and the true challenges we are all facing.

      It is so easy and comfortable to swallow the blue pill and there are a million excuses I have had in my own life to justify a blue pill regimen. But, it is my belief, that once we swallow the red pill we are not only doing right by our patients but we too will live a much happier and fulfilling life.

      I believe we all wen’t into medicine to fulfill the same purpose and that is to help people. And although everyone needs help, and can benefit from compassionate healthcare at all socioeconomic levels, our success in medicine will be judged not on how we treat those who have the greatest access, but those who have the least. This is going to involve some changes in how we distribute care and how we pay for it. I am optimistic that in my lifetime I will see greater equality in healthcare and the evolution of a system that does not favor those who were born into the right class, but is equally available to everyone who needs it. The money is there, medical providers want the change, we just need to demand it, which is going to involve some pill swallowing, or maybe a lack there of 🙂

      Thanks so much for you comment!

      Stephen

      Reply

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This company is THE BEST! Carly did such an awesome job of not only revising my personal statement but also explaining every step she made. It helped me understand why certain things fit better in different places and helped improve my writing. I am able to submit my applications confidently, knowing that I have a strong personal statement. I HIGHLY recommend this service!

Tiffany M, 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

Sue was amazing! She was very quick at replying to my emails and looking over my paper and application. She was so helpful and has a way with words. I know I will continue to use her services throughout my application process!

Miranda, Pre-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

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 am very pleased with the services provided! I received an email almost immediately upon submitting my essay for review, and within 24 hours my essay review was completed. I would definitely recommend this service to any PA school applicant before they submit their essay to CASPA! Thank you for your help!

Hannah Watson, Pre-PA

Sue Edmonson has been a great help in ensuring my personal statement made sense and fit what information I was trying to convey. Her ability to find the pertinent parts in an essay and gain more information about me to make the essay seem relative to my pursuits was truly a Godsend. Would recommend her and your company to others. Thanks!

Christopher Ohsie, 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

I am so glad I chose The PA Life to edit my personal essay. They polished my personal statement that was lacking in some areas into an essay I am confident with now. Everything was straightforward and prompt. Thank you, The PA Life! 🙂

Winnie, 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

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

Working with Sarah was a wonderful experience. She was prompt, attentive, and incredibly supportive throughout the process. Sarah never deviated from the authenticity of my essay. Even after she made vast changes, the essay still felt true to what I wanted to express. Thank you, Sarah! I would recommend this service to anyone applying to PA school.

Ashley, Pre-PA

I absolutely loved working with Sarah! I could not be any happier with how my personal statement turned out. She was incredibly encouraging, sensitive to my needs, and insightful. There is not enough praise that I could give her for the amazing work she did for me.

Vanessa, 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

Deanna was so amazing! She was really thorough and strengthened my essay in one edit! I feel so confident submitting my essay and I have high hopes for interviews! Thank you for providing these services to those of us with stories that need help being told. I would definitely recommend this service to everyone who wants to apply to PA school!

Valeria, Pre-PA

I owe you a lot! Thank you so much for helping me in this important process. God bless you.

Catalina, 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 really felt the person who edited my essay, Sue Edmondson, took the time to get to know me as a person because she wanted my essay to reflect exactly who I am. I couldn’t have been more impressed with the edits and revisions she has given me along with the reasoning behind each revision.

Nicala, Pre-PA

I loved this service! Not only did my editor transform my essay, she helped me feel more confident in my application moving forward. She was extremely personable and efficient. I love my essay and now I’m even more excited about applying for school because of the help I received from The PA Life! Highly recommend!!

Aubrey, Pre-PA

I thought that the service was very helpful in helping me with my personal statement. Duke was always prompt with responding to emails and made himself very available throughout the process. He was also good and helping, but also making sure that I was the one doing the writing. I think that the structure of the service helped me put in enough time to come out with a very good finished product.

David H. Pre-PA

Carly was so helpful and encouraging! I truly felt like I was in good hands, and I know my personal statement is much stronger now because of her!

Chloe, Pre-PA

It was wonderful to work with The PA Life once again. I appreciated all of my editors’ feedback and creative writing style which was needed to keep the essay within the allowable character limit. I also appreciated how my editor, Sarah, took the time to discover more about me and worked to show those parts which I was unable to reflect myself. With Sarah’s help, the essay really came to life and was a true reflection of my work, personality, and aspiring goals. I’m grateful for all the work she put into helping me with this project!

Jacob, 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

I’m emailing you to let you know that I received an acceptance call yesterday! It’s my first cycle applying so I’m still in shock. This may sound weird to say, but you have been a part of my journey since the beginning when I was trying to figure out how to write my personal statement, to practicing for the interview that led to my acceptance. I genuinely believe that I would not have been accepted into the program if it weren’t for you.

Anthony, PA-S

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

I just wanted to email you and let you know that 3 weeks post-interview with Gannon, I was accepted into the class of 2023! I am so excited and thrilled and I know that your help, helped me. So, thank you!

Cailin, PA-S

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

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 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

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

Danielle, Pre-PA

Sue was extremely prompt and thoughtful in providing her comments, edits, and revisions. My essay had a good start but she helped me write it with admissions committees in mind. I will keep you updated on if I get interview invitations.

Kirsten, Pre-PA

I was at a point where I kept reading my essay over and over again and not knowing what to change. After Sue looked over and thoroughly edited the essay, I had a completely new focus! I knew exactly what to tweak and her service really cleared up any uncertainty I had with my essay. I’m now much more confident as I finish up my CASPA applications!

Julia Spalding, Pre-PA

I love Deanna! She was incredibly helpful and encouraging. I liked the way she constructively gave me feedback and I liked her ability to really strengthen my own ideas instead of dismissing them like other services. She is amazing at seeing things from different angles and that way rearrange and enhance my narrative. I did get an interview from the top choice and an offer a week later. Thank you so much and I will definitely recommend ThePALife to future prePAs.

Klam, 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

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

We worked on my essays back in summer and oh, how much work it was! But it all paid off because I just got accepted into the school of my first choice! Thank you so much for your time and dedication to my success. I will also be glad to recommend your services to other pre-PA students at my school!

Jennifer, H Pre-PA

I absolutely loved working with Sarah! She provided the best feedback to my personal statement, while also being sensitive to the details regarding personal family trauma. At the end of our sessions, I always felt confident in the statement and knew that Sarah would help me best articulate into words what I wanted to say. My statement now is something I can be completely confident in, and know that Sarah has been able to help me achieve a statement that prospective schools will pay attention to. Thank you, Sarah (and The PA Life) for everything!

Elizabeth, Pre-PA

Sue was great! She edited my essay in a short time frame and the comments and feedback were very informative. She helped link all of my main ideas and gave great advice regarding appropriate information for the essay. I highly recommend this service.

Michelle, Pre-PA

This was the most amazing experience! I felt so confident about my topic and essay after our meeting. Duke got back to me quickly and worked around my crazy schedule. The editing of the essay was professional and gave me insight I could not have received any other way. I only applied to one school because it is really the one I would like to go to the most and I got an interview!!! Thank you so much for all of your help!

Kathryn R, PA-S

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

I really needed help with my personal statement. I wrote many copies and finally sent my favorite to the PA life to get some assistance editing. I thought I would have a hard time with the constructive criticism because I spent so much time already on my writing, but the editors were great in suggesting edits and why as well as complimenting appropriately. I’m very proud of my end product and am excited to send it to PA schools. I haven’t finalized my application yet but will definitely let the PA life know if and when I get an interview (or hopefully 2)! 🙂

Bailey B. 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

I submitted my application this morning so I am not able to answer if I received an interview yet but I am THRILLED that I found this service. Sarah has been such a blessing working on my personal statement with me. She took my ideas and mediocre paper and turned it into a beautifully written story about my life. She helped me write exactly what I wanted to say and guided me with how to say it. I would recommend, without reservation, this service to anyone who is applying to PA school. I am one hundred times more confident about applying knowing my personal statement is exactly where it needs to be. Instead of feeling stressed and overwhelmed when I submitted my application this morning, I had complete peace. Thank you, for being a shining light full of kindness to applicants like myself.

Savannah, 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

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

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

Anand T. Pre-PA

Carly is absolutely amazing, and I would recommend her to everyone. She was very helpful and supportive with her edits and why she recommended certain changes. She is amazing, and she helped me tell my story.

Peter, Pre-PA

My editor with The PA Life was amazing! I am so thankful for her attention to detail and wonderful editing skills. I am thrilled with how my personal statement turned out and can’t thank you enough for all of your help.

Olivia, Pre-PA

Carly was helpful and gave insightful comments while helping me to create more impact within my sentences. I feel confident and at ease knowing that my supplemental application has been reviewed in a thorough manner. Thank you for all your help!

Mina, Pre-PA

I’ve been telling everybody that I come into contact with about the incredible value of your service and that I directly attribute your editing as a reason I got into two schools this academic cycle and received 8 invitations to interview. All the best! Read more at http://www.thepaessay.com

Jeremy Cohen Pre-PA

The service provided was excellent. I really appreciate Duke taking the time and reviewing my essay multiple times and at that same time, making sure I am comfortable with the wording. Thank you for all your help!

Foram Patel, Pre-PA

I wanted to let you know that after 4 interviews and 4 waitlists, I was informed a seat opened up at my number one school Drexel in Philadelphia!! So I have officially enrolled in a PA program. This feeling is the lightest I have ever felt and it is incredible. Aside from myself and my mom who has emotionally supported me through this all, you were a huge part of making this happen. I cannot thank you enough for helping tell my story. If you ever want a review to be written somewhere, I would be glad to write one. I have nothing but respect for your talent in listening and translating someone’s intention and experiences into a rounded and full story. Thank you again.

Sarah, R PA-S

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 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

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

Awesome editing service! Everything was detailed, and I could tell that my editor really cared about helping me produce a great personal statement.

Ashanna, Pre-PA

I want to say thank you, first off for providing such a service. It was difficult having to write a personal statement and then have others critique it, when there is not a clear rubric to follow. I think having to write a personal statement is such an emotional process, and then having others edit it, can be a very harsh pill to swallow. Thank you for your edits, I have no doubt that this process will make my personal statement more compelling and hopefully a more competitive applicant.

Stephanie, Pre-PA

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

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

Hi, I am beyond words to express how I feel, I got accepted, contingent on background check which I think is a formality. I want to say boldly that I am going to be a PA, thanks to you. You will be always blessed for the wonderful service you provide.  You were very kind and worked beyond what I thought could be offered. Thanks again!

Pavithra, 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

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

During our first one-on-one session, my editor Sarah had the chance to understand who I am as a person before even editing. This was remarkably helpful in terms of making my voice stand out in my personal statement. I especially appreciated how thorough her comments were regarding the aspects of my essay that needed fine-tuning.

Austin, Pre-PA

I have recently been accepted to a program that was one of my top choices, and I also was waitlisted with two other schools. I wanted to thank you again for all your help Duke.  Not only am I grateful for your knowledge of writing and grammar (which were invaluable), but most importantly your kind word and motivation, which I needed so much at the time.  You’re a great person!

Alex Taylor, PA-S

I wanted to tell you that I interviewed with MEDEX on Friday, got the call yesterday that I’m accepted! I also interviewed with Pacific University on and I felt that went VERY well too. I should hear from them any day now. I will keep you in the loop. I appreciate all your help and support!

Norah, 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

This service was very helpful. My essay was edited and returned to me within a few days of me submitting it. The feedback was thorough and detailed. I am already planning on sending my essay for a second edit!

Sabrina, 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

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

Sarah is absolutely amazing and really helped transform my essay into the best version it could have possibly been!

Shannon B. Pre-PA

This was my third time applying to PA school and I wanted it to be my last so I figured getting help with the essay would make a difference in my application. Paying for the one on one service was the best idea I’ve had to date. Sarah was great in that she literally combined three different essays I had written into one phenomenal essay! I literally have no idea how she did it. Sarah helped me focus all of my thoughts and experience down into one concise, yet personal essay. I truly think this will help me get into PA school!

Anna M. PRE-PA

Sue did an amazing job editing my personal statement. She included all the aspects that I wanted in the statement and made it flow so much better. Thank You! Thank You!

Kendra Perkey, 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

Deanna was amazing! She was able to help me put into professional language my desire to help people. I deeply appreciate and value all of her feedback, edits to my essay, and guidance. She was very attentive, capable, and helpful. She explained things I didn’t understand in a way that allowed me to comprehend. She’s a wonderful writer! I am so grateful for her help! I was stressed out about my essay, and her guidance really helped me stay on track (and calm me down) and portray my interest in becoming a PA clearly and precisely in my essay.

Valerie Charlton, 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 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 wanted to send you a quick life update and another BIG thank you! I received my acceptance at the University of Utah’s PA Program on Monday and couldn’t be happier. Thank you for all your help with my essay and interview prep. Both of these services that you provided were so helpful in my success. I will highly recommend you to any future PA student.

Lily, Pre-PA

I just wanted to let you know that I was accepted in the UW MEDEX program at my home campus in Anchorage, AK. After the long journey I’ve had, I finally was accepted to my top choice! It still seems surreal and I couldn’t be more excited! Thank you so much for the help and insight you gave me. I truly believe it helped prepare me and not be as nervous. I will definitely recommend you to anyone I know who is applying in the future.

Melanie, PA-S

Carly Hallman did an amazing job helping me with my personal statement! I was feeling conflicted and uncertain about my own personal statement, but she helped set my mind at ease! I now have peace of mind regarding my personal statement. She was so helpful in correcting any grammar errors and also informed me of what I could add to my essay. I knew I was missing something in my essay, but could not quite put my finger on it. Carly identified what was missing so I could make those changes to my essay. I’m so thankful for her help because I do not think I could have figured out that “missing piece” had it not been for her. I now feel confident about my essay and I am extremely happy with it! 🙂 Thank you so much!!!

Ramsha, Pre-PA

I just wanted to give you an update! So far I have had two interviews and been accepted to both! I have three more interviews scheduled as of right now, and still waiting to hear from a handful of schools. Thank you so much for all of your help with my essay!

Jennifer Bidwell, PA-S

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

My editor knew exactly what kind of edits I was looking for and addressed all of my questions/concerns I had about my essay. I will definitely be recommending this service to my club members and friends.

Stephanie, Pre-PA

Testimonials

Duke really pushed me to write from the heart and explore my true reasons for applying to PA school.  I was very pleased with the outcome.  I haven’t yet received an interview, but my fingers are crossed!
Emily P. Pre-PA
I graduated from PA school in May and failed my first attempt at the PANCE in July. I was not nearly as prepared as I should have been and in the following 90 days, I developed into a completely different PA. I listened to all of your podcasts, took every practice test (at least once), and got both the daily question emails and the daily eponym emails. My second attempt at the PANCE was earlier in October and I went into it with so much more confidence than I had after receiving the news that I failed the first time. I really appreciate all the work you do to make studying for the PANCE fun… well at least tolerable… and I will definitely recommend your program to next years graduating class.
Thank you! thank you! thank you!
Christopher M., PA-C
I had been through 3 interviews prior to your mock interview service. I really wanted to know what I was doing wrong/what I could do better since I was either denied or waitlisted previous to the mock interview. After a great hour with Sarah, I was able to learn so many great tips and figured out what I needed to rework. My interview skills vastly improved and I was soon accepted into multiple highly ranked PA programs. I know it was because of this I was able to stand out that much more! So grateful I was able to have this opportunity.
Mariah, Pre-PA
I wanted to give you an update and thank you. I just received my first acceptance and at the interview, they commented on how well written my personal statement was. I appreciate your hard work and working with me to create such an awesome piece! Hopefully, this won’t be the last time we talk- maybe our paths will cross again one day!
Janne Kim, Pre-PA
I really appreciated Carly’s attentiveness to my writing style and working to keep my message and content but working it in a way that reads easier. I appreciate her turnaround time, as well as priority deadlines for programs, are quickly approaching!
Jacob, Pre-PA
I wanted to reach out and thank you for your help in editing my personal statement this application cycle. I have been accepted to the University of Utah and I was lucky enough to get a number of interviews! I know that your help with my statement definitely made a difference and I am so thankful! Thank you so much!
Nicole, Pre-PA
My interviewer Deanna was terrific! She provided precious insights and tangible strategies I could start using immediately in my interview with her. I’m feeling more confident about my upcoming interview, and I definitely recommend this service.
Christina, Pre-PA
Stephen, Just wanted to let you know that I am enjoying your site very much and believe it is helping more than any other site I’ve used thus-far (I have done HippoPA, not bad, and Brian Wallace’s site). Will study some more, don’t feel ready yet! I’m an older PA, practiced for 18 years, have done the at home board tests the last two. I am nervous about taking the test center exam! Thanks again for your site, and the best to you!
Rebecca Lynch, PA-C
First of all, thank you so much for all of the resources you have made available for those of us studying for the PANRE! This is fabulous and wish I’d known about it sooner. 
Kristin F. PA-C
Stephen, Thank you for your help and the resources you linked me to, I will keep studying and keep you informed on my progress, I hope one day to help a student like myself pass and enter a great profession.
Anthony MaharajPT, PA, MPAS.

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101 PA School Admission Essays

Admissions Directors Know What They Want. Shouldn't You? You’re slaving away at your personal statement, but can’t help wondering if anyone will read past the first line. A troubling thought, isn’t…

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How to Write Your Physician Assistant Personal Statement

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