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Single Edit One-on-one Service Supplemental Essays
Your success is our passion. (See just some of our 100's of testimonials and comments below). We are ready to help. Our current PA school essay editing service status (2nd May 2024): Accepting New Submissions
(Photo: Me circa 1987, just thinking about my future PA School Essay)
- Are you struggling to write your physician assistant personal statement?
- Are you out of ideas, or just need a second opinion?
- Do you want an essay that expresses who you truly are and grabs the reader's attention in the required 5,000-character limit?
We are here to help perfect your PA school essay
I have written countless times on this blog about the importance of your personal statement in the PA school application process. Beyond the well-established metrics (GPA, HCE/PCE hours, requisite coursework, etc.), the personal statement is the most crucial aspect of your application.
This is your time to express yourself, show your creativity, skills, and background, and make a memorable impression in seconds. This will be your only chance, so you must get it right the first time.
For some time, I had been dreaming about starting a physician assistant personal statement collaborative.
A place where PA school applicants like yourself can post their PA school essays and receive honest, constructive feedback followed by an acceptance letter to the PA school of your choice!
I have been reviewing a ton of essays recently, so many in fact that I can no longer do this on my own.
To solve this problem, I have assembled a team of professional writers, editors, and PA school admissions specialists who worked to revise and perfect my PA school application essay.
Beth Eakman has taught college writing and worked as a professional writer and editor since the late 1990s. Her projects have involved a wide range of disciplines and media, from editing technical reports to scriptwriting for the PBS Kids show Super Why! Her writing has appeared in publications including Brain, Child Magazine, New York Family Magazine, and Austin Family Magazine. Beth lives with her family just outside Austin, Texas. She is driven to help each client tell the best version of their story and achieve their dream of becoming a physician assistant.
Deanna Matzen is an author with articles featured in Earth Letter, Health Beats, Northwest Science & Technology, and the Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. With an early career in environmental science, she developed a solid foundation in technical writing. Her communication skills were further honed by producing and editing content for a non-profit website, blog, and quarterly journal. Inspired to extend her craft, she obtained a certificate in literary fiction, which she draws on to build vibrant scenes that bring stories to life. Deanna loves working with pre-PAs who are on the cusp of new beginnings to find their unique story and tell it confidently.
Carly Hallman is a professional writer and editor with a B.A. in English Writing and Rhetoric (summa cum laude) from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas. She has worked as a curriculum developer, English teacher, and study abroad coordinator in Beijing, China, where she moved in 2011. In college, she was a Gilman Scholar and worked as a staff editor for her university's academic journal. Her first novel, Year of the Goose, was published in 2015, and her first memoir is forthcoming from Little A Books. Her essays and creative writing have appeared in The L.A. Review of Books, The Guardian, LitHub, and Identity Theory, among other publications.
Read more client testimonials or purchase a revision
We Work as a Team
Our team of professional editors is wonderful at cutting out the "fluff" that makes an essay lose focus and sets people over the 5,000-character limit. Their advice is always spot-on.
Sue, Sarah, and Carly are amazingly creative writers who will take your "ordinary" and turn it into entirely extraordinary.
I mean it when I say this service is one-of-a-kind! We have spent countless hours interviewing PA School admissions directors and faculty from across the country to find out exactly what it is they are looking for in your personal statement.
We even wrote a book about it.
To collaborate, we use Google Drive. Google Drive is free, has an intuitive interface with integrated live comments in the sidebar, the ability to have a real-time chat, to collaborate effortlessly, and to compare, revise, or restore revisions on the fly. Google Drive also has an excellent mobile app that will allow you to make edits on the go!
Our team has worked with hundreds of PA school applicants within the Google Drive environment, and we have had enormous success.
The Physician Assistant Essay and Personal Statement Collaborative
I have set up two options that I hope will offer everyone a chance to participate:
- One-of-a-kind, confidential, paid personal statement review service
- A collaborative, free one (in the comments section)
Private, One-On-One Personal Statement Review Service
If you are interested in the paid service, you may choose your plan below.
The Personal Statement Review Service is:
- Behind closed doors within a private, secure network using Google Drive.
- It is completely interactive, meaning we will be able to provide real-time comments and corrections using the Google Drive interface.
- Telephone consultations are included with all edits above the single edit level. It’s often hard to communicate exactly what you want hundreds of miles away; for this reason, we offer the option to edit right along with us over the telephone while sharing in real-time over Google Drive. This is an option available to all our paid clients who purchase above the single edit level.
- We provide both revision and editing of all essays. What’s the difference? See below
- We will provide feedback, advice, and help with brainstorming and topic creation if you would like.
- We will help with a “final touch-up” before the big day, just in case your essay needs a few minor changes.
Why Choose Our Service?
- It’s not our opinion that matters. We have gone the extra step and personally interviewed PA school administrators from across the US to find out exactly what they think makes a personal statement exceptional.
- We are a team of PAs and professional writers, having worked over ten years with PA school applicants like yourself, providing countless hours of one-on-one editing and revision.
- Our clients receive interviews, and many go on to receive acceptance into their PA School of choice.
Because we always give 100%, we will open the essay collaborative for a limited number of applicants each month and then close this depending on the amount of editing that needs to be done and the time that is available.
Our goal is not quantity but quality. We want only serious applicants who are serious about getting into PA school.
Writing is not a tool like a piece of software but more like how a photograph can capture your mood. It’s more like art. The process of developing a unique, memorable personal statement is time-intensive, and it takes hours to compose, edit, finalize, and personalize an essay.
As Antoinette Bosco once said:
And this is why I am charging for this service. We love helping people find stories that define their lives, and we love helping individuals who have the passion to achieve their dreams. It’s hard to describe the feeling I get when an applicant writes back to tell me they were accepted into PA school.
There is no price tag I can place on this; it’s the feeling we get when we help another human being. It’s just like providing health care. But this takes time.
Interested? Choose your plan below.
Read more client testimonials.
Free Personal Statement Review
Post your essay in the comments section for a free critique
We want to make this opportunity available to everyone who would like help with their essay, and that is why we are offering free, limited feedback on the blog.
You post your essay in the comments section, and you will get our critique. It is that easy. We will try to give feedback to every single person who posts their COMPLETE essay here on this blog post in the comments section.
Also, by posting your comment, we reserve the right to use your essay.
We will provide feedback on essays that are complete and fit the CASPA requirements (View CASPA requirements here). We will not provide feedback on partial essays or review opening or closing statements. Your essay will be on a public platform, which has both its benefits and some obvious drawbacks. The feedback is limited, but we will try to help in any way we can.
Note: Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, I will delete your stuff. Otherwise, have fun, and thanks for adding to the conversation! And this should go without saying: if you feel the need to plagiarize someone else’s content, you do not deserve to go to PA school.
* Also, depending on the time of year, it may take me several weeks to reply!
We love working with PA school applicants, but don't just take our word for it!
How to submit your essay for the paid service
If you are serious and would like to have real, focused, and personalized help writing your personal statement, please choose your level of service and submit your payment below.
After you have submitted your payment, you will be redirected to the submissions page, where you can send us your essay as well as any special instructions. We will contact you immediately upon receipt of your payment and essay so we may begin work right away.
Pricing is as follows:
Choose your plan, then click "Buy Now" to submit your essay, and we will get started right away!
Every purchase includes a FREE digital copy of our new 100-page eBook, How to Write Your Physician Assistant Personal Statement, Our 101 PA School Admission Essays e-book, the expert panel audiobook, and companion workbook. This is a $65 value included for free with your purchase.
All credit card payments are processed via PayPal over a secure HTTPS server. Once your payment is processed, you will be immediately redirected back to the essay submission page. There, you will submit your essay along with some biographical info and all suggestions or comments you choose to provide. You will receive immediate confirmation that your essay has been securely transmitted as well as your personal copy of "How to Write Your Physician Assistant Personal Statement." Contact [email protected] if you have any questions, comments, or problems - I am available 24/7.
The hourly service includes your original edit and one-on-one time over Google Drive. It is simple to add more time if necessary, but you may be surprised at what a difference just a single edit can make. We find our four-hour service to be the most effective in terms of time for follow-up and full collaboration. We are open to reduced-rate add-ons to suit your individual needs.
Writing and Revision
All writing benefits from rewriting when done well.
When you are in the process of writing a draft of an essay, you should be thinking first about revision, not editing.
What’s the difference?
Revision refers to the substantial changing of text. For example, it may include re-organizing ideas and paragraphs, providing additional examples or information, and rewriting a conclusion for clarity.
Editing, on the other hand, refers to correcting mistakes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
On all submissions, we perform both revision and editing.
How to submit your PA school essay for the FREE editing service
Follow the rules above and get to work below in the comments section. I look forward to reading all your essay submissions.
- Stephen Pasquini PA-C
View all posts in this series
- How to Write the Perfect Physician Assistant School Application Essay
- The Physician Assistant Essay and Personal Statement Collaborative
- Do You Recognize These 7 Common Mistakes in Your Personal Statement?
- 7 Essays in 7 Days: PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 1, “A PA Changed My Life”
- PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 2, “I Want to Move Towards the Forefront of Patient Care”
- PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 3, “She Smiled, Said “Gracias!” and Gave me a Big Hug”
- PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 4, “I Have Gained so Much Experience by Working With Patients”
- PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 5, “Then Reach, my Son, and Lift Your People up With You”
- PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 6, “That First Day in Surgery was the First Day of the Rest of my Life”
- PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 7, “I Want to Take People From Dying to Living, I Want to Get Them Down From the Cliff.”
- Physician Assistant Personal Statement Workshop: “To say I was an accident-prone child is an understatement”
- 9 Simple Steps to Avoid Silly Spelling and Grammar Goofs in Your PA School Personel Statement
- 5 Tips to Get you Started on Your Personal Essay (and why you should do it now)
- How to Write Your Physician Assistant Personal Statement The Book!
- How to Write “Physician Assistant” The Definitive PA Grammar Guide
- 101 PA School Admissions Essays: The Book!
- 5 Things I’ve Learned Going Into My Fourth Physician Assistant Application Cycle
- 7 Tips for Addressing Shortcomings in Your PA School Personal Statement
- The #1 Mistake PRE-PAs Make on Their Personal Statement
- The Ultimate PA School Personal Statement Starter Kit
- The Ultimate Guide to CASPA Character and Space Limits
- 10 Questions Every PA School Personal Statement Must Answer
- 5 PA School Essays That Got These Pre-PAs Accepted Into PA School
- 7 Questions to Ask Yourself While Writing Your PA School Personal Statement
- 101 PA School Applicants Answer: What’s Your Greatest Strength?
- 12 Secrets to Writing an Irresistible PA School Personal Statement
- 7 Rules You Must Follow While Writing Your PA School Essay
- You Have 625 Words and 2.5 Minutes to Get Into PA School: Use Them Wisely
- What’s Your #1 Personal Statement Struggle?
- 31 (NEW) CASPA PA School Personal Statement Examples
- How to Prepare for Your PA School Interview Day Essay
- Should You Write Physician Associate or Physician Assistant on Your PA School Essay?
- Meet the World’s Sexiest PA School Applicants
- PA School Reapplicants: How to Rewrite Your PA School Essay for Guaranteed Success
- How to Write a Personal Statement Intro that Readers Want to Read
- PA School Reapplicant Personal Statement Checklist
- How to Deal with Bad News in Your Personal Statement
- Inside Out: How to use Pixar’s Rules of Storytelling to Improve your PA Personal Statement
- Ratatouille: A Pixar Recipe for PA School Personal Statement Success
- Personal Statement Panel Review (Replay)
- Mind Mapping: A Tool for Personal Statements, Supplemental Essays, and Interviews
- Start at the End: Advice for your PA School Personal Statement
Mary Mitchell says
“You are going to be a great teacher, just like your mom”, was a phrase littered my childhood. I grew up in a family full of educators. As a child, I never really felt like people gave me the option to choose what I wanted to become because education was the path I was expected to take. Due to this overwhelming pressure, I continuously pushed back as a teenager denying the fact that I would ever be an educator and pursuing opportunities that would put me outside of the education field.
About a year ago I began working as an EMT on nights and weekends while juggling college. I entered this job with the anticipation of berserk trauma calls, and gnarly stories to tell people when they ask about my job. Instead, what impacted me the most was unexpected. As I went on more calls, I realized how little people know about their own health. I also gained an enlightening perspective on how people live, and their perception of medical professionals. Most of the time when people call EMS they call because of medical problems that occur normally as side effects and symptoms to a disease that the patient had previously been diagnosed with. Seeing the number of people who lack the proper education and knowledge needed to handle their chronic disease made me realize how much education the public needs on their health and medical conditions.
One of my first calls where I really saw the impact of this lack of patient education was on a call to see Sarah. Sarah called EMS because of an escalated heart rate. When we arrived on scene we walked into her living room and found her on the couch with five pulse oximeters lined up beside her. The patient would test her heart rate in one oximeter and then move to the next one to determine if the reading was accurate. As it turned out, Sarah had been previously diagnosed with COPD and a variety of anxiety disorders. At her doctor’s appointment the week before, she asked at what heart rate she should be concerned about and her doctor told her anything above 100 beats per minute. Due to her anxiety and little understanding of on her health, Sarah wanted to go to the hospital because her heart rate was too high indicting a complication with her COPD. The only treatment we administered to Sarah included reassurance and the explanation that a heart rate of 107 made no difference to clinicians as a heart rate of 100. As we reassured her that her hear rate was normal, Sarah’s anxiety subsided, thus causing her heartrate to drop back to levels in which she found familiar.
The realization that the public needs to better understand common medical conditions really inspired me to continue pressuring my medical career. Patients need clinicians who are advocates for their wellbeing, take the time out to teach them about their conditions, and stick with them throughout their medical journey. As an EMT I always wonder if my patients get the help they need and deserve, and as a PA I will be able to accomplish this. I can work in settings where I can continue to care for the patient throughout their lives, educating them along the way due to changes in their life and in their health. One thing I would like to focus on as a PA is teaching my patient what signs and symptoms should prompt them to go to the hospital, and which circumstances are normal and do not require a trip to the doctor. This would not only help the patients but also will affect EMS, hospitals, and patient wait times.
I have seen this work through physician assistants in my life, encouraging me to continue to pursue this career path. Last summer by mother developed an abscess on the back of her leg. When it started to turn black she decided to go to urgent care. At urgent care the doctor lanced the abscess and sent it off for culturing. A few days later my mom received a phone call telling her that her abscess contained MRSA. They gave her paperwork from the CDC telling her to bathe in certain soaps and how to take care of her infection. My mom felt overwhelmed by all of the information and when she went back for a follow-up visit she decided to ask questions. At the follow-up visit a PA unpacked her wound instead of a doctor. My mom asked her questions about the CDC material, and the PA explained that they would only apply to her if she had a reoccurring infection. Both my mother and I appreciated that the PA took the time out to explain the next steps of treatment, as well as tell my mom what to look for just in case she had a second infection. It is important that patients get the pertinent information about their health, that they can not only understand, but carry out to ensure the most comprehensive treatment.
Many people who I have transported have a very negative connotation of nurses and physicians. Although I do not agree in these ideals, many patients think that nurses are not knowledgeable and often do not listen to their advice. They also think that physicians only care about making money and do not have the patient’s wellbeing in mind. These ideas helped lead me to the PA profession because it creates a niche where I can take the middle ground between a nurse and a doctor to have a positive interaction with my patients. This niche will allow me to educate my patients on how to take care of themselves, hopefully leading to better health for the patient, and less trips to the ER. With my job as an EMT I have enjoyed helping patients receive medical care and be there for them in their time in need. However, I want to take my knowledge and skill set further, and therefore give me more resources and techniques to help patients in a time a crisis, but also beyond. In the end, all of those people from my childhood were right, I am meant to be an educator, just in an unconventional way.
Nathalie Talos says
We were down to the last few minutes and my soccer team was ahead by three points with no chance of losing. I was feeling better than ever, ready to celebrate yet another victory with my team. However, my plans of celebration were suddenly and unexpectedly stripped away from me. A loud “pop” penetrated the noises of the game around me, filling my ears; the pain from my left knee was instantaneous, and ripped through my whole body. I immediately fell to the ground, and as my knee tightened up, I knew my situation was not good.
I was quickly rushed to the emergency room by ambulance. Other than a few sprained ankles, I never had any type of serious injury. The experience of being rushed suddenly to the hospital in an ambulance was quite distressing; to say I was in shock would be an understatement. A plethora of thoughts and emotions began to rush through my head, most of them not making any sense. A diagnosis would not reach me until two days later when I got my MRI: I had completely torn my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). As the physician assistant (PA) explained the severity of my injury, I began to feel overwhelmed with all the unfamiliar medical language. I felt numb to everything I was being told and feeling. I felt anxious yet relieved to finally know what had happened to me. However, overshadowing all other feelings was fear; I was worried that this would be the end of my soccer career and the demise of being able to compete in what I was most passionate about. I had been playing soccer for what felt like my entire life, and it became a defining quality of myself. Soccer taught me to be driven, determined, and I couldn’t imagine having to give all that up.
At the first visit with my orthopedic surgeon, I remember sitting with my parents, as I was still trying to make sense of what has happened. The office was busy, so the PA who worked alongside my orthopedic surgeon, came into the room alone. He was able to immediately register from my expression that I was devastated. He gently placed his hand on my back and gave a soft smile and said that everything would be alright. He went on to ask me how I was feeling about my situation, not simply to ask, but to really understand me. After expressing how distraught I was, he began to explain possible treatments, making sure any questions I had were answered. For the first time since my injury, I finally felt at ease; the reassurance he brought to my family and I was unlike any I experienced with any other provider. This PA had gone far beyond what was expected of him, taking the time to make sure we understood everything and felt okay with every decision that was made. Every time that I came into the office for another appointment, he was there, and I received the exact same care and attention as that first day. For me, this perfectly demonstrated just how important a PA is to a patient, and how important a patient is to a PA.
Looking back, I recognize that this experience solidified my desire to one day pursue a future career in medicine. My ultimate desire to become a PA and innate interest in the sciences led me to decide to receive a degree in Biology. During my first semester, I was fortunately offered the opportunity to begin shadowing a new PA at INOVA Fairfax Hospital, which I graciously accepted without hesitation. It was not long before I was meeting various health care providers from nurses to head surgeons and getting to experience the unique relationships formed between patients and providers. The ones that stood out to me the most were those created between the PAs and their patients. Through shadowing, I was able to understand the profession itself within a hospital setting, but also witness the special skills and qualities that each PA had that contributed to their success. Each PA I had the pleasure of meeting was so unique, yet to similar, sharing the ultimate goal of providing the best quality of care and treatment to each patient. I continued to shadow these incredible PAs for two years until deciding to transfer to James Madison University to receive my Health Sciences degree. Here, I took an EMT course, which allowed me to expand my healthcare knowledge even further. In addition, I volunteered at the rescue squad in the area, which allowed me to provide patient care in an underserved community. Between the EMT course and working with the rescue squad, I was able to acquire experience dealing with a variety of situations ranging from low to high stress, each requiring crucial and on-the-spot decision making on my own or with my team.
Shortly after graduating, I was offered a position as a medical assistant in a small, yet busy primary care office. Working directly under the doctor himself, I’ve been trained to perform a variety of tasks in the office ranging from conducting EKGs, obtaining vital signs, medical histories, administering vaccinations and assisting in select office procedures. Since it is a small office, it is always the doctor, the registered nurse (RN) and I working together as a team. This position has provided me with the opportunity to provide the best care that I can while building personal relationships with our patients. I truly go into work every day excited, knowing that I am working in the field that I already love and hope to continue pursuing.
From my personal experience, education, and work experiences, I feel I have developed the necessary skills and qualities seen among the best of PAs. I have learned the true importance of being compassionate, caring, understanding, and trustworthy by witnessing these facets of healthcare and their impacts first hand. I have learned how to offer patients the best care by always putting the patients first. The opportunities I have been given to grow in the healthcare field have given me the skills to put everything I’ve learned to work when working either alone or as a team, always striving to provide the best of care for each and every patient and nothing less.
I want to be a PA because I want to make a difference in this world by utilizing everything I have acquired in my years of experience. I want to provide patients with the type of care that will inspire them and make them feel that same care and ease I once felt and have never forgotten during one of the hardest moments of my life. As a PA, I want to be that individual that makes everything alright, the person a patient can fully count on and trust completely. All my life I have been told I was an individual with a big heart and I take so much pride in that. I believe that it is hard for some people to truly care about others even if they try, but for me it has always come as second nature and it’s a special trait of mine I would love to continue to show through my work. From my years in soccer I have carried with me deep passion for anything I set my mind to. I’ve learned to be driven and determined and to never give up and I plan to use these life lessons to continue my journey to becoming the extraordinary physician assistant I know I can be. I will never stop having that hunger to learn more and pushing myself to be the best physician assistant I can be.
Paul Kupke says
One day while working at the hospital I heard a man yelling “Help” as I was walking down the hallway. I ran into the room and saw one of my patients on the floor. I yelled for the nurse and she came in and helped me lift the patient to her bed. The husband, who was yelling for help, told us that she fell and hit her head on the way back from the bathroom; which was odd because she was capable of walking to and from the bathroom in the past. The nurse called a rapid response. Within seconds, in rushed a crash cart and a room full of physicians, all this happening before I was done taking her vitals and blood sugar. It turned out that she was bleeding internally from a recent surgery; the nurse told me this could have ended her life. This was the first moment I got to experience my direct actions having an impact on saving somebody’s life and I felt great for it. For moments like this, I am not only appreciative of the healthcare system we have in the United States, but I am also very motivated to be a part of it. Although I’ve known I want to be involved in healthcare for years, my interests in what field of medicine I want to practice has changed.
At the start of college, I was working toward becoming a PA until the Summer going into my senior year. I was talking with a family member one day and explaining what becoming a PA entailed. He asked me, “why don’t you just be a physician if all it takes is a little more schooling?” My immediate answer was no, but I thought about it and realized I had all the pre-requisites for medical school, so why not go for it? I applied to the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) post-baccalaureate program along with other medical schools. I got into the post-baccalaureate program and was told if I got over a 3.0 GPA I’d get an interview for their doctor of medicine program. After attaining a 3.43 GPA and performing well on my interview, I was not accepted at LECOM. I was distraught; I had just spent two semesters of many early mornings and late nights studying for a very rigorous medical-based program and was not even accepted to their school of medicine. Beyond this difficult course load, LECOM taught me a very important lesson about my future in medicine.
While at Adrian College, I had the opportunity of shadowing an orthopedic surgeon. I was very attracted to this field and saw it as something I would enjoy doing for the rest of my life, even though doing so would require about 12 years between schooling, residency, and fellowship. A profession requiring up to 60-80 hours per week for almost 12 years, before you are even practicing, is a big commitment. This takes a toll on your family, something I see myself raising in the next 12 years. Instead, I see the PA profession as a better option that matches my lifestyle. Not only will it take 2-3 years to specialize in orthopedics, but if it is not something I enjoy doing because the hours are too much, I have the option of getting into another specialty.
I know I am a great candidate for PA school because my dedication to academics and my performance at Adrian College/LECOM show I have what it takes to go beyond what is expected to make it through a demanding curriculum. Although my cumulative GPA from Adrian meets the requirement for PA school, it is not the best. My first two years at Adrian College I was on the NCAA football team, obtaining a starting position my freshmen year, and a captain by my sophomore year. This took up a lot of time outside the classroom between workouts, practice, team meetings, and games. By my junior year I saw the impact this was having on my grades and if I wanted to fulfill my aspirations of becoming a PA I would need to stop playing football, so I did. My grades improved drastically when I did, but I do not regret playing football because it taught me to be disciplined and that hard work pays off. The discipline I had from football transitioned into my work ethic as a student. I was attaining grades I never thought would be possible, but with hard work and dedication to academics, it was. My time at LECOM has given me the confidence and knowledge to do very well in PA school. I was taking classes that challenged me with large amounts of material and the fast pace that they were taught at. Also, since PA school is medical based, a lot of the material I will be learning in PA school will be very similar to the broad spectrum of material I’ve seen at LECOM.
Despite not getting into medical school, LECOM has not only showed me that I can handle the material I will be learning in PA school, but also that I have a passion for everything medicine has to offer. Just learning about drugs that can act on tiny enzymes in the body to cause a drastic physiological response leaves me fascinated and wanting to learn more. PA school will give me that opportunity and put me in a career that matches my lifestyle.
lindsey says
Despite undergoing such hardships, I was determined to be the best PCA I can be. As a PCA I faced a variety of challenges ranging from difficult patients, coworkers, and changes in the hospital. Often times when telling patients about my aspirations in healthcare, they affirm that I would be an awesome PA because of the way I give care to them.
One of the most poignant experiences that I experienced as a PCA is with an elderly Haitian man who only spoke Haitian Creole. I encountered this patient before and built a good rapport with him. He was known to be very pleasant and personable. One night his behavior was out of the ordinary. I overheard commotion in his room and when investigated what was going on, he was refusing an important medication from a nurse. I later found out that he was confusing this crucial medication with an oral pain medication that gave him stomach pains. I was able to diffuse the situation and explain to the patient what was going on. In the end, the patient knowing what was going on accepted the medication. Serving medically underserved communities has always driven me on my path to becoming a Physician Assistant. I enjoyed being an advocate for this man and looked forward to serving others in medicine in the future.
Since being in the healthcare careers enrichment program, I believed that being a Physician Assistant is for me. As a current Patient Care Assistant, I currently hold the belief that I am meant to be an advocate for patients. Upon becoming a Physician Assistant, I will continue to serve those around me because I value my experiences with my patients. I will be used as a vessel to improve the care of patients.
Katy says
People always ask. As a child it is absolutely unavoidable, THE question. My whole life people have always asked me “what do you want to be when you grow up?” I am not surprised by how many people asked, but rather by how many people who helped me discover my answer. Through my growth as a student and as a person I am so lucky to have found my two passions in life, and even more lucky to have found a trajectory in the physician assistant practice that allows me to act on both of them: the study of biology and medicine as well as my devotion for working with people.
The road that led me to finally having this answer is an unconventional one. I was not raised by a family of doctors leading the way for me, nor did I have much exposure to being in hospitals growing up. My mom is an accountant and my dad is a bank examiner. My twin sister Betsey is currently pursuing a business degree as well. I never liked going to the doctor and I was always scared to get shots, so wanting to be a medical practitioner was never an immediate answer. Along the way however, my answer started to become more and more clear, and now I know it is the only one for me.
When I was a young child my answer to the infamous question changed as frequently as the unpredictable Ohio weather. One thing that never changed, however, was my absolute love of school and my desire to learn about the world around me. A particular anecdote that perfectly depicts my love of learning at such a young age is from when I was in the second grade; I would come home to work on my research project night after night. When my parents went in to conferences to ask my teacher about all of the work she was assigning to a second grade class, she responded succinctly “what research project?” This is when my parents realized that I not only excelled in learning, but I thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Throughout elementary and middle school I was always drawn to science, and slowly but surely my “I don’t know what I want to be” turned into “I don’t know yet, but I want to do something with science when I grow up.”
In high school I had amazing biology teachers that helped me narrow down this interest in science to an enthusiasm for biology. These teachers truly captivated me by the science of life, how it functions, and how it evolves. I could not be more thankful for them for helping me to realize that biology was something that I was truly passionate about, later leading me to majoring in biology in my undergraduate studies at Ohio State: my answer had solidified into “I want to work with biology when I grow up.”
The decision to become a physician assistant came with my summer job in college. I excitedly accepted a position working as a camp counselor in my home town because I had always loved playing with kids. I knew it was not directly pertinent to my biology major but I figured it would be a job I loved while making some money. I never dreamed this job would be what ultimately helped me discover what career path to choose. My love of working with children flourished as I expected it to, but I also discovered an ability within myself that I had never known was there. It seemed that whenever there was a camper that did not want to behave or follow the rules, I was always able to get through to them. The campers that other counselors did not want put in their groups were commonly the children that I had the strongest connections with. I realized that I was so capable of helping these campers by forming trusting and understanding bonds with them, something that others may have not taken the time to establish. I truly value forming these sincere relationships, which I believe exactly coincides with the role of a health care professional. I believe that I can harness this ability to bond with people who are in unfavorable situations, to really help patients through hard times in their lives. I know from my own experience as a child who was not a fan of the doctor how much kids and even many adults struggle with medical scenarios, and I consider myself fully equipped to comfort and guide these people through health related struggles. After working with the children at this camp for two summers, I became absolutely confident in the answer “I want to continue my education after my undergraduate degree in biology to work as a medical professional.”
Going forward, everything I did to act on this goal of entering the medical sphere led me directly to becoming a physician assistant. Volunteering at both Rainbow and Nationwide children’s hospitals showed me much about the role of a physician assistant and what they do in a hospital setting. Conclusively I chose the physician assistant path because it will allow me to work in close proximity to patients and families as well as other members of a medical team. I could not be happier to now definitely answer the question with “I want to be a physician assistant when I grow up.”
Chloe says
Pain is no stranger to a competitive swimmer. You become well acquainted to the feeling of each muscle as you glide through the water, gripping to every droplet as you perfectly cup your hands and push your body, using your legs as propellers. Under the water it’s silent, the only sound you can hear is the blood pumping through your heart despite all the cheering family and friends in the stands or the crowd of teammates at the bottom of your lane screaming at you to swim faster. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. You’re in the lead, and if you can only just push a little harder, fight the pain and break the wall, the win is all yours.
As a competitive swimmer, the essential lessons you must learn are discipline, resilience, and perseverance. When I was eleven years old I was diagnosed with scoliosis and it was progressing quickly. In the days to follow I was told my spine was curved into an “S” shape, I was referred to the top scoliosis specialist in Rhode Island, Dr. Eberson. By the age of fifteen I had a second family with my orthopedic team at University Orthopedics in Providence, Rhode Island. We had been through countless X-rays, back-brace fittings, and numerous measurements together. Unfortunately, my “S” shaped spine was also resilient. In the summer leading up to my sophomore year of high school I was told that I would need to have a full spinal fusion; a long, painful, eight-hour surgery, which would include a year or more of recovery. I was scared, but what scared me wasn’t the pain I would feel or the surgery itself, it was the possibility that my swimming career would be over.
I remember Dr. Eberson was there with me every step of the way. He showed me not only compassion but guided me side-by-side. Throughout my whole journey he made me feel safe and confident even when we found out my spine had progressed again and again. He never left me in the dark, never tried to sugar coat things to make me feel better, something I think made me feel even more at ease with my situation. He wasn’t just any physician, he was involved, listened to me and my fears, and always assured me that no matter what happened I was strong enough to push through it and he would be by my side the whole time.
In the days leading up to my surgery I expressed me fears of not being able to compete again. Although Dr. Eberson wouldn’t promise me that I would be able to return to competitive swimming he strongly encouraged me to try anyways. Within six months after my surgery I was back in the pool. Everyday I pushed myself through recovery as hard as I could, I spent countless hours relearning my strokes and rebuilding the muscle I had lost. In less than a year and a half I was competing again. Dr. Eberson’s encouragement, honesty and empathy inspired me to keep working towards my goal. To the point where my mother and I stood there looking at each other, me from the pool deck and my mother in the bleachers, both tearfully smiling because I had just placed sixth in the backstroke in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. My experience with Dr. Eberson taught me so much more than any lesson competitive swimming has taught me and helped me to become the person I am today.
It was Dr. Eberson who helped me to realize I wanted to change the lives of others and work in the medical field. My goal is to positively impact a life every day and as a Physician Assistant I believe I can achieve this goal. My education and experience at Clemson University solidified my path to becoming a physician assistant where I studied a wide array of courses that required me to think in ways I had never before and allowed me to use the essential skills I was taught as a competitive swimmer to perform well. Although my earlier years in college weren’t the strongest academically, I never allowed myself to be defeated and used my failures as fuel to graduate on the President’s List and complete my final semester with a 4.0 GPA.
My time working as a nursing assistant at Greenville Memorial Hospital and shadowing has helped me to learn I love patient care and that I have a craving for the analytical and diagnostic aspects of medicine of all ranges. As a physician assistant I would be allowed to practice both aspects of medicine daily in a range of different disciplines and specialties. I would be able to better the lives of a wide range of patients by listening to their needs, evaluating the problem and finding a solution best for that individual. As a PA I would give emotional support to the patient and family members by listening and giving compassionate care. Something I practice everyday as a nursing assistant. I believe the valuable characteristics that I acquired during my time as a swimmer and as a tech make me a perfect candidate for physician assistant school. In memory of Dr. Eberson and every patient who has touched me everyday, I would be able to give back to my community, something I am very passionate about. To be a part of a person’s day is a true blessing, and nothing gives me more peace than knowing I could change someone’s life, as Dr. Eberson changed mine.
Nicole says
When I was six years old, my parents separated. Their divorce crushed me. For a long time I was stricken with grief. My mother took my hand and whispered, “I can’t promise to always fix your problems but I can promise you, you don’t have to face them alone”. Her hands were a physical reminder that everything was going to be okay.
As humans become more industrialized, we are able to live more independently from each other which often means we are alone. Our parents are not always going to be there to hold our hands and tell us that everything is going to be alright. When a person is in dire need of medical care often they are scared and alone. Their parents are not there to pick them up and tell them it is going to be okay.
It was a blistering hot day in Texas. I was looking forward to going to the beach. It was a typical day on Highway 45. As I gazed on the horizon, I saw what look like a fishing boat flip through the air. I assumed one of the straps came loose and it flipped off the trailer. A few moments later the traffic came to a stop. Surrounded by 18 wheelers and SUVs, a frantic women came running towards my car. Suddenly it hit me, it was not a boat that flipped through the air. On July 20th 2015, a Pathfinder rolled over three times after a head on collision with a wrong way driver. The wrong way driver was killed on impact. There were 6 children and 2 adults traveling in the Pathfinder. One of the children, a 13 month old baby, was ejected from the car. The Pathfinder landed on the passenger’s side. A handful of good Samaritans rushed from their cars to get everyone out of the vehicle. Each child was successfully pulled from the car, leaving only the parents. The father was in the driver seat and the mother was in the passenger seat. The front seat was too mangled to pull any one to safety. The mother was wedged into the floorboard space, but the father was physically crushed between the driver’s door and the dashboard. I crouched on the ground and reached for the man’s hand. Not knowing the extent of the driver’s injuries was frustrating. Using the limited exposure that I had gained from my time as an ER intern, I tried to ask myself, “What bones are broken? Does he have internal bleeding that I can stop? Does he have any neck injuries?” All these were questions I couldn’t answer. I found myself playing out scenarios in my head, “If only I was a real medical professional, I would know what to do right now.” Since I was so limited in what I could do, I did the only thing I knew I could do. I crouched on the scalding hot concrete, and I told the man everything was going to be alright. His right hand touched mine. His hand was covered in blood. The blood was brown and sticky. His fingers were cold to the touch. I knew his time was coming to an end. I waited until the ambulance arrived, and then we were asked to leave. It was hard to let go, but even I knew it was time to leave. The man’s hand gripped mine, I had to pry his fingers off. I learned a lesson that day. “We may not always know our patients, but we owe it to them and their families to give them the highest level of care. You may be the last hand they hold and the last face they see”. That night, the crash made the 6 o’clock news. The man and his 14 year old son had died in route to the hospital. None of the people who stopped and helped made the broadcast. We did not assist the victims for the five seconds of fame and glory; we helped them because they were alone and needed someone to comfort them.
Experiences like this one further assure my passion for medicine and remind me why I pursued this career path. I have expanded my passion for assisting patients by becoming a scribe, taking care of patients at the local clinic, and forming a PA club that will help prepare and encourage students to follow their dreams of becoming a PA as well.
I had known for a while that I want to become a physician assistant, but it was not until the night of the accident that I understood what it means to be one. I had seen firsthand what it meant to care for a patient. It does not necessarily mean to become attached to the individual. It means to treat each person with care and compassion. This moment reinforced my decision to become a health care provider. For a single moment, I was able to provide that same comfort that my mom had once shown me. When I held the man’s hand, I felt the familiar wave of peace I had experienced so many years ago. I was only in his life for a moment, but I hope I brought him some comfort in that moment that forever changed mine. I intend to care for my patients with the same selflessness, comfort, and peace that was shared between strangers that day.
Kirsten says
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” It is first grade, and I’m a big girl now. I have graduated from Kindergarten, and our teacher is going around the room asking “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The room is a clamor of noise, “a doctor; a firefighter; a lawyer; a cop; a nurse!” exclaim my classmates. However, I did not want to be any of those things. No, I did not want to be a firefighter, or a lawyer. More than anything in the world, I wanted to be a dolphin trainer! Just like Jesse in “Free Willy”, a boy who befriended a killer whale, became a dolphin trainer, and rescues the whale from his captures. As I got older, becoming a dolphin trainer looked less and less like a career I wanted. Instead I wanted to become a singer, an artist, a dancer, an EMT, a nurse, a physical therapist. But no matter how many times I changed my mind about what I wanted to be when I grew up, nothing inspired me, quiet like Free Willy did into becoming a dolphin trainer. I inevitably found myself as a jack of all trades, doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
The lack of focus followed me into college, where life was more about the experience of making friends, joining clubs, and not about preparing for a future career. I had meant to go into the medical field to, as you so often hear, “help people.” It was not until my last year in college that I first heard about the physician assistant profession. At the time I did not put much thought into it and as my grades continued to be average, and with no clear objective in mind, my only goal was to graduate, get out into “the real world”, and hope that the clouds would part, the sun would shine a spotlight upon my career and that would be all she wrote.
I worked the next 2 years after graduation as a financial assistant/supply manager for the USC Shoah Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to overcoming prejudice and hatred through education about the Holocaust and other genocides. I was proud of the organization I worked for, and I enjoyed the camaraderie of the people I worked with. Yet, there was still a sense of “I could be doing more” and so I decided to go back to school, and do some research on becoming a PA. I quickly realized that I had a lack of healthcare experience that many programs have as a prerequisite. So I joined the Certified Medical Assistant Program at Pasadena City College.
Since I started working as a CMA in an outpatient medical clinic, I have developed a deeper understanding and appreciation for the medical field. At ChapCare, I have been trained, and I float between working, in Primary Care, OB/Gyn, and Pediatrics. I watch the interaction between MDs and PAs on a daily basis, and I have learned the importance of teamwork between the many faceted areas of medical care.
There was one instance while I was rooming a patient for the PA I was supporting that stands out. I went through taking the patient’s intake, medical and surgical histories, as well as allergies and any current medications the patient was on. The patient presented to the office with hematuria and incontinence. When any patient presents with urinary issues, I automatically perform a urinalysis dip and present the results to the provider. I reported the results to PA Guzman, and after the PA physically assessed the patient, I was told to perform an EKG. Due to the abnormal EKG and labs, PA Guzman instructed the patient to immediately go to the nearest ER and be seen by a cardiac specialist, and provided oral antibiotics to the patient. I instructed the patient that we wanted to see him back in 1 week after his ER visit.
The same patient presented to the office for an ER follow up with a cheerful attitude. The patient informed us that when they went to the ER, that the hematuria and abnormal EKG were not 2 separate issues, but was found to be symptoms of Meningococcemia, which could have been lethal if left untreated. The patient and their family wished to thank PA Guzman and me for our hard work and persistence that the patient be seen at the ER. I have resulted pregnancy tests for patients in Primary Care, seen them through their pregnancies in OB/Gyn, and vaccinated the babies in Pediatrics. I have done blood draws, medication administration, and resulted in house labs. I have assisted in D+C’s, wound care, pap smears and biopsies. I have reorganized clinic supplies by lot number and expiration dates. The more I learn and the more I do in healthcare, the more I want to learn.
Becoming a physician assistant would afford me the ability to do more in patient care. I would learn how to correctly diagnose an issue and come up with a plan of care. I could learn one specialty and if I so choose, immerse myself in a completely different specialty. I would no longer be a “Jack of all trades and a master of none”, but a polymath of medicine, a renaissance PA, or as Emilie Wapnick once said, “A multipotentialite”.
Kayla Trockman says
Growing up, I wasn’t like ordinary children when visiting relatives in hospitals. Unlike ordinary children, I unusually begged to visit the hospital to see my Granddad, a consistent patient. During my many visits, I would never leave my Granddad’s side, and I would never take my eyes off of the IV being inserted or nurses as they administered medicine. My parents would constantly attempt to make me stop asking the medical professionals questions about what they were doing to him, but I persisted anyway. Visiting my Granddad at the hospital is where my interest in medicine and helping those in need became evident. While I did not decide on the PA career path until college, these experiences helped my family foresee a future career in a health-related field long before I could. My desire to become a physician assistant went unrealized until my freshman year of college. It was during this time that I had the opportunity to shadow an orthopedic PA to experience the requirements and tasks of an unfamiliar career. My interest in the profession blossomed after this initial experience and only grew with further research. Observing a PA in a primary care setting allowed me to appreciate how the PA has the ability to work rather independently but also form close patient relationships, the comfort and security between the PA and patient was clearly sensed, with a genuine desire of the PA to help the patients however possible; This observation sparked my realization of knowing the career I would like to pursue.
After shadowing and scribing for a number of PAs during my sophomore year, I was amazed at how they were all so passionate and sincerely happy with their career. One of the most appealing aspects that further confirm my interest in the profession is the ability of PAs to change specialties. This flexibility is significant because unlike other professions, which have finite structure and rigidity, PAs have the opportunity to grow through an adaptable workforce among a vast amount of specialties, while maintaining affection for their tasks. PA stands out to me as beneficial because I do not have to decide what exact specialty to focus on without first-hand experience in that specialty. This provides me with the opportunity to explore a variety of focuses in medicine throughout my career, allowing me to gain extensive knowledge about a multitude of specialties, and these different experiences are significant in allowing me to gain well-rounded medical skills and allow me to discover which focus I will thrive in and enjoy best. My shadowing and healthcare experience enabled me to understand and value the vital role in medicine a PA holds, with similar responsibilities as a physician. A PA is able to promote and expand health care, but it is reassuring knowing that a PA can consult with a physician at any time if needed. Through my shadowing experiences, I was able to observe different PAs on many occasions contact their supervisor physician for small questions or to obtain that physician’s opinion and advice about certain cases.
With the ability to consult a physician, as well as other members of their work environment, I believe PAs are able to provide optimum and quality care to patients through a collaborative effort. In my experiences, work environments that encourage teamwork and trust are crucial to meeting the intentions of healthcare. As a CNA, the importance of communication between patients, the head nurse, other CNAs, and all health care members was apparent to ensure patient satisfaction and optimal, quality care is provided. My goals in becoming a successful PA involve constant involvement through being an active and understanding team member, by communicating with both my colleagues and patients. I have a great interest in the large number of responsibilities that a PA holds. PAs play an integral role in health care and directly impact patients’ lives. Additionally, a PA not only helps patients but can also partake in research to advance and promote health-care.
Lastly, I desire to be a PA because of the enormous amount of experiences I will be exposed to within this fast-growing career. These experiences will not only advance my skills, but I will constantly be expanding my knowledge while having the opportunity to help, care, diagnose, and treat patients. All of this exposure will entail a challenge, but throughout my undergrad, my professors emphasized the importance and tested our critical thinking and decision making skills to help us prepare and improve these skills for our future careers; Therefore, I believe these different acquired thinking processes will assist me to conquer difficult tasks. Additionally, the challenging environment with limitless obstacles the career of a physician assistant will involve makes the career all the more appealing and will make me strive for success to perform my duties as optimally as possible to both help and heal people. I aspire to become a hard-working, caring, motivated PA where I will not only help others but provide quality care spending as much time as possible to achieve success to promote and advance medicine altogether.
Juliana says
Born to a mother with a career in nursing and a father pursuing a doctorate in physical therapy, most of my childhood memories include Marvin the skeleton and an old stethoscope. While my environment fostered my initial interest in the health care field, I still spent most of my life wondering what I wanted to do in it. I desperately waited for the magical “aha moment” everyone seems to so effortlessly have but it looked like I was going to have to do some experiencing to discover what I truly wanted. So, I began constantly researching and immersing myself in a series of steppingstone moments that ultimately helped me decide that I wanted to pursue a career as a physician assistant.
The first thing that drew me in was the endless possibilities that a career as a physician assistant could offer. Through this occupation, I would have the ability to work with a diverse demographic of patients facing a variety of afflictions, across many different settings. The wide array of specialities and roles available in the field excited me as I am a person who likes change and choices. It is this same idea that originally attracted me to the Pennsylvania State University. Since I was unsure of what I wanted to pursue, I needed a vast range of majors to explore. After navigating through the uncertainty, I decided to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in Biobehavioral Health with a minor in Kinesiology. It was the unique way the curriculum focused on how biological, behavioral, psychological, sociocultural, and environmental variables interacted to influence health that caught my attention. This interdisciplinary and research driven coursework made me realize I wanted a career that took a holistic approach to working with people to better their quality of life, a philosophy I eventually learned I would be able to practice as a PA.
With this idea in mind, I started to get more involved. Through each experience, a new side of myself was revealed and showed me what I wanted out of a career and life. So, I began volunteering as a tutor for adults enrolled in English as a Second Language courses. Here, I worked with an underserved population to overcome language barriers and created individualized curricula with a focus on health literacy in hopes of reducing some of the disparities they faced. The cultural competency needed in this role is parallel to that needed of a PA, something I later noticed I could contribute when treating patients. While I enjoyed working intimately with people and overcoming challenges, it made me realize that I wanted to do something with a closer focus on medicine.
Because of my love for the body inspired by my dad’s unsolicited “teaching moments” over the years, I was hired to be a learning assistant for PSU’s Mammalian Anatomy course. Through this, I gained a deep understanding of the knowledge required of a PA and how to effectively educate individuals on topics that can be complex and unfamiliar. Teaching anatomy showed me that I wanted to be able to do more than just educate with my knowledge, but to use it to diagnose and treat individuals. This lead me to becoming a research assistant for PSU’s Clinical Psychology lab. It was here I learned more about the vast range of psychiatric disorders and different ways in which they are treated. By independently administering the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview of DSM-IV and ICD-10, I learned how to professionally conduct diagnostic tools with the sensitivity and confidentiality that is required in a clinical setting. My time as an RA reaffirmed that I wanted to work directly with patients to diagnose and treat, leading me one step closer to making the decision of becoming a physician assistant.
Considering the realizations I made through each experience, I became a nursing assistant to satisfy my newfound desires. Independently managing the care for 20+ residents at a time while assisting the nurse and PA has shown me just how interconnected and cooperative a care team must be to effectively help its patients. Through these hands-on patient interactions, I’ve developed many key clinical skills required of a PA and have been able to observe their role in a geriatric setting. Operating autonomously while still working within a team is a career trait I learned I wanted and would be able to find in the PA profession. Keeping a desire to serve close to my heart and reflecting on the values I gained through each experience, I made the carefully considered decision to pursue a career as a physician assistant.
With my eagerness to begin my journey, I have been shadowing two orthopedic surgery PAs in both the office and operating room, seeing just how flexible and adaptable one must be. I have demonstrated these skills and more through each of my experiences and it is with these steppingstone moments that I confidently choose a career as a physician assistant. Maybe, I ended up getting my “aha moment” after all.
Elizabeth says
Dinner was wrapping up and tensions were high. We knew whatever news my dad had was about to be shared. It was going to be big since all the immediate family was there, even my mom though they had been divorced for 10 years. He had been getting frequent migraines and going to many doctors’ appointments without giving updates, my sister and I were convinced it was a brain tumor. My dad cleared his throat and put those suspicions to rest, however, he did announce he had cancer. I was 17 and he was only 55 when we were told he had prostate cancer, a very aggressive type as he was so young for this kind of cancer. The next four years would be full of triumphs and tribulations with many life changes ahead.
We had an incredibly long journey with his treatments, as cancer is an ugly disease. We went to doctors’ appointments, surgery, chemo treatments, and trips to the emergency room; yet, we dealt with some of the most pleasant, compassionate and genuinely caring people. My dad wasn’t just another patient, we weren’t just numbers or statistics to them. We were people in need of help. It didn’t matter if it was a doctor, nurse, or technician, they were all there to support our family. I had always been interested in entering the medical field, particularly inspired by my dad’s long career in the fire department. I became even more encouraged to enter this field from his experiences with cancer. My dad’s oncologist always remembered my sister and I every time we came in. He was positive about treatment options and always discussed moving forward even when things looked bleak. My dad’s general physician would call to check in and send personal letters to the house. These experiences showed that medicine goes beyond what one can do clinically. You don’t just treat the symptoms; you make an impact on lives.
I was in my fall semester senior year of college when my dad’s health started declining, causing me to make frequent trips home. Eventually, we would learn that my dad’s cancer had spread to his bone marrow and he was given a terminal prognosis of only a few weeks. I was devastated. Between the rigorous academic load I was in and the stress of my father’s health, I failed the semester and my GPA decreased with it. It would also cause me to remain for an additional semester. However, I returned to Auburn in the spring semester determined to work hard and persevere to complete my coursework and finish with something both my dad and I would be proud of. I improved all of my grades significantly the following semesters and would graduate with a degree in Biomedical Science.
My job out of college as an orthopedic technician would be my first consideration of the position as a physician assistant. They are an integral role of the health care team and I was unfamiliar with their extensive responsibilities until I began working with them directly. Currently being employed by an orthopedic spine surgeon and physician assistant, I have developed a strong working relationship with them and believe I would flourish in that role as I work well collaboratively. Through shadowing rounds I have seen the close relationship a physician assistant forms with their patients through listening, explaining processes, reviewing medications, and discharge instructions. You build a strong bond and gain a tremendous amount of trust.
I also find the continuation of knowledge appealing. Since graduating, I have attended school while working full time to become a licensed emergency medical technician. While in class, I realized how much I enjoy and miss learning and as physician assistant you have flexibility and opportunity to switch specialties to continue to learn and grown in your profession. Also, through volunteering as an EMT I determined I want the ability to do more such as diagnose and treat. One day we ran a call to an elderly lady who was suspected of having a stroke. She had an extensive medical history, she was slurring her words, disoriented, had elevated blood sugars and increased blood pressure. While I was thinking it could have been another TIA or her diabetes was not being monitored well, she was convinced she was just tired and need to rest. She refused transport. This is a decision I still think about as I feel there was an underlying source and she needed to be treated. As a physician assistant I will be able to do more, diagnose what was going on and make sure something more severe does not occur later on down the road.
Since graduating from college I have become confident in what I am doing and determined in my goal of getting into school. I have continued to further my education with additional classes, shadowing experiences, volunteer work and new certifications. I feel prepared and excited for the challenges that come with school and the career to follow. I am ready to learn and become the person who will go above and beyond for someone else like those that were there for my family.
Chase Thompson says
“The heart of human excellence often begins to beat when you discover a pursuit that absorbs you, frees you, challenges you, or gives you a sense of meaning, joy, or passion.” – Terry Orlick. Growing up, I never truly understood my purpose or why I was given the opportunity to live this life. Listening to the radio and watching television, I became accustomed to hearing stories of celebrities and politicians talking about the moment that they realized their life’s purpose, and I remember being frustrated while pondering how they could possibly come to such a confident conclusion to this perplexing question. Transitioning into high school, I found myself continuously reflecting on this question as my interests began to grow. I started to recognize my love for science and absolute fascination with how the human body worked to function properly and fight off disease – but still wasn’t sure how to apply these interests to the various diversified fields that healthcare encompasses.
Reflecting on volunteer opportunities throughout high school and leading into college aided me to further develop a better understanding of my desire to directly serve and work with individuals throughout my community and beyond. In high school, I partook in mission trips with my church to numerous domestic locations including Dallas (TX), Colorado Springs (CO), Minneapolis (MN), and Vieques, Puerto Rico. Through these experiences, I witnessed the realities of poverty that many others either choose to ignore or are oblivious to. In Puerto Rico, families of eight were reduced to living in 10’ by 10’ brick houses covered by flimsy tin roofs. Children took baths using rusted buckets and ran around in tattered clothes without shoes. Many sick individuals lacked access to healthcare and resolved to resting and hoping that their condition cleared itself with minimal medical intervention. Circumstances such as these opened my eyes toward the dire need for care and attention that underserved individuals deserve in communities all across our country. Moving into college, I decided to combine my wish to continue volunteer work with my interest in healthcare by volunteering at local hospital ERs in which I took vitals, lead patients to their rooms, answered questions from families, changed linens, and restocked supplies. In doing so, I was introduced to a large portion of the lower socioeconomic and homeless community; many of whom were “frequent flyers” that suffered from numerous mental abnormalities including MDD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and PTSD. It wasn’t until I took part in these healthcare volunteer opportunities that I realized how extensive the prevalence of poverty and mental health issues had become; not just in my area but across the nation. Altogether, a combination of these volunteer opportunities through high school and college opened my eyes to the need for quality healthcare within poverty-stricken communities and confirmed my desire to help those affected by these areas, especially in rural underserved populations such as the one that I currently reside and work in.
While volunteering throughout college, I found myself trying to decipher which healthcare career was the right fit. Initially interested in the hands-on care involved with physical therapy, I joined an organization my freshman year for college students interested in pursing various healthcare careers. Upon attending the first meeting at this organization, a well-dressed man stood at the front of the classroom and explained his role in healthcare as a physician assistant. Having never heard of this career before, my interest peaked as he explained his role in team-based medicine as well as how physician assistants are able to spend ample time with patients to develop an effective treatment plan and preventative strategies to avoid future ailments. After months of research and shadowing PAs in the field, I fell in love with the profession and knew that it was my calling. At this point, I started my official journey to PA school by accumulating patient care hours working with patients in the laboratory of our school’s clinic, continuing my volunteer opportunities within hospital setting, shadowing PA’s in various hospital and clinical settings, and enrolling in the Honors College.
From where I stand today, I am no longer gazing into the future with uncertainty of my purpose, but with resolve knowing that I’ve found the path that I’m meant to be on. Every step I’ve taken and learning opportunity I’ve experienced within the health care field has solidified my need to serve others as a physician assistant. Not every career gives those involved the opportunity to make a true difference in the lives that they touch each day. The caring nature of the PA profession and its integral role in medicine has ignited my passion for the field and fostered my excitement to one day assist individuals by offering quality healthcare in a way that only a PA may provide.
Brittany says
The earliest memories of my father are from the saw dust covered floor of his workshop, watching him transform simple boards into staples of my childhood memories. I knew whatever my lifelong passion would be, it would need this same physical component. Despite my hunger for knowledge, I did not want to amass it just for academics’ sake. I wanted my knowledge to be translatable into physical skills that could create the same strong impact for others. As a cell and molecular biology researcher, I loved applying my knowledge to discover information never researched before. Despite the thrill of designing and executing experiments, I was disenchanted with the long hours spent in the lab alone as my ability to connect with people was being underserved. The emotional aspect that motivates one to come back despite long hours and hard days was missing.
Inspiration like this comes from patients like Delores, suffering from aggressive colorectal cancer which had caused severe necrosis to her rectum. One evening I was cleaning her and with every wipe stool, blood, and black necrotic tissue appeared. Every moment was excruciating, yet she never complained once. Leading her back to bed, Fred, her husband, thanked me for my help. Like his wife, he was in his 90s. Frail and suffering from his own malignancies, he still stayed with her constantly. I commented how Delores had to be the luckiest lady in the world to have such a dedicated companion. With a sly smile he replied, “Well it’s not a choice. I’m her guard dog and she needs me here to keep her safe”. It was in the look they exchanged following that statement that revealed exactly what I wanted to be. I wanted to be my patients’ guard dog. I wanted to make use of my knowledge and my skills to make them feel as if they had a lifeline through their worst experiences. For the patient who spends endless weeks hospitalized without visitors, to the patient experiencing their worst day in the ED without a hand to hold, I wanted to make them know they are being well cared for and not left to fend for themselves.
As a PA, I want my patients to know that their emotional and physical pain are taken into account as much as their medical diagnoses. Healthcare providers are so immersed in a health centric environment, they easily can become disconnected from the varying demographics of their patients. This lack of understanding can easily manifest an environment where, if patients do not comprehend a subject, they are not comfortable asking for clarification; leaving them ill-equipped to cope with their situation. As a care transition coordinator, the main aspect of my job was facilitating education with a variety of patients, allowing me to refine my therapeutic communication skills. It taught me that education is as essential to healthcare as medicine and that delivery needs to contour to the individual in order for it to be effective. A prime example of this was a middle age man who came in to the emergency department (ED) with chest pain. Upon speaking with him, I discovered he had been diagnosed with hypertension in an ED a year ago. He was placed on antihypertensives and after two months his blood pressure returned to normal levels. As his symptoms had resolved, he assumed he was cured and discontinued his medication and monitoring. The day I saw him, he presented with a myocardial infarction. Had this man been provided with a brief education that his condition was chronic; how it elevated risks; and the role of medication, this episode may have been prevented.
The importance of physician assistants in primary care is often discussed. However, individuals at highest risk are often those without insurance: people suffering from addiction or mental illness; homeless populations; and undocumented immigrants. These people are not seen in a family practitioner’s office. Usually their only interaction with medical professionals is through the ED. As physicians multitask through 9 patients’ work ups while also planning for inbound traumas, free time is limited. PAs, however, average 4 patient loads. This offers far more opportunities to educate on medications; diseases; preventative measures; and health literacy.
It is this combination of continual challenging mental stimulation; the ability to translate this knowledge into physical skills through countless procedures; and the emotional interpersonal connection it all provides that propels me to become a PA. This is the only route that provides access to the most underserved populations through the ED, while allowing the time to truly interact and educate them. Experience as a scribe has provided me with the confidence to hold a professional rapport with physicians; a necessary skill to incorporate into my care as a patient advocate. I believe that with motivated and effective PAs who are intentional with their patient education and disease prevention, patient outcomes and satisfaction will benefit.
Zahida Ha says
Everyone has at some point experienced a hospital and with it, the unforgettable odor that accompanies it—how it manages to simultaneously smell both sanitary yet queasy. I sincerely think that that odor is the reason why so many people hate hospitals, not necessarily because of the smell itself but because of the memories that come with it. Scientifically, our olfactory functions are strongly related to memory, more so than any of our other senses. For me, when I get a waft of the smell inside a hospital, I’m transported back to a being a little girl in a waiting room surrounded by my family, anxiously waiting for the nurses to let us in to see my father who had just suffered from his second heart attack.
My father left Afghanistan 31 years ago with little more than what the typical immigrant has when arriving to America: about a hundred dollars in cash and a heart full of hope. Growing up was tough; with my father’s myopathy and financial insecurity, having a large family did not make things easier. I was raised in a small 2-bedroom apartment in Queens, New York with all 12 of my siblings. We lived off of food stamps and government-assisted checks. My father worked at a coffee truck and came home late every night smelling of croissants and jelly-filled donuts. Due to our atypical circumstances, my family and I learned to be humble and appreciative for what little we had.
Growing up within an apartment building helped to instill the sense of community in me. There was a sense of security with knowing that if there was ever a time where my family was in need, we could always turn to others for help. I believe that is the reason why I have been a volunteer for a large part of my life. The drive within me to give back to others began at a young age; my upbringing allowed me to appreciate the art of being altruistic. As a tutor with AmeriCorps, I had the opportunity to enhance my interpersonal skills by sacrificing my study time and weekends to assist a poverty-stricken and underrepresented group of adults to successfully obtain their GED. I am largely community-minded and plan to utilize my skills as a PA to volunteer my services, particularly in uninsured and underserved communities. Growing up in a financially insecure household made me grasp how important stable healthcare is, and has motivated me to contribute back to these populations as a clinician.
Prior to working as a medical scribe, I had a huge interest in the PA field but was still largely unaware of what the career entailed. Working 12 hour shifts and overnights as a medical scribe has been the most rewarding educational experience thus far, allowing me to witness the human art of medicine first-hand. While working as a scribe, there wasn’t a sudden eureka moment where I realized being a PA was exactly what I wanted to do—it was more of a series of rolling waves inundating me with understanding. My medical terminology vastly increased, as did my growing interest with medicine, particularly with a PA career. I had the amazing opportunity to work with both the rotating physicians and PAs in the ED at Albert Einstein Medical Center and Jefferson Health Medical Center, giving me the chance to view the unreserved dynamics of the physician-PA relationship. I witnessed a plethora of patient cases that contributed to my comprehension of medicine. Observing how PAs quickly processed information from patient to patient, formulated medical decision making, and decided how best to treat their patients within a team gave me a rich understanding of what the profession demanded.
As reflected by my GPA, I struggled my first two years of college with balancing work and school. Coming from a financially-challenged background, I had to work through school to afford basic necessities. Sacrificing time from studying resulted in substandard grades, however I refocused and engaged in better study habits and involved myself in the Pre-PA organization at my school to seek out additional resources to qualify myself as a competitive applicant. I have proven myself and my capabilities through my upward GPA trend in my last two years of college.
From my collective contributions as a medical scribe, volunteer, student, and daughter I have managed to push past my barriers and developed along the way determination, compassion, and adaptability. My devotion for medicine, interest in varying specialties and appreciation for sharing knowledge with a team as a continuous learner has carved the pathway for me to pursue a career as a PA. I earnestly believe that my invaluable experiences and personal drive to become a PA far outweighs my less than exemplary GPA.
I look forward to the day where I can smell the distinct hospital odor of contaminated sterility and have new memories flooding my mind—to look around and see myself surrounded by medical carts, scrubs, and listening to the incessant beeping of a heart monitor nearby. New memories of being able to achieve what I have yearned to do for so long: treating and diagnosing patients as a PA on a medical team of compassionate and driven individuals, contributing back to society and saving one life at a time.
Katie says
Every day for three years in high school, I put on a dusty apron, grabbed my tools and clay and sat at the potter’s wheel. Until the next bell would ring, I would mold the cold, slippery clay with the tips of my fingers. The ability to create whatever I wanted gave me a sense of freedom from the bustling halls of high school. Along with this freedom, ceramics allowed for deeper human connection and engagement with my peers that did not happen in other classes. Discussing our projects in class allowed me to relate to the kids I saw in the hallway, but never talked to. For me, ceramics was a medium that provided us as students an avenue to connect and see beyond stereotypes. Artistic expression gave me insight into the hearts of those around me.
Upon graduating, I said goodbye to the dusty room and the wheel I used as a respite from reality. The outlet that supported me throughout high school was no longer available to me. Entering college, I had hoped that I would find a channel that would recreate the peace that the potter’s wheel gave me.
It was not until my senior year of college had art affected me the way it did in high school. Working in a long-term care facility, I met Jean. Jean suffered from severe dementia, and was terrified of new caregivers. Every time I interacted with her, I would see a frightened, worried look on her face. The expression on her face made my heart sink, and I set forth a new goal of establishing trust with our patients. To ease her worry, I would try to talk with Jean while she sat flipping through picture books, but I made no progress. Feeling defeated, I noticed the corner of a cherry red coloring book peaking out from underneath her tray table. Asking Jean if she liked to draw, her eyes lit up. For the next thirty minutes, Jean and I sat coloring together. With the glittery butterfly barrettes in her hair, she looked calm and serene reminding me of my time in ceramics class. Coloring with Jean became a regular activity. Through sharing this form of expression, we were able to connect with each other on a deeper level, which reinforced my passion for health care. Most importantly, though, Jean was now able to feel comfortable with me, and caring for her made me realize how rewarding patient care can be.
Because of Jean and every patient I’ve interacted with, connecting with patients became my new potter’s wheel. My involvement in health care the past few years has provided me with a medium to form a relationship with patients and the community around me regardless of race and socioeconomic status. A strong connection with the community is important to me as a future provider to ensure access to outstanding care. Not only do I value the human connection in patient care, but also my compassion for the individual drives my motivation to pursue a career in the PA profession. With hopes of becoming a PA, I look forward to continue developing my passion with the support of a physician and a team of providers. Further, I can continue practicing creativity in the form of problem solving, collaboration, and changing specialties. Not only does the PA profession align with my personal and professional goals, it also gives me the opportunity to be a part of someone’s journey in healing, which is a blessing to me.
Casey says
You know when you’re watching the opening of a movie and the screen scratches and you hear the line, “ Yup, that’s me! Bet you’re wondering how I got here.” Well that’s what was going through my head my first day in the ER when I was thrown into doing chest compressions during a code. “Hold compressions for a pulse check,” I’m sweating and exhausted but as family members watch me through pulled back curtains it is all I can do to keep going as best I can. When the ER doctor calls time of death and compressions stop, the monitors are turned off and specialists disperse it is the PA in the room who turns to console the family first. That first day of work was terrifying for me, largely due to the fact that I was questioning how I was able to be in that situation. With little to no hospital experience how was I able to physically take someones life into my hands, what gave me that right?
My first experience working with a PA was in the Doylestown Emergency Department, I enjoyed shadowing her so much I eventually got a job in that same location. I was already planning on applying to physician assistant programs when I started working with her but I hadn’t been exposed to the field much. I was able to see how incredible PAs’ are with their patients, how much compassion they were able to show even in such a short ER visit during my months with her. Once I started working with the PAs in the department more frequently I knew without a shadow of a doubt that was the field I would excel in.
Working in the ER has been by far the most valuable and rewarding experience of my life. It is also the most challenging position I have been in starting from that first day. It taught me how to work within the patient care team and how to interact with patients from explaining a procedure to making them laugh when they have received bad news. I have gone out of my way to work with the PAs inside my environment as much as possible to gain a better understanding of how their interactions differ from those of other specialities. Wether counseling in times of crisis, spending an extra fifteen minutes in an exam room explaining a procedure or holding a crying child’s hand while they get their bones set my time in the ER has opened my eyes to the way that PA’s treat the entire patient instead of a set of symptoms. Seeing what I wanted to be in action really gave me the motivation to push myself and gain as much experience as possible in the months leading up to my application.
Since I had a good start on my clinical care hours I turned to my academics, I was unfocused and distracted during my undergraduate degree. I knew I loved medicine but I had yet to find a field that really motivated me. This lack of focus shows in my grades from that time period. So I have spent a significant amount of time retaking classes that I did not perform well in to bring my grades up to my own new found standards as well as those of the PA programs I aspire to be a part of. While taking these classes I also dedicated a substantial amount of my time to gaining exposure to as many medical specialties as possible. Spending time in major surgeries and with a variety of PAs and doctors made me even more determined to make this aspiration a reality.
Looking back, if I had applied to a physician assistant program three years ago, I would have advised the admissions committee to reject my application. Reject the application of the uncertain and unfocused girl who was looking for an easy path to take. Pursing a career in any facet of medicine requires unyielding dedication and focus that borders on obsession. These are characteristics that I did not have when I was younger or even in the time immediately after my undergraduate years. I have changed dramatically since then. I have spent the last three years, the last year in particular, preparing myself to be the best applicant for your program and the best physician assistant I can be.
I have proven to myself that I have the drive and the dedication to excel in a program as rigorous as that of a physician assistant. It is with this re-affirmed confidence in my abilities that I can tell you if accepted into your program, I will not have the questioning mentality that I had that first day of work wondering how I was able to end up there. I will know with complete confidence that it was due to my last few years of focused decisions and devoted work and that I have a right to be there.
I look forward to proving the same to you.
Kaitlyn Tippetts says
It can be difficult to define exactly what triggers a paradigm shift. Every day we are faced with situations and decisions, and no one, only hindsight, can tell what will actually lead to a new thought process. Was it falling off a slide and cutting my knee open at the age of 6? Or the first time I passed out from seeing a needle? Could it be the rain pounding my back as I run home from campus that made me think more deeply about my career plans? Or seeing a Peruvian child who received glasses for the first time?
I was breathing heavily; sweat was beaded on my upper lip and forehead. I was lying flat on my back. My brain was trying to piece together what had happened, trying replay it over and over in my head. I could remember jumping up for a hit and hearing a loud pop, but that was all I could put together due to the pain I was feeling. I eventually made it to my feet and limped over to the bench. In the following days, after two doctors visit and an MRI, I was told I would need surgery for my torn ACL. I was also told that I could not play volleyball my senior year of high school. I was devastated, but I had no idea then that my injury would spark my interest in the healthcare world. My injury ultimately lead me on the path of becoming a PA.
I majored in Exercise Science in college. This is not an unusual undergraduate degree for a future healthcare professional, but when I had first chosen my major I was interested in becoming a personal trainer or physical therapist. It wasn’t until farther along in my studies that I discovered my interests had become broader than just exercise. I became interested in diagnostics and evidence based medicine. The ability of a PA to change specialties just for the opportunity to learn and grow is attractive to me. The first thing I noticed when I started working as a medical scribe at Granite Peaks Gastroenterology was that the world of medicine is constantly adapting and changing. Every day that I go to work I am presented with new situations, new variables, and new things to learn. Each day I am able to meet new and long standing patients who are all unique. They have their own set of beliefs, histories, and fears. One thing they do have in common is that they deserve correct, up-to-date and excellent medical care.
My personality traits and skills are far more suited to be a PA than they are to be another medical professional. I have found that I enjoy working under another team member where I can work ahead of them and anticipate needs to improve the efficiency and quality of patient care. Of course, I understand that PAs typically work autonomously and consult with the doctor only when needed. I have been working side-by-side with a PA for over ten months at Granite Peaks and I have been able to observe the routines and curriculum of the PA profession. I can see how PAs are an integral part of a cohesive unit. I crave to be a part of a team where I can feel like I am contributing to something bigger than myself.
I have learned in my work and volunteer experience that patient care and the environment it creates excites me. I desire to become a PA who never stops learning. One who truly listens to patients, communicates genuinely, and who understands a patient’s fears. For me, it is wanting so badly to be able to give more and keep people healthy. I have seen first-hand the positive and lasting effects PAs have brought to their patient’s lives and I wish to join those who came before me.
Hailey says
I have always been an intuitive, observant person. From a young age I would memorize the route in which we drove to our destination, just in case of an emergency and I was left on my own to make my way back. One might say these qualities of cognisance helped me in discovering my Aunt’s disguised disappearance. My mom, attempting to hide her distressed and weary eyes, assured me, “she’s on a trip out east, she’ll be back.”
My Aunt Courtney was a “cool aunt,” the relative who snuck you ice cream before dinner and drove her Jeep Wrangler, top-down, blasting Eminem. Being only 18 years my senior, our relationship’s groundwork sided more with a friendship than a guardianship. I replicated her every move; from learning the French language, to practicing ballet, even copying her sense of style. She was my role model, that is, up until my revelation that she was addicted to heroin.
Mental health discussions and treatments have come a long way since my family discovered my Aunt’s substance use disorder in 1999, largely in part to the raging epidemic. Unfortunately at the time, they were shameful of my Aunt’s tabooed choices in college, and tried to mend her through furtive rehabilitation efforts and acts of concealment. Her addiction’s continuous prevail was nothing short of a substantial blow to my suburbia-grown family. Too young to have learned about drug dependency, my emotions of anger and betrayal overtook my limited knowledge and common sense of who I believed my Aunt to be.
My high school and early college years were a blurred mixture of her sober droughts and relapses; dissimulating an atmosphere sans mistakes and shortcomings. Fortuitously during my sophomore year of college, I was offered a position as a clinical research assistant at the UNC Mother Infant lab. Here they conducted research of substance use disorders, which forced me to face my own demons. Intrigued by personal motives, I was eager to learn more than what was simply necessary to get the job done. While the lab’s principal investigators were too busy to educate a petty undergraduate student, our associated physician assistant took the time to educate me about the effects of substance use disorder, and showed me the literature behind our studies. I quickly understood how misusing theses drugs alters the neurocircuitry of reward and motivation, which in turn affects how individuals prioritize short-term rewards over long-term benefits, and I applied what I learned to my own experiences with my Aunt.
Our clinical research at UNC Mother Infant dealt with both the mothers and their babies, and my role primarily included contact with the babies for their biospecimens and vitals. The mothers and their children were most often separated, in adjacent rooms. This is a huge undertaking for new mothers, nonetheless a mother who has most likely suffered hardship and loss. Anxiety and uncertainty, of how I could complete my tasks adequately when I could not communicate with my Aunt efficiently, eclipsed my thoughts. Our physician assistant again took me under her wing, and reassured me that my experiences have already prepared me for this position.
From then on, for two and a half years, I spoke to the women in recovery at UNC Horizons daily. I listened to their stories of struggle and triumph, allowing them to find a reliable friend in me. I gave these mothers trust in them leaving their babies, but throughout the years they taught me a lesson I didn’t know was personally valuable until the near future.
My Aunt had ebbs and flows with her disorder, and after a long battle, she unexpectedly and tragically passed away from an overdose in January of 2018, after 2 years of sobriety. We started rekindling our relationship towards the very end, and I attribute that to the amazing women I was able to work with at UNC Mother Infant studies and my mentor, our physician assistant, who pursued my hunger for comprehension of this disgusting disease. During this difficult time of mourning, my data was the only concrete notion that emotion could not touch. Everyone mourns differently, and through my research I was able to find solace. To my dismay my family did not feel the same, and my scientific reasoning was far from what they wanted to hear.
I want to become a physician assistant, like those I have worked with, to care for sicknesses and attempt to cure diseases, eloquently educate those that I can reach like my family, while striving to reach those that I cannot, and push scientific research boundaries and de-stigmatization for pressing issues, like substance use disorder. We need, and I am determined, to bring light mental health matters, and advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. I have grand goals of incorporating the physician assistant role into clinical research for progressive treatments, because that is where the future of scientific discovery lies. With a physician assistant’s platform, I am highly confident I can do so.