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13 Provocative PA School Personal Statement Expressions

August 15, 2016 By Stephen Pasquini PA-C Leave a Comment

Highlight Your PA Shadowing Experience in your CASPA Personal Statement

How do you know you'll be a good PA unless you've seen one in action?

By shadowing - taking the time to follow a physician assistant through her day to observe what her work is really like.

When we interviewed admissions directors for our book "How to Write Your Physician Assistant Personal Statment" one thing was clear - experience and maturity matter.

The essay should show some level of maturity and understanding about the physician-led PA team. Why does the profession apply to this applicant? Most applicants will have worked with or shadowed a PA. Those experiences are the ones to write about.Dennis Brown, PA-C, MPH, Clinical Assistant Professor of Physician Assistant Studies, Director of Physician Assistant Program at Quinnipiac University.

Seeing medicine come alive through the example of an experienced practitioner can tell you whether you'll enjoy a medical career, eliminate some of your false assumptions, and perhaps provide you with a mentor or role model you can turn to as your medical education and career begin in earnest.

It will also prove to the admissions committee that you are serious PA school applicant.

13 Personal Statement Expression Examples That Focus on Shadowing

The following phrases provide some variations on the shadowing theme and can be used as a lead in point as you write your physician assistant personal statement.

1. Shoot to Thrill

“Clear the hall!” the nurse shouted as he rushed Xavier, lying pulseless on a stretcher, down the hall to the OR. On only my first day shadowing Dr. Sid Muroda, I watched as a dramatic effort to save a patient’s life unfolded. As nurses and clinical technicians prepared the room for Xavier’s emergency thoracic surgery, I heard someone shout, “He’s been down for nearly three minutes.” I looked over at Dr. Muroda, but he just waited calmly for Xavier to be brought to the table.

How to use this in your personal statement:

Have an exciting shadowing experience? Start with an interesting expression, this is a great example, the author begins the statement with "clear the hall" which draws the reader into the story. Don't be afraid to be a little creative. You don't want to be overly dramatic, but a creative use of words can go a long way.

2. Show Insight

“In oncology you lose 50 percent of your patients.” That is the hard truth Jason Ram, PA-C has been making sure I understand ever since I began shadowing him in 2016. Which half of those “even” odds would the smiling elderly man before me experience I wondered, as Jason and I entered the Atlanta Health Center exam room last summer.”

How to use this in your personal statement:

When you shadow you gain insights into medicine that only comes with experience. "In oncology you lose 50 percent of your patients". Start your expression with a key insight which highlights your medical knowledge and build from there. It can be subtle, this is a great example.

3. Tell and Show

“Through my high school’s health professions program, I was able to gain exposure to a different floor of Union Veterans Hospital each week. That was how in late June 2016 I found myself shadowing a physician assistant named Atul Reddy. Responding to an ER call one day, Atul hurriedly invited me to join him. We sprinted into Room B–16 just in time to see a doctor thrust a tube down a frail-looking patient’s throat. The lifeless woman had already turned pale blue; the monitor’s constant buzz announced she had lost her heartbeat.

How to use this in your personal statement:

You don't always have to be "showy" with your words to be effective. This author starts with a very straightforward statement "through my high school's health professions program..." Then build with a nice transition. This is a great example of simplicity done well

4. Bring Back The Wonder

I watched fascinated as the PAs we were assigned to examined patients’ lymph nodes and administered bone marrow tests to determine which stage their cancers had reached. Although most had already progressed to later stages, the PAs did what they could, assigning the patients who could benefit from it to chemotherapy or radiation treatment.

How to use this in your personal statement:

Fascinated by medicine? Use a shadowing experience to bring the "wonder" back to the reader.

5. Make the Mundane Meaningful

My career interest in medicine grew out of visits to my family physician and her physician assistant, Thomas Maag. He was always happy to answer my questions about medicine, and with his encouragement I began volunteering at a Boulder-area hospital during my senior year. Knowing I needed to get a better idea of what a physician assistant’s career is really like, this past December I asked Thomas if I could shadow him at work. He agreed, and for two weeks I accompanied him on 16-hour days as he treated patients and dealt with the challenges of a physician assistant life. Thomas took time to give me the scoop on PA school, HMOs, and the financial side of the PAs career. More importantly, in everything he did, Thomas showed me the deep satisfaction he gains from his work. He also helped me come to terms with the real side of medicine—human suffering.

How to use this in your personal statement:

It all started when.... It may seem cliche to begin with this type of a transitional element "My career interest in medicine grew out of..." But in this example we are introduced to Thomas Maag and provided with a straightforward account of how his experience taught the author about both the mundane, "HMOs" and meaningful, "human suffering" sides of medicine.

6. Highlight Your Volunteerism

After my volunteer experiences first sparked my interest in medicine as a career, I explored the profession further by shadowing a neurologist, internist, cardiologist, and radiologist in the Bay Area. I saw the hard work and sacrifice I had expected to see, but I also saw how much patience, compassion, and understanding—traits I had associated with the ministry—defined the healer’s role. But it was only when I met Physician Assistant Susan Cornelius, the Klongtuey Center’s director, that I realized that choosing between the ministry and medicine was no choice at all…

How to use this in your personal statement:

Have a lot of volunteer experience? Make it a point to mention this in your essay. It can make a nice transition into your time spent shadowing.

7. Mention a Mentor - and how they changed your perception of medicine

I was floored. During a health-care convention late last year, a Boston physician assistant admitted to me that my psychology professor at the University of Houston, physician assistant Bary Medin, just might have helped more people day to day then most of the doctors in Houston. Doing clinical work with patients in Houston hospitals in addition to his teaching, Bary helped them cope with the psychological effects of their illnesses. Watching him, I learned that when patients master their minds, they can help heal their bodies. He showed me how an understanding of patient depression and the mental stages of illness can help physicians provide treatment that is specific for each patient. To truly understand and treat patients fully, we must also be able to understand not only their physical illness but also their mental perception of themselves. This is the lesson I will always remember Bary for.

How to use this in your personal statement:

Do you have a PA mentor that has changed your life? "I was floored" is a good place to start. Use power words to begin your sentence from the start to draw readers in.

8. Be an "Insider"

As they made the rounds in Larimer County General’s geriatrics ward, the way the PAs I shadowed presented themselves to patients varied widely. One elderly woman suffering from dementia threw baleful stares and some choice obscenities at anyone who entered her room…

How to use this in your personal statement:

In this example the author demonstrates an "insider's understanding" of medicine when she states "One elderly woman suffering from dementia threw baleful stares and some choice obscenities at anyone who entered the room." We have all been there. Take a common example of something that represents humans - "beautifully flawed and vulnerable" and share this with the admission committee.

9. Highlight International Experience

I gained more clinical insights by shadowing physician assistant Ralph Tehrani, a cardiology physician assistant, for three weeks in Nairobi, Kenya, in the winter of 2016. By observing him, I saw how PAs and patients interact, and I also witnessed the paradoxes of Kenya’s health-care system. Ralph Tehrani’s patients at Kenyatta National Hospital were the country’s more affluent, but he also volunteered at a primary care clinic in Kibera, providing services to Nairobi’s destitute. Although he was a pa specializing in cardiology, he was able to generalize his knowledge because it enabled him to serve a larger segment of people in Kenya’s health-care system. My experience shadowing Dr. Tehrani crystallized my motivation to become a physician assistant. As a PA, I also intend to find ways to provide my services to all segments of society, including those who need it most but can afford it least.

How to use this in your personal statement:

Here is a nice transition into a special shadowing experience overseas. The author uses some nice subtle specifics, such as "in the winter of 2016". This can go a long way to bringing life to your writing.

10. Fill them with Kindness

What truly fascinated me about physician assistant Steven Goldberg were the memories of Dr. Hashemian that he revived in me through the compassion and caring he showed his tobacco-addicted patients. Through words of reassurance and patient answers to every kind of question, he tried to make them aware of the harm they were inflicting on themselves, yet without ever sounding judgmental. In other words, Steven was not only trying to heal his patients’ physical ailments but, like Dr. Hashemian, trying to educate them with kindness. I began to envision myself as a physician assistant like Steven — a PA not only of the physical heart but the emotional one as well.

How to use this in your personal statement:

"All you need is love"! We all like to be reminded of why we went into the profession to begin with. Show your best intentions and at the same time explain your shadowing experience. This is nicely done here.

11. Personal Trauma Turned "Insight Out"

Whatever misgivings I had about medicine after my father’s death were dispelled during my internship at the cardiology department of Austrian Saint George Hospital in St. Louis Missouri, earlier this year. As I followed Christine Barlow PA-C on her daily rounds, Mr. Demiray’s bony body, covered with wires and tubes, always caught my eye. Mr. Demiray suffered from myocardial infarction and a failing respiratory system. He couldn’t talk, but from the sound he made when he struggled to breathe and the look of defeat and hopelessness in his eyes, I could almost feel his pain….

How to use this in your personal statement:

Have you experience a trauma you want to touch upon in your essay. This is a great example. The author speak of his "father's death" and uses this as a very simple and extremely subtle transition into his shadowing experience. Awesome!

12. Parental Advice

My interest in medicine has been profoundly affected by Physician Assistant Patricia Capen. Before I met Patricia, I was pursuing a medical career largely because I wanted to apply science in a “meaningful” way—though I wasn’t quite sure I knew what that way was. Although I gleaned some insights into the profession from my father, it wasn’t until I spent this past summer making rounds at the University of Minnesota Neurosurgery Clinic that I understood the real reason why Patricia and my father had made such a commitment to medicine: they genuinely love what they do. I realized that I was no longer pursuing a career but a passion. And one reason why a physician assistants work doesn’t seem like work is the gratitude patients show compassionate and competent PAs.

How to use this in your personal statement:

Bring together shared experiences - in this example the author hints at her medical heritage when she says: "I gleaned some insights into the profession from my father", and ties this into her shadowing experience.

13. A Touch of Humor

“Take that to the lab, and let me know what kind of tree it came from!” Physician Assistant Jim Young joked as he handed me a leaf that he had just pulled from the helmet of the motorcyclist lying on the gurney before us. In an instant, the physician assistant jest relaxed everyone in the room, including the patient. I then knew with clarity what being a good PA is all about.

How to use this in your personal statement:

Humor can be expressed artfully. This is a perfect example!

Time to Review

Take a moment to review these 13 examples and think about how you could implement these techniques into your own essay. Need help? Drop us a line...

*Adapted from Bodine, Paul. Perfect Phrases Series

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Stephen Pasquini PA-C Physician Assistant

Stephen has been a family practice PA since 2004 and is the creator of The PA Life, Smarty PANCE Board Review, and PASchoolfinder 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 to foster universal recognition/awareness of the PA profession. Read more about Stephen.

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Webinar: Crafting Your Best PA School Personal Statement

Hosted by Stephen Pasquini PA-C, Deanna Matzen

About this webinar Are you applying to PA school but worried about writing a compelling personal statement that will grab the admissions committee’s attention? Do you want to learn the secrets of crafting a PA school essay that stands out from the crowd and showcases your personality, motivation, and fit for PA school? If so, then you don’t want to miss our webinar on Crafting Your Best PA School Personal Statement. In this webinar, you will learn the following: What a personal statement is and how schools use them. You will understand the purpose and expectations of writing a personal statement and how schools use this information during the admission process. What to do before you start writing. You will learn how to prepare and organize your thoughts, research, and brainstorm your strengths and achievements. A successful structure for your personal statement. You will learn how to craft a clear, coherent, and compelling narrative that showcases your personality, motivation, and fit for their program. Common mistakes to avoid. You will learn how to polish your personal statement and avoid errors that could undermine your credibility or impact. By joining this webinar, you will gain valuable insights and tips on how to write a personal statement that increases your chances of admission to your desired PA school. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions and get feedback from our experienced PA school coaches. Don’t miss this chance to learn how to write your best PA school personal statement. Register now and secure your spot for this webinar. You won’t regret it!

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