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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 (28th March 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 seven 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
Meghan L says
There is no worse feeling than waking up in the hospital completely unaware of how you ended up there. Actually, there is one worse feeling — having that same experience happen a second time. At fifteen years old, for the second time, I woke up in a hospital wondering what had happened. My diagnosis — alcohol poisoning. It was not a rare experience for me to consume near toxic amounts of alcohol as a teenager. Although I was not hospitalized every time I drank, each experience I had with alcohol was extremely destructive. At 17 years old, as a self-proclaimed alcoholic and drug addict, I was afforded the opportunity to go to rehab and was introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous — a program that has completely transformed my life. Although I did not stay sober since my stay in rehab I have been returning to Alcoholics Anonymous ever since my first meeting and as a result I have not had any mind altering substances for the past 8 years. I am free of the suffering and bondage that alcohol and drugs once held over me.
I share this experience because it has had a profound impact on my decision to pursue a career as a physician assistant. I studied sociology in undergrad, which greatly informed me about the different privileges and disparities individuals face based on their racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. Through my education, I became acutely aware of the fact that a huge amount of my sobriety is due to the fact that I am from a privileged race and a privileged socioeconomic status. The consequences I received as a teenager were rehabilitative and the programs I was sent to were high-quality and expensive. If I was living in poverty or if I was from a minority race, my consequences would have likely been jails and institutions and the programs I went to would have been under-staffed and under-funded. During undergrad, I developed an extreme desire to provide quality care for underserved populations so they could be afforded the same chances at a better life that I was freely given.
My desire initially led me to social work where I began working at a group home called St. Anne’s Maternity home. At St. Anne’s we serviced pregnant and parenting, teenage foster youth and their babies. These youth had histories that included things like physical and sexual abuse, drug addiction and alcoholism, prostitution, mental illness, abandonment, homelessness and incarceration. Here I worked in the medication room, where I administered medications and provided health education, counseling and crisis management for the residents. I found that due to my personal history I had a unique ability to have an unbiased, direct and caring approach with the residents. I also found that I am able to bring together social work and health care and I can be effective in pursuing a career in the medical field.
At this job I learned about the physician assistant’s role on the healthcare team and I knew I had to direct my path towards medicine. I was in my last semester of undergrad, and I had spent a majority of the last four years working towards applying for a Master’s in Social Work. However, when I discovered what a physician assistant was, my gut told me that was my path. With a lot of guidance from mentors and a little bit of faith I began the two and a half year journey of sciences prerequisites and patient care experience that most PA schools require. At times it became difficult to juggle my intense course load, my long work hours, my sobriety and spiritual recovery, and my personal and social life, but my overwhelming desire to provide quality care to underserved communities continuously allowed me to persevere.
I have always sought after opportunities to work with the most marginalized communities in Los Angeles. A lot of my experience is with low-income, homeless, mentally-ill, dually diagnosed, or extremely physically disabled patients. I currently work at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles on the step-down intensive care unit, where the majority of the patients we severe are severely handicapped and dependent on a ventilator or a bi-level positive airway pressure machine. Many of our patients come from impoverished areas in the Los Angeles Community and access treatment through medi-cal. I also currently work at Twin Towers Correctional Facility where most of the patients not only suffer from debilitating mental and physical illnesses and homelessness but are also facing serious criminal charges. I serve these patients with immense gratitude for the opportunity to be a part of their journey. When I come to work each day, I am continuously reminded that my primary purpose is to dedicate myself to service.
Jordan says
My hands become bloody everyday. My fingertips callused. My arms, legs and stomach marked with fine bruises. Anxieties about how my body will react to what the day will bring fill my mind. Starbursts, juice boxes and needles fill my backpack, purse and work bag. The words, “can you eat sugar?” are imprinted in my head. These are attributes I never let define me since my diagnosis, at age nine, of Type 1 Diabetes. I do not have one defining moment of when I decided I wanted to be a pediatric physician assistant. Yet, I have a lifetime of deep experiences. These experiences made the goal to apply to PA school, achievable.
In October of my sophomore year of college I became ill. I got two eye infections, two ear infections, a respiratory infection and a bacterial infection due to my weak immune system. I developed extreme anxiety and OCD behaviors through this period of constant illness. After twenty-three visits to the health center, I became frustrated with doctors. I found them to be more interested in treating my symptoms rather than finding the cause due to their caseload. For two months, doctors prescribed me many antibiotics. My grades slipped and I had become mentally fatigued. Until, a PA at the emergency room took the time to listen. She sat down and conversed with me about everything experienced. I talked for almost a hour. Through a physical exam, she located a lump on my neck. Mono! A diagnosis that could have been made much earlier. I realized the type of PA I wanted to be, someone the world needed more of. This PA spoke to me as if I was her colleague and family member at the same time. I will provide reassurance and faith in my patients after gaining knowledge in PA school.
I entered college as a neuroscience major. I had a passion to break the stigma behind mental illness. I wanted to learn how the mental body of a human being affects the physical. I obtained my first internship at nineteen in a mental health clinic. I was an assistant therapist in a group therapy called Dino Club. Dino club therapy was treatment for children ages three to nine. These children suffer from anger problems, depression, PTSD (from abuse or neglect) and other disorders. Rather than trying to cure the children of their mental disorders, we taught them how to cope and thrive in a world with them. This treatment plan amazed me. Focus is usually put on curing the problem. Yet, in times when it is non-curable, education on how to live happily with long term disease should be the focus. Analyzing the emotional and mental states of patients will always be a priority of mine.
I am most proud of my time as a school nurse in the Monroe County school district near Indiana University. Families entrusted me to treat their kids. I treated severe emergencies (seizures and diabetes care) to simple care (applying bandages). I gave children their prescribed daily medications. To receive their medications, the child had to answer questions about it. This verified that the medication they were about to take matched their order form. I worked hard to ensure I was treating the kids with compassion and effectiveness. I kept a communicative relationship with the families. The hardest part of my hands on job, was not being able to finish the job. I often said, “I am not sure, I cannot diagnose”. Typically, I often could predict the problem. Once, a child presented a rash going up his fingers and spread to his arm. It could have been an allergic reaction, a fever or poison ivy. I studied the child’s vital signs, watched his respiratory rate and the spread of rash. I knew it was not an urgent matter. However, the student came to the health office before for this problem. Both after lunch. It seemed to be reflective of something the child ate. Perhaps gluten? I began to ask the RN that I worked under, a lot of questions. I also began to keep a journal of questions to ask the few doctors I shadowed.. Since I only had minimal education, my only response could be “I am not sure, I cannot diagnose”. I assessed the present state and identified the problem to my best ability. A nurse provides exemplary treatment and care. However,I want to diagnose and stay loyal to the patient throughout their medical journey. PA school teaches disease-centered treatment. It can ensure that I would never have to turn away a patient and say, “I cannot diagnose”.
As I said, I do not let type one diabetes define me as a person. I want to learn how to treat patients and ensure they do not feel defined by their medical obstacles. I worked hard during college to improve my GPA as I learned that chemistry was not a friend of mine. Yet, I excelled in my degree and core classes. My experiences in shadowing, research, volunteering and school nursing has taught me the importance of intuition and reliability. My drive to learn more has kept me passionate. In PA school, I will bring a sense of unity and benevolence to treat all with equality.
mairin Guilfoyle says
The thread begins in my childhood. As a child, I had chronic ear infections which required many trips to the pediatrician, who fortunately enough, was my very lovable grandfather. He would get out his black bag, pull out the otoscope and look in my ears. “Yup” he would say, shaking his head, full of white curly hair as he peered over his glasses, “I see peanut butter“, and then more seriously “I do see fluid behind your tympanic membrane. Swelling, inflammation…”
We would finish up our visit in his office, ands he would chat with my mom about my treatment and how our family was doing. He would say things like, “if you can’t be good, then be reasonable.” It was his comforting presence and care that initially attracted me to a career in medicine.
As I grew older, I knew succeeding in my science classes was important if I wanted to pursue this fledgling interest in medicine. Mrs. Sara Plante, with her brown hair parted down the middle and her dry sense of humor, elucidated the mysteries of soluble liquids that morph into crystals as the bonds of unseen molecules reform. Surreptitiously, she provided a role model of a woman scientist to all the girls in the class. She was another important thread.
At UD, as I excelled in my science courses and thought about my future, medicine continued to seem a good fit. I knew my ability to take a difficult problem, look at it from many angles, come up with a solution and then explain the solution in a digestible way to my classmates was similar to what patients would expect from a healthcare provider. As a 4 year starter and 2 year captain of the volleyball team, I dealt with a fair share of injuries and I also did work study with the athletic trainers. I enjoyed helping the other athletes, icing and wrapping injuries. The pieces of the fabric began to come together.
After graduating summa cum laude from UD, I knew that whichever field of medicine I pursued, it would be helpful to get some clinical experience. I became EMT certified and began working. As an EMT, I have been able to interact with paramedics, nurses, doctors and PAs. One day early on, we received a call for an elderly man who was having trouble breathing. Despite the urgency of his condition, when we arrived at the hospital, the PA took over when we arrived at the hospital, and worked to stabilize the man and regulate his breathing. All the while, she spoke to him, comforting him and walking him through her actions, step by step. I liked the confidence and authority with which she took charge of the situation, and also how she connected with and calmed the patient.
I applied to four PA programs in the Spring of 2018. Unfortunately I was not accepted. This was my first setback in my journey- a missed stitch. I was late in arriving at the decision to apply and so I was lacking some of the prerequisites that others had. The rejections have made me redouble my efforts to be the best possible candidate. Since applying last year I have doubled my patient care hours, been able to shadow two different PA’s in different specialities, and volunteer every Saturday morning alongside one. I also volunteer at Children’s hospital in Dallas every other Sunday in the afternoon from 1pm to 5pm, holding, reading and playing with the sick children hospitalized there.
One of the PA’s who I shadowed is Dr. Elizabeth Henye, PA -C, PsyD, a specialist in the field of low birth weight pediatrics. She works as a PA at Children’s Hospital’s Thrive program for low birthweight babies. She saw a need for healthcare for low income mothers with low birth weight babies and founded and runs the Low Birth Weight Center (LBWC). She also teaches classes in human sexuality at two local parochial high schools. The profound care and attention she gives to those who are at most risk is inspiring. I have been volunteering at the LWBC for the last two months. Low birthweight babies are at a much greater risk of developmental delays and low income mothers need the medical attention to keep their babies on developmental track. Texas has the lowest funding in the nation for low birthweight care.
The breadth of the types of work available to a PA, as well as the fact that the position requires intelligence, compassion, and dedication, all things which I believe I have demonstrated as a student, a student athlete and professionally as an EMT, just reinforce for me that this work would be an excellent fit for me. and that I would succeed in your PA program.
Each person is a part of a greater whole, a thread in the story of my life so far, that has helped direct me on the path I am on. It is the intersection of patient treatment and patient interaction that I love about the role of a PA. I want the ability to add more good days to a person’s life; to figure out why they are sick and make them feel better; to build a relationship with them and perhaps to be a small thread in their lives.
Tonnesha Edmond says
September 26, 2010, marked the day I birthed the most precious wide-eyed and curly-haired baby. I named her Trinity Chanel Edmond.
Aside from the pain I experienced, the labor and delivery went smoothly. Trinity was a healthy newborn and had earned a perfect score on the APGAR (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration) Test, which according to the nurses was extremely rare.
But, something was wrong.
Shortly after birth, Trinity underwent the routine newborn hearing screening. The results showed that she failed the test.
As I became overwhelmed with fear, my thoughts began racing. What? Why me? She’s healthy! How could this be possible?
Relying on the little faith I had in this moment, I asked the audiologist to repeat the test once more.
The test was repeated. Still, there was no response.
During this time, I was a 19-year-old college sophomore embarking on a new journey to single motherhood. Emotionally, I was everywhere. However, spiritually, I was strong.
Trinity was diagnosed with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. This season of my life was the most terrifying, intimidating I’d experienced yet. But even more importantly, I learned and soaked up so much wisdom and knowledge along the way.
For the first couple years of Trinity’s life, we frequently went to ENT appointments. I became familiar with hearing devices such as the cochlear implant and hearing aid. I found joy in changing out the tubing of Trinity’s hearing aids, which is normally done by the provider.
I became very familiar with the ENT specialty, which eight years later, led me to pursue my purpose of becoming an Ear, Nose and Throat PA.
After doing extensive research on the PA profession, I learned that gaining patient care experience was one of the first steps. Within three months of discovering my calling, I quit my $60k salary job.
On August 24, 2018, I accepted a technician role at Sunrise Detox, a medically-supervised drug and alcohol detoxification facility. As a tech, I appreciated the opportunity to truly care for the patients as they experienced withdrawal symptoms from opioids, benzodiazepines, alcohol, etc. I was known to be a trusted resource and a bit of a cheerleader during some of the most challenging times for patients. It wasn’t unheard of to see the same patients return to the facility multiple times due to relapse. However, my faith in those patients and their ability to overcome addiction never diminished. My faith in God was no secret to my coworkers and the patients. In fact, on several occasions, patients requested me to pray with them, print Bible scriptures, or just simply sit down to listen and speak to them. These were the profound moments I looked forward to every shift.
Aside from caring for the patients, I equally and intentionally cared for our healthcare team of doctors, nurses, techs, and administrative staff. One day, I took it upon myself to write a letter of recognition to one of our RNs. I witnessed him take over two hours to “talk down” a patient who was determined to leave against medical advice. Although our facility didn’t have a reward or recognition program established, I felt it was necessary to honor that RN for going above and beyond. As extreme as it may sound, death is always a possible consequence when a patient leaves AMA, especially when it comes to addiction.
I also had the wonderful opportunity to shadow in Trauma at Gwinnet Medical Center. I observed several surgeries including a cholecystectomy and a tracheostomy. The PA I shadowed exuded a calm and compassionate nature, which helped to mollify each patient and their families in the midst of trauma.
Aside from practical experience, I also became a student member of the Christian Dental & Medical Association. Through networking with other members, I met a PA who allowed me to complete nearly all of my shadowing hours with her in Pulmonary at Northside Hospital. I was able to observe cases ranging from asthma to lung cancer. My most memorable moment was the time the PA offered to pray with a patient and his wife. The patient was cured from lung cancer in the past but had recently found out that the cancer may have returned. I appreciated this experience as it gave me confidence to continue being authentic and meeting patients where they are. This divine, heartfelt moment fueled my drive even more so to become a PA.
As a PA, I want to see my patients’ lives reach levels in their spiritual, physical, and emotional health that they never have before.
Julia says
My personal statement is 555 characters over the limit and I am struggling removing some “fluff”. Additionally, I am wondering if it is okay to say “Ms. P” in my personal statement to avoid HIPPA violations. Thanks!
One moment we were speaking about which blouse she wanted to wear that day, and the next moment she was unresponsive. I watched her eyes suddenly glaze over as her petite, frail body slumped over the side of her wheel chair. “Ms. P? Ms. P, are you okay? Can you hear me?” I frantically asked as my heart began beating out of my chest. Observing no change in her condition and receiving no verbal response, I yelled into the hallway for help from anyone that could hear me. While anxiously awaiting assistance, I acted within my limitations as a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) and transferred an unconscious, yet still breathing, Ms. P to the floor. Thankfully, the rounding physician assistant rushed into the room, sensed the seriousness of the situation and bolted into action. In that moment, I felt helpless. My education as a CNA had not prepared me to take any further action in this situation besides continuously monitoring her vital signs. After minutes of her incapacitation, Ms. P vomited and began regaining consciousness, as her ashen face filled with color. The physician assistant gave Ms. P a full work up and deemed this was merely a syncopal episode. While she reassured me that Ms. P would be back to normal shortly, I couldn’t escape the thought that I could have done more to help her.
I have wanted to work in healthcare for as long as I can remember, and the feeling of helplessness I experienced during the incident with Ms. P only strengthened that desire. While I fervently anticipate the opportunity to continue my education, my time spent working as a CNA taught me numerous valuable lessons, one being how to provide personalized care for, and foster relationships with, individuals who can no longer care for themselves. The skilled unit within the nursing home housed many people, most requiring the maximum amount of assistance with daily tasks. The residents were entirely dependent on me to aid them in performing daily hygiene routines, ambulation, and monitoring their vital signs. This experience has helped me understand the utmost vulnerability and dependence patients have on their healthcare providers, and in my role as a CNA I was motivated by providing exceptional care to my residents. Another imperative skill I learned during my time at the nursing home was how crucial it is to pay close attention to detail. I have witnessed first hand that even such simple tasks as ensuring a resident’s call light is within reach or locking the wheels of a wheelchair when not in motion can be the difference between life and death. Because of their inability to care for themselves, it is my responsibility to pay attention to the little things, just as it is the job of a physician assistant to catch the details that others may have missed. While this experience was beneficial, it only strengthened my desire to expand my education and become a physician assistant. My role as a PA will afford me the opportunity to expand my responsibilities with my patients, as I will be directly overseeing their health, a marked increase from my position as a CNA.
Compared to my CNA position, volunteering in the Well-Baby Nursery at a local hospital was a different, yet equally valuable experience. In the nursing home, I cared for those who once cared for themselves but have lost that ability. In the nursery, I took care of newborns who have yet to learn how to care for themselves. While there is a large age discrepancy between the two groups, my role in assisting them was the same. They were reliant on me to support them with things they cannot do. While the work I did in both of these environments was very meaningful, I strive to become a physician assistant because it grants me the opportunity to do more than just assist those who cannot help themselves. It allows me to oversee these patients’ healthcare directly and make important medical decisions that will improve their lives.
While my time spent in various healthcare settings has provided me the opportunity to care for those who cannot care for themselves, I crave the knowledge and training to be able to do more. I want to be a PA because I am driven to expand my capabilities beyond caring for patients’ basic needs; I want to diagnose, devise and implement treatment plans, and follow through until recovery, all while forming trusting, personal relationships with my patients. I am also drawn to the opportunity to explore numerous aspects in healthcare throughout my career, rather than just one specialty. I view a PA as someone who is motivated to provide the highest-quality care possible to their patients, while also remaining responsible and knowing their limits. I see myself as exceptionally motivated to become a PA due to my long-lasting, genuine interest in practicing medicine. Additionally, I aspire to enhance my education so I can do more than my previous training allowed and avoid the feeling of helplessness that washed over me during Ms. P’s episode. Furthermore, I feel that I am a responsible individual that has a sound understanding of my limitations. While I wanted to do more to help Ms. P, I recognized my boundaries and performed acts within those bounds to assist the medical staff. This also illustrates my enthusiasm for working with medical professionals from various educational backgrounds to combine our skill sets for a greater cause. I believe that these are characteristics that contribute to being an exemplary physician assistant, and I am capable of exhibiting these to the highest degree in my career.
Olivia Goldberg says
There I stood at the front of the hall. The doctors and PAs sit patiently waiting in their rooms, trying to familiarize themselves with the operating system they’d be using to dictate their notes for the day. Patient charts were sorted in neat piles first by Chief Complaint, then by last name. I stood by the doors with clammy hands, nervous and anxious for what was to come. Coming from a primarily geriatric patient pool in my dayjob, I wasn’t super familiar with what it may take to care for small sick children all day. But, I was dedicated to the cause, and here for the challenge, as it couldn’t be near as challenging as what these kids, what these families have had to face.
During the last few years, I have been living at home, and working at a neurology private practice as a “jack-of-all trades”. At first, I was hired as a part-time EEG technician, then a medical assistant. My role quickly evolved into what I am now, which is an Alzheimer’s Research Study Coordinator for the practice’s Research Center. While my career was quickly evolving, some extreme changes were happening with my father’s career. He had been working in geriatric orthopedics for over two decades when he decided to switch to pediatrics orthopedics working for a non-profit hospital, Shriners Hospitals for Children — Philadelphia. It was through this change, I found out about a quarterly volunteer opportunity to go to Puerto Rico and help run a pediatric clinic in San Juan’s Veterans Hospital. As my father has always been an inspiration to me with his dedication to caring for others, I decided to step out of my comfort zone, go out on a limb, and travel a 6 hour plane ride to take part in this mission trip that could change hundreds of families lives.
The doors opened – hundreds of families came rushing in. Some children were in wheelchairs, some using walkers or assistive devices, some children wore AFOs on their feet, but all of them had one thing in common – smiles across their faces, and excitement for what was to come. As the day started, there were clowns, balloons, people playing music and dancing. The spirit of the place made you become enveloped in a childlike cheer. The day passed very quickly – you grab a patient chart, you call out the name, bring the patient back with their loved ones, gather the medical history, and brief the physician assistant on what was to come. It was thrilling and fulfilling. As hour 11 was upon us, I grabbed the last patient and his mother. She was beautiful, long brown hair tied back in a low ponytail. When she didn’t notice me looking I could tell she was exhausted – it was written out clearly on her face that she had been waiting a long time, but when I called out her son’s name, “Angel”, she lit up with a smile and said “Thank you so much for being here, and seeing us today we are so grateful for the opportunity – you have no idea! I would’ve waited 8 MORE hours if I had to!” I brought her back into the room and she started to tell me of the little boys history. He had a normal birth, but started walking later than kids of his own age. The doctor diagnosed him with a developmental delay. She said he was “on the spectrum”, and had to wear a helmet, because he kept losing his balance and falling on his head when he tried to walk. She had seen two other doctors, both twice to try and get an assistive device to help her son live a better quality of life. I asked if we could bring her son out into the hall to have the doctor see him walk. His face lit up, he put his hand in mine, and followed me out into the hall, the other hand tugging onto the seam of my khakis. We got into the hall and he took off running. He had a smile that could light up a 20-story building and he giggled with such cheer, and he tripped and he fell, and he got back up again.
The courage and enthusiasm and cheer this one little man exuded brought a sense of calm over me that I had been waiting to feel. We took him over to the O&P and got him fitted for new AFOs. In 6 months, I was ready to go back and help more kids. And in 6 months time, I got to see little Angel, again, but this time walking on two feet, big smile in tow, but not one trip or fall to be had. In that moment, I knew I had found what I wanted to be doing for the rest of my life – I wanted to be helping people, connecting with people, and learning from people each day. I wanted to continue on my path to become a Physician Assistant.
Alli H says
Hi! I could use help with flow, as well as a strong conclusion. Thanks so much!
At eighteen years old, I learned that my father had been diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy. At that time, I was ignorant to the fact that I would have to watch the strongest man I knew weaken in the areas of speech, memory, gross and fine motor function, and general disposition. His rare disease has progressed rather quickly. At twenty-one years old, I have a father who is receiving hospice care. The man whom I could, once, count on for anything is, now, bed-bound and unable to communicate verbally. Although this has been the greatest pain of my life, thus far, it has provided insight that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. As an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), I have cared for patients who are strangers to me. As a daughter, I have cared for one of the most important people in my world. I can relate, first-hand, to the family members of sick or injured patients. I understand the desire of sick persons to be treated like human beings, as they are more than just their illness. While I do meet the minimum admissions requirements, the time spent helping to care for my father led to grades that are not quite exemplary. However, I now have the ability to view every patient as someone’s family member, as I hope that other providers see my dad. I feel that this level of compassion is something that cannot be taught and is as valuable as academic excellence.
Having a sick parent has certainly impacted my decision to pursue a career in the medical field, as I would like to help prevent individuals from losing their parents at a young age. Additionally, my professional experience in the medical field has inspired my intended career path. I have worked as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for two years and have had the pleasure of caring for hundreds of patients over numerous hours at three different ambulance companies in two major cities. I have had the unique opportunity to work with patients of all ages and social classes in the cities and suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts and Springfield, Massachusetts. While some of these patient contacts were during routine patient transfers, many were emergent, on some of the scariest days of these patients’ lives. Although some patients may require hands-on medical care, I believe that compassion is one of the most powerful interventions that I can provide. I strive to treat every patient like a family member, recognizing that they are, in fact, each someone else’s family member.
My experience as an EMT has given me a basic medical knowledge base and a great fascination with medicine, both of which I will carry with me to PA school. A job as an EMT is a cooperative one, in which you work closely, each day, with police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and nurses to care for patients. It is empowering to collaborate with a group of people who all have a patient’s best interest at mind and at heart. The highly collaborative aspect of the physician assistant career is exciting, as it will give me the chance to continue to provide care as a member of a team. While I have enjoyed providing pre-hospital care, the biggest downfall of EMS, for me, is the lack of ability to see patients through to recovery. Although I leave my patients in extremely capable hands, I always have a desire to do more for them. As a physician assistant, my medical scope will widen, greatly, allowing me to provide more in-depth care to my patients.
I learned a great deal about the PA profession from my experience shadowing three PAs at an urgent care clinic. I was impressed at the variety of cases the PAs saw, from a urinary tract infection or strep throat check to suturing of wounds or incising and draining cysts. Surprisingly, all three PAs had either worked in a different medical specialty in the past or were working in multiple specialties simultaneously. What excites me most about my future as a PA is the lateral mobility allowed by the profession. I am interested in various medical specialties and would love not to have to choose between them. I look forward to the day that I treat my patients like family as a PA.
Rochelle Koshalek says
I am currently at 5042 characters, so I need to trim it down just a little bit…
“Do you need to use the bathroom?” I said loud enough for Rodger to hear between spurts of ramming a commode into the shower entrance. He refused to believe that the commode was not in fact his walker and that the shower was not the route to the toilet. This went on for the last 15 minutes. He would typically only respond with grunts of frustration and would grip the commode even tighter until his blue veins protruded from his fragile skin. I thought at that point, I had tried everything to redirect Rodger, but that was when I saw the words “Tonka-dog” written on his patient white board. “Tell me about Tonka,” I said. Immediately Rodger stopped the ramming and looked at me with pleased eyes and said, “He’s a good dog.”
It was a Tuesday evening, and I was the scheduled CNA on OB/Peds for the night shift. Rodger was an eighty-five year old patient suffering from dementia. He was admitted for testing for probable C. diff and was in need of a sitter throughout the night due to his severe sun downing. Not only unstable on his feet, but also blind in his left eye and deaf in his right ear, Rodger rarely stayed in bed for more than five minutes at a time before trying to get up again to use the restroom. Talking about Tonka was virtually the only thing that would calm him enough to relax for those five minutes that he would lie down. During his moments of austere frustration, I was accompanied by at least two other CNA’s and Rodger’s nurse, who also all struggled getting him to calm down. With their company, however, I felt more confident than ever and was able to settle Rodger down enough to get him into bed. A year ago, I would have expected people like Rodger to deter me from choosing the medical field, but he had done the exact opposite, in fact.
Ever since I was a little girl I tried many different sports: soccer, softball, volleyball, skating, basketball, and swimming. The ones that I stuck with were the ones that involved being a part of a team. These were the sports that left me feeling confident, in control, and at ease. Working alongside others was where I felt most comfortable. Between his yelling and disorientation, when working with the nurses and other CNA’s, Rodger’s situation oddly made me feel the same way, at ease and in control. I was fortunate enough to play Division II softball throughout my college career. Not only did softball teach me so many intangible lessons, but it also provided me with an outlet for the rest of life’s frustrations, all of which I was able to experience alongside some of my best friends, my teammates. While balancing collegiate athletics and academics taught me many things, it also hindered me from focusing more of my time on classes that I struggled with, such as organic chemistry. The time commitment that being a student-athlete required further kept me from gathering a greater amount of patient care experience hours.
While attending school full-time and being a collegiate athlete, I began volunteering in the special care nursery. I was able to feed, change, and comfort newborn babies suffering from a multitude of conditions, most commonly, drug addiction. I was at the largest hospital in Beltrami County, plagued as an underserved community, which broadened my medical experiences more than I could have ever imagined. Its diverse population and high percentage of poverty-stricken individuals opened my eyes to the need for medical professionals in rural areas similar to Beltrami County.
After my experiences as a volunteer, my curiosity drove me to pursue a job as a CNA in women and children’s health. Each day going into work, I was never certain of the scenarios I would encounter. It would range from diseases affecting the geriatric population to alcohol and drug abuse. After previously considering several different careers in medicine, including physician assistant, I was unsure of what would be the best fit for me. Ever since I can remember I was intrigued by medicine, but I never knew exactly why. I wanted a career that challenged me with problem solving, while also giving me an opportunity to witness all different aspects of the field. After that night shift with Rodger, I knew that being a physician assistant was the right career for me. Although the occupation has many attractive factors, such as its ability to laterally move between specialties, the thing that convinced me most was being able to collaboratively work alongside licensed physicians. Being part of a team my entire life has instilled in me the quality of teamwork. With the PA profession being focused around a collaborative and collegial work environment, I knew that this was the medical profession I would strive in.
“Tonka.” I will commemorate that name for the rest of my life. It was that moment that gave me the answer and confidence to pursue a career as a physician assistant. Being able to interact with families and patients of all cultures and backgrounds has motivated me to devote my career to those who are unaware that they need it most.
Haley Russell says
This is my rough draft for my personal statement. I would appreciate an honest critique!
It was another busy, hectic day in my clinic. I work as a medical assistant at a women’s clinic with about 40 staff and over 200,000 patients. I wasn’t even working with their provider, but I overheard my fellow associate whisper “She’s suicidal.” about one of their patients. The patient had a newborn baby and had just undergone labor 2 weeks prior. My coworkers didn’t know where to go from there, but I was concerned so I asked the patient’s physician. He didn’t want to send the patient to the ED but he didn’t know what else to do, either. I went into the patient’s room to assess the severity. She looked exhausted and claimed that she was getting worse every day. I decided to scramble together a plan that was approved by the provider and she was going to come back to assess a few days later. This frenzied situation taught me that my clinic didn’t have any real protocols for depressed or suicidal patients, so I made one. Going the extra mile for these patients can make a difference between life or death. I know as a PA I will take these steps to prepare for situations like this.
Several experiences throughout the past 4 years have shaped me into the person I am today. Freshman year, while attending Texas A&M University I enrolled in an EMT program. It was difficult to balance this and full-time classes, but it put my foot through the door of healthcare. Other involvements included being an officer in a national service sorority, mission trips, shadowing PA’s in different fields, and a study abroad trip where I participated in a study involving rural and city elderly memory care in the Dominican Republic. Choosing allied health as my education focus was invaluable as well, it taught me so much about the PA profession and how I should always look at the patient as a whole; including their environment, socioeconomic status, emotional health and so much more. I did have set-backs, however, like having a GPA of 2.75 freshman year and being overlooked, time and time again, by employers. I became more serious about my goals and overcame these obstacles by spending most of my time studying and strengthening my future endeavors. I decided to save time and money by graduating in 3 years and then working for a year to gain patient care experience, and I’m so incredibly glad I did. These past 10 months working in my clinic have taught me so much about the patient, work ethic, and healthcare dynamics. It’s given me volunteer opportunities and great connections. This has laid a concrete base for my future career as a PA while providing an immense amount of etiological and clinical knowledge. I’m so thankful I work with a nurse practitioner that purposefully takes the time to teach me new things and trusts my input. Mid-level providers play a vital role in today’s medicine.
I knew that I wanted to learn through a medical model and become a PA when I first learned about the profession. Beforehand, I thought that I wanted to become a physician. But when comparing PA, NP, and physician it was so transparent to me that I’m supposed to be a PA. Between the lifestyle, education and the ability to change seamlessly between specialties makes it the perfect career. I love that I would get to diagnose and treat patients as a team with other providers and focus on patient care, while physicians jump through hoops of technicalities. It’s so exciting to me that I won’t be pressured to decide between assisting in surgery, providing under-served communities, or working in pediatrics. I think that the most rewarding would be working in under-served communities educating patients on preventive medicine. Enthusiastic, thorough patient education saves lives. I know that this takes time and intense effort, but the improved health outcomes would be well worth it. Improving patient self-efficacy is invaluable.
This is a dream that has molded my life in a way that has made it more purposeful and fulfilling. My current medical job is not enough, I am always wondering what it would be like to diagnose and treat the patient and make decisions that are vital in their health outcome. I want to be a patient advocate and have their complete trust. I want to constantly learn new things in order to become better, including learning from my mistakes. Aspiring to become a PA has given me experiences that have caused me joy and heartache. It’s changed the way I view others, how I spend my time, and has humbled me along the way. I try not to take things such as health and relationships for granted. I’m so blessed to have the intellect and heart so that I can make an impact. I am confident in my ability to perform well in a vigorous program. I have proven my capability to juggle several demanding tasks at once and enthusiasm I have, to become the great PA I know I will be.
Denise Corriveau says
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my essay. I’m currently at 5260 words so I need to delete a few sentences and would love your input on which ones.
“Denise, this will be our family secret- we can’t tarnish the legacy of your father by people finding out.” This is what my mom tells me as I was standing next to my brother in our childhood home, the place where my dad had just killed himself. I heard the news on my twenty-first birthday, the summer before my junior year of college. Too overcome with sadness and anger to process much of anything, I told people he died of a heart attack. I started making up elaborate stories about heart issues to appease the probing questions of our extended family and friends. It took me a long time to realize that I should not be ashamed of how my dad passed away. He was an amazing father, an excellent coach, and an inspiration to the whole community. This was demonstrated by the crowds of people standing outside his funeral, the church packed with people whose lives he had touched. Would all these people really view his legacy as tarnished if they knew he suffered from undiagnosed depression and committed suicide?
Sadly yes, addiction and depression are often viewed as signs of mental weakness, but that is not the way it should be. The negative stigma surrounding mental illness decreases the likelihood of people, like my father, to seek help for fear of being ostracized by their family and friends. Fortunately, that’s all starting to change, as the future of mental healthcare is evolving. By becoming a physician assistant (PA) I can be a part of shaping that future and of the movement toward making mental health stigmas obsolete. I believe I can contribute to the medical community through communication and human connection. Suicide is never an easy thing to discuss, but by living through the aftermath of the death of my father it has taught me how to be comfortable discussing difficult matters with patients and improved my communication skills. My compassion and empathy towards patients has only grown and continues to grow. I want to provide the same level of support I received after my dad’s passing, to others. As a PA I would have the opportunity to increase patient-practitioner interaction time, learn to identify the signs of depression, and prescribe medication to lessen the severity of symptoms.
The PA profession expands the healthcare field, allowing for more practitioners with the ability to diversify and lessen the number of underserved areas. I am committed to serving all places and people, especially rural or disadvantaged populations. Due to lack of healthcare resources in these areas, there are also increased numbers of undiagnosed mental illnesses. I have a wide variety of volunteer experience serving these populations, including: Crow Indian Reservation in Billings, Montana; an AIDs shelter in Tijuana Mexico; a homeless immersion experience in Washington D.C.; playing games with children with disabilities, and at Sharp and Oakland Children’s hospital. From these experiences, I have learned that I am happiest when helping high needs groups or people with limited access to healthcare. I’ve grown to be adaptable to the population I’m serving, which is essential for the patients I hope to serve.
I have worked with a variety of healthcare professionals, but PAs stand out to me due to their ability to positively impact people’s lives, their extensive meaningful interaction with patients, and their collaborative nature with other healthcare professionals. These traits embody what I enjoy most about my current job. As a medical assistant, I love connecting with patients and enjoy the enhanced honesty and vulnerability in the exam room. I have been tasked with giving the unfortunate news of malignant melanoma and with the honor of declaring a patient cancer-free after a MOHs operation. I am fortunate to work for a dermatologist, Dr. Lerner, who stresses the importance of continuous education and entrusts me with increased responsibility. He explains how he reaches diagnoses, shows me pathology slides under the microscope, and allows me to practice sutures on patients – all skills that will be beneficial in PA school. After three years working in dermatology, I enjoy forming my own diagnoses and discussing them with Dr. Lerner, mimicking the doctor-PA relationship I aspire to have in the future. These discussions and experiences make me confident that I will be a knowledgeable and compassionate PA.
I learned of my father’s addiction when I was in college, hearing my mom worry of his relapse. Between worrying about my mom, coping with my father’s death, and working full time at a pharmacy, I didn’t do as well academically as I am capable of. However, I have excelled in my continuing education courses, making with my post-college grades a better representation of my academic abilities. Overcoming these hardships and continuing on the pre-PA path has made me confident I will excel in PA school’s challenging courses and rigorous schedule. As a PA, I know I will be able to provide personal and effective care to patients that will build my future patients trust and open avenues for difficult discussions, in hopes that a person suffering from mental illness would feel comfortable confiding in me. I want to be a PA so that I can provide others with the care I wish my father had.
Jennifer says
“You must study, knowledge is infinite, knowledge is infinite.” These were the ranting words of a schizophrenia patient that fist fueled my interest in knowledge and eventually led me to seek a career that required life-long learning. The schizophrenia patient was my grandfather, who despite suffering from paranoid schizophrenia always managed to say these words to me in his disorganized speech. This motivation to seek knowledge and help individuals suffering from health conditions was the best gift he ever gave me. At a young age I decided the medical field was what met these standards and the right fit for me, but after moving to the United States I was not sure which healthcare position was for me. Now, a few years later, after exposure and consideration of different medical related careers, I have decided physician assistant (PA) is the right one for me. The physician assistant profession will allow me to provide direct patient care and accomplish my career goals while attending to my personality, and life goals.
I initially became interested in the physician assistant profession during a conversation with a Psychology PhD student and family member about a year and a half ago. At the time I was explaining to him how I had taken a gap year to find what I really wanted to do in life and what I was looking for in a career. I remember he answered me “It seems what you want to be is a Physician Assistant” to which I answered, “what is that?” During my time working as a scribe in the Emergency Department I have had the opportunity to work alongside different Advanced Care Providers and learn what they do. I have been a part of the battle against the disappointment of critical patients leaving against medical advice, the consequences that could have been avoided of non-compliance, the impotence of losing a patient you thought you had, the unforgivable deterioration of a chronic conditions, and devastation of false hope. I have also been part of the action of laceration repairs, incision and drainage procedures, CPR, Chest tube insertions, joint reductions, foreign body removal (from hearing aids and beads to micro-dermal piercing) and others. I have been part of the victories; of consoled mothers, true hope, sights of relief, and recovery, even if it is a 78 years old male that only complains of rib pain after being cardioverted. My time in the ED although short has been significant and has shown me how the sacrifices will be worthwhile and further solidified my desire to become a physician assistant.
I have made sacrifices to prepare myself for a future career as a PA. I left a comfortable job as a customer representative for State Farm and obtained one as a scribe that offered less benefits, less income and unfavorable hours for a family in order to obtain healthcare experience. I downsized my life to accommodate for the changes and went back to school to finish my pre-requisites. Despite the challenges and sacrifices I am the happiest in my professional career than I have ever been. Even though these changes required time and adjustments from me and my family I am grateful for making them and working toward my goal. I know as a physician assistant I will be able to spend more time with patients than other healthcare providers. I will not have to dedicate a significant portion of my time to handle the business aspect of healthcare. I will be able to work independently and in collaboration with other providers without having to be the first in charge, which goes better with my personality and preferences. I also value the lateral mobility that the profession offers. I think this will allow me to adapt my practice to my life goals and decrease burn out, as I have seen other advance care providers have done. I like the freedom of learning different specialties or staying in one.
I hope that the admission committee can see how this has been a lifelong journey that has led me to be the only thing I can be and gives me the opportunity to accomplish my goal. I hope to get the opportunity to provide patient care, be a part of something greater, and feel the reward of making a difference in someone’s life while attending to my personality. I hope the admissions committee gives me an opportunity to be educated by them and learn more each day, because like my grandfather said: “… knowledge is infinite.”
Kayla Quesenberry says
As a medical assistant, I interact with patients on a daily basis, yet, a particular patient, Teresa, will never be forgotten. This patient was having shortness of breath and I remember looking into her eyes and seeing a sense of panic as she stumbled into the clinic while clutching her chest. In a rush my provider and I were able to get a duo nebulizer started as well as an injection of Dexamethasone to bring up her oxygen level. Once stabilized, I continued my initial triage and assessment only to find out that my patient tried to make an appointment to see her primary care doctor, but was denied because her doctor was out of town. In this moment I knew that this woman needed help, as did so many others. Although scary at first, the experience gave me a rush of adrenaline and a sense of satisfaction, confirming my desire to be a PA in emergency medicine.
Growing up my time was consumed with countless road trips to softball tournaments, practices, and doing homework in the back of my father’s truck all while maintaining a 4.3 average. After high school I made the bold decision to move 400 miles away from home to attend Agnes Scott College in order to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree as well as further my softball career. During my freshman year of college I found myself in an academic predicament. My grades were suffering because I was too scared to seek out resources and to ask questions in the classroom. Instead of giving in to my fears, I made this an opportunity to grow. Since the second semester of my freshman year I have learned how to build a balanced professor-student relationship, how to ask questions in class, how to think critically, and most importantly how to actively study. It wasn’t enough to learn how to do these things, I made them a habit going into each semester. Gaining these qualities has boosted my grades immensely, earning myself an upward trending GPA leading up to my senior year.
Heading into my freshman year of college I was set on being an MD; it wasn’t until I started accumulating real life experiences in a medical setting that I realized becoming a PA is the career and lifestyle that best fits me. Being a PA will give me the time I need to work in multiple specialties if I choose; including the opportunity to constantly work under an MD to continue my education. Working so closely with physician assistants has shown me what the job entails along with a sense of how I would fit into the profession. Being an athlete most of my life, I have learned to be team player as well as a leader when needed. These skills are applicable to my professional career because I have a deeper understanding of my strengths and leadership styles. When collaborating with coworkers, I know when to follow the chain of command and when I can stand up and give guidance to others.
Currently I work as a medical assistant at Quick Care Med Urgent Care. I work alongside of physician assistants on a daily basis. With hours of training and experience I have learned vital skills that I find important to incorporate into my professional development such as bedside manner, pharmacology, and how to think outside of the box when it comes to diagnoses. As a medical assistant a large portion of my job is to take note of the patient’s chief complaint and the history of their present illness. Through my experiences I have grasped the concept of listening and responding to patients in order to best treat them.
Looking ahead to my profession as a PA I know there will be a challenge each day, but there will also be a great reward knowing that my patient is happy and healthy. I understand the road ahead will be a difficult one, but it is a journey I am ready to take to change the lives of others.
Rechard H. says
I have had the pleasure of having a challenging life and being able to defy the odds since birth. I was born three months premature in Frankfurt, Germany on September 19, 1986. Shortly before an emergency cesarean section was performed, the medical staff informed my parents that I would be blind, mentally challenged, and have a host of other disabilities. Thankfully throughout the years, I have remained in good health and now at 32, I am beyond ready to embark on the next chapter of my life. Throughout high school and college, I began to explore and discover my passion for giving back to people and to the community, especially the elderly through volunteering at assisted living facilities. This desire led me to search for a career that would allow me to provide people with compassionate care while challenging myself intellectually. In my sophomore year in college, I became ill and had to check into an urgent care. Staffed that evening was a physician assistant. The manner in which I was cared for, the way all of my questions were answered, the time that was spent with me really made me feel like a person and not just a patient. It really left an indelible mark on me. Leaving that urgent care clinic all but reassured me of the path that was for me. The seeds of fascination for the physician assistant field and the desire to know more about medicine were planted then.
The second challenge that I had to overcome in life was both my mother and grandmother being diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after the start of my first year in college. This unfortunate development to the two matriarchs of my immediate family led me to work multiple jobs to assist with finances while trying to maintain a full course load; all while dealing with the passing of my grandmother at the beginning of my sophomore year. My school work and GPA suffered significantly as a result throughout my undergraduate studies. At the end of the day I take full responsibility for not balancing those issues well in my life to attain a high GPA; however, those difficult times helped to develop my character and forge a stronger person. Those times taught me invaluable traits such as dedication, persistence, and patience, but most of all it has increased my faith religiously and in myself. Despite those challenges, I was able to graduate with an associate degree in science and a bachelor’s degree in biology. I’ve done my best to leave the past in the past, learn from my mistakes, and focus on courses I’ve enrolled in following graduation as this is evident in grades I’ve received in those respective courses. Your program will get a student who is willing and eager to learn the material needed to be a great PA. There will be no more jobs, no other outside distractions due to my mother now being cancer free. I will be fully committed to the training required to become a physician assistant in your program.
Over the past 10 years, I have been working as a pharmacy technician in a hospital setting where I have learned vast amounts about the pharmacology behind the drugs that are administered to patients every day. Time spent in this field has also yielded increased knowledge in learning different names/types of medications, their mechanisms of action, how to compound IV medications using aseptic technique and how to communicate effectively when educating, sympathizing, or empathizing with patients during personal interactions. In addition to my pharmacy knowledge, I have shadowed different PA’s across various disciplines ranging from an orthopedics practice to primary care clinics and even a VA hospital setting. Every time I have had the privilege observing a PA perform their craft it gave me chills just envisioning myself in their shoes helping patients to provide them a clearer understanding of the ailment(s) that have befallen them and help them return to optimum health. Training to become a physician assistant will be challenging as I know, but that along with not knowing what is going to come through the door is exciting and what makes the profession so great. Symptoms are similar to puzzle pieces and as a Physician Assistant it will be up to me to put those pieces together to solve what ails my future patients and there is nothing I can envision that could ever be more rewarding than changing lives everyday through the art of medicine in this profession. Never will two people tell the same story and what’s not to love about that. My goals are to be a change agent and servant leader in my community and be remembered by my patients. The privilege to practice medicine is a true blessing and calling and one that I will enjoy because this is my purpose.
One of the greatest leaders of this country, President Theodore Roosevelt once said: “Believe you can and you are halfway there.” Numbers do not always tell the full story of an applicant. I believe in myself and my abilities. Hopefully, the admissions committee will also so that I may validate the decision of admitting me by achieving great things in PA school so that I may complete the other half of my journey and get there. I have the will to succeed, I just need someone to take a chance on me and give me the opportunity. I have not given up thus far and I do not intend to until I accomplish my goal of becoming a PA.
Breeanne Kenyon says
When we are young, everyone around asks, “what do you want to do when you grow up?” Typically, the responses are impractical – the little girl who wants to be a princess, or the boy who wants to be a superhero. As we grow up, the answer usually changes, transitioning from unrealistic dreams to achievable goals. However, for as long as I can remember, I have been using the same answer to this question: “I want to help people that get hurt.” I was not sure how, specifically, I wanted to help. I just knew that I wanted to be a part of people’s recovery.
The summer before I started high school, I had my first experience with a traumatic event. My family and I were playing tennis on the high school courts while two teenagers were skateboarding in the parking lot. All of a sudden, we hear one of them yell. As I look over, I see one of the teenagers laying on the ground, holding onto his leg. My family, being the only other people at the highschool in the middle of the summer, hurry over to see if the boy is okay. When I look down to see where the boy is grasping his leg, the first thing I notice is all the blood. As I focus in, I realize that there is approximately an eight-by-six-inch laceration on the posterior portion of his knee, muscle completely exposed. Being only twelve, seeing this much blood, seeing what the human body really looks like when the skin layers are pulled back, my body began shutting down on me. My vision became blurry, the perimeter of my sight becoming fuzzy and white, slowly making its way towards the middle. My hands, shaking; my knees, feeling like they were going to give out on me. Even though I found it hard to pull my eyes away from the wound, I knew if I stood there much longer, I would be lying on the ground right next to the boy. I turned and walked to our vehicle to lay down and gain my composure. I was so intrigued by the injury, I decided to go back and see if I could subside my bodies urge to faint. However, as soon as I walked over, it all started happening again. It was that day, that I began to have a more solidified idea of how I wanted to help people. I realized that I wanted to see the human body for what it was beneath the skin. I wanted to see an injury, and instead of running away, be able to know how to fix it.
Fast-forward 10 years later, there I was, standing in the operating room, gazing over the head of an elderly man laying on the operating table, his chest cavity completely exposed. I was within arms reach of the very core of the human body, the roots of our existence, the one thing that gives us life. Adrenaline pumping, my own heart beating so hard I could hear it in my ears and feel it in my toes. Thinking about that twelve year old girl who almost fainted at the first sight of muscle, I never thought I would be this close to an exposed, beating heart, never thought I would be watching a coronary artery bypass graft being performed directly in front of me. Four hours flew by and the whole time, I was in complete awe of how the physician assistant (PA) was able to assist in the surgery by removing the great saphenous vein from the leg in order for the physician to use it to connect the aorta to the obstructed artery. As the surgery came to an end, and they started closing the patient up, my mind had been made. I wanted to be able to assist in surgery. I wanted to feel that adrenaline pumping through my veins again.
After being able to see surgery, my mind was definitely set on being a PA. However, I wanted to get more experience from a completely different source. I did a lot of research, and in April of 2017, I enlisted in the Michigan National Guard as a combat medic, and in January of 2019, got deployed to Poland. While in Poland, we have been working at a clinic on post. On the daily basis, I have had first-hand interaction with the patients, physician assistants, and physicians. Most of the patients we receive are fairly simple injuries and illnesses – flu symptoms, sprained ankle and dehydration, just to name a few. With these, I have been able to practice giving shots, wrapping joints, and giving IV’s. On some occasions, we have had more serious cases – one patient with glass in his face after a rollover accident, for example. I was able to assist the physician in removing the shards of glass and watch him give the patient stitches, while he explained the process of how to do them to me. The following week, I was able to assist in removing the stitches. I remember thinking that I cannot wait to be able to give a patient stitches on my own. I have also had patients with emotional health problems, such as suicidal patients and rape victims. Having such a wide variety of patients come through the doors of our clinic, and seeing how the PAs work with them, has taught me much more than I thought I would know at this point in my life, and has solidified my dreams of being a PA even more.
When I think about my future as a physician assistant, I will be able to look back to the young girl who wanted to help people, the twelve-year-old who wanted to fix a torn up knee, the twenty-one-year-old who wanted to perform surgery, and the twenty-three-year-old who wanted to giver her own stitches, and tell them “we did it.”
Ella Daubney says
Following my graduation from college, I began a position as a medical assistant at a dermatology office. While this position has allowed me to gain a broad range of skills due to the many responsibilities that come with my title, the most rewarding part of my job has been working with our Mohs surgeon. Short of cutting the patients’ skin cancers out and stitching them up, I am in charge of all other necessary care during the procedures including locally anesthetizing them, cauterizing their wounds, bandaging them, and explaining the procedure and post care to them. This role has allowed me to expand upon my ability to reassure and comfort even the most nervous of patients. During one of the surgeries I assisted on, I began to explain how I would start by injecting the patient with lidocaine. I could see her tense up as a placed the needles on the surgical tray, so I began to tell her about how I had gone snowboarding with my friends the weekend before and had spent the entire day falling down. Later that day the patient thanked me for treating her with such considerate care. She explained that she is usually terrified of needles, but the funny story I had shared as I injected her had been the perfect distraction. It was an incredible feeling to know I had made a difference in the care she had received.
My scribing responsibilities in my current position have allowed me to spend countless hours alongside one of the physician assistants in my office, *****. ***** has been an incredible role model to me during this past year. Being able to observe her meticulous history taking techniques and thorough explanations of various disease etiologies and treatment options has allowed me to gain an extensive knowledge of dermatological conditions and the various ways to manage them. I will always remember a new patient that I brought back for a rash visit during the first months at my job. He had quickly developed a rash unlike anything he had experienced before. When he mentioned that he had a family history of psoriasis, I knew exactly what question to ask him next: “Did you recently have some kind of illness?” He had. I deduced that the rash was likely a form of psoriasis called guttate psoriasis, which is often brought on by a recent illness. Using prior observations, I was able to recognize a disease pattern from previous patients and formulate my own diagnosis for a new patient – a proud moment for me. I felt excited that I was able to utilize knowledge I had gained and apply it to a patient interaction.
Throughout my experiences leading up to this application process, I have interacted with patients in different settings and have been able to observe PAs in various specialties. I am confident that the skills and abilities I have developed and the understanding I have gained about a PAs role on a health care team have thoroughly prepared me for the next step in my journey to becoming a physician assistant.
Elizabeth Williams says
For 2 ½ years I worked for Bloomingdales as an assistant buyer and I was existentially miserable. After my first internship in marketing at Alice and Olivia I knew fashion was not for me but then doors started opening. After A&O I was offered an internship at CHANEL and then an internship at Bloomingdales. Next thing I knew it was October of my senior year and I had a full time offer to work at Bloomingdales when I graduated. I was ecstatic. My parents had lost our house when I was in high school and there was no room for me to move back into my grandma’s small 3 bedroom house where my 2 younger brothers and both my parents also live. So logically my primary goal in college had always been to obtain a full time position post graduation because I needed to be able to support myself. But after about a year of working, I was sure that fashion was not the industry for me but it took me another year an half to accept it. His was the goal I had been working for four years. It was hard to let go but by then I knew sacrificing any more of my life in retail was not going to change my core feelings about the industry. It was cold, superficial, and pointless. I was not meant to sit behind a desk for 10 hours sifting through financial spreadsheets. It was solitary. Though we called ourselves “a team” we communicated mostly by email while sitting mere inches from each other. I felt personally and functionally insignificant. But after a few weeks of volunteering at Hyperion Medical PC I found my spark. My next steps were easy. Even though I was making 3 times as much at Bloomingdales as I would as a medical assistant at Hyperion, I quit my job as an assistant buyer in high end corporate fashion and started working full time at Hyperion Medical. I never regret that decision.
Sure the salary and benefits at Bloomingdales were prime but while working at Hyperion I have gained a sense of purpose and a wide range of valuable experience that I would not trade for all the expensive Bloomingdales swag in the world. As a multi-specialty primary care Hyperion gives me the chance to work on a team where I assist doctors in many fields. In contrast to my previous job, there is a lot of variety in what I do one day to the next and I have to communicate constantly. I manage multiple patients for multiple doctors so true teamwork is vital a necessity. On Tuesdays I assist the endocrinologist, the cardiologist, and the gynecologist by performing duties such as drawing blood for glucose tolerance tests, leading patients to the sonographer for thyroid scans, administering Ipro glucose monitors, setting up and performing stress echos or regular EKGs, giving patients BP or holter monitors, or assisting the gynecologist during Pap smears and pelvic exams. Thursdays I work with a nutritionist and a physiatrist. On Fridays I work with a psychiatrist and occasionally a gastroenterologist. In addition there is an internist working every day of the week. It is her, Dr. Boma Park that I work with most closely. As a volunteer, shadowing Dr. Park was what highly influenced my decision to enter healthcare. Her consideration of patients concerns, investigative skill, and her careful management of patients with chronic illnesses like obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension showed me where I could finally feel useful. Primary care is the place for me. Primary care has both an investigative side and a patient relationship side which I appreciate and I realize now that those factors were exactly what I was missing in my previous career.
While working as an MA I started taking my pre-requisite science courses. After sitting behind a desk for years feeling like an automaton I found the academic rigor invigorating. I have always been that weird kid who liked school. I crave understanding the how and why. In retrospect I see that is why I chose psychology as my major at Barnard, why my favorite subject was biology in high school and why chemistry was my secret love while doing my post-bacc. Though at Barnard I took courses mainly in social sciences, I found that I was just if not more capable at taking core science curriculum at Lehman. How the universe functions at the most fundamental level is fascinating. And I am not being facetious when I say chemistry changed my world view. In chemistry you learn that the universe spontaneously tends towards disorder. It takes time, work, and energy being put into a system to make it orderly. I had just been letting the universe blow me down the superficial road of retail and wondering why my life felt chaotic when I had a full time job and an apartment. It wasn’t until I devoted my time an energy towards becoming a PA that the existential contemplation lifted. I have to use my energy to make the universe less chaotic, more orderly, and better for those that live in it. So far I have found that my coursework has not only influenced my understanding of the world but also laid the groundwork for the knowledge I hope to gain in PA school and utilize as a PA.
I have shadowed PAs in urgent care, orthopedics, and dermatology and have witnessed their wide range of knowledge and the adept social skills that I hope to wield one day. I shadowed Ghulam in orthopedics. I observed as he took did daily tasks like recording new patient histories, conducting post-op follow up appointments measuring range of motion with a goniometer, reviewed patient medications, and reviewed x-rays. I also shadowed Dr. Wright and found that they took all the same steps when assessing patients and providing care. He is Dr. Wrights right hand and associate and is afforded autonomy because of Dr. Wrights trust in his knowledge and abilities. But if he ever needed help he was able to ask. He was confident in his diagnoses when he made them but also humble and down to earth. While between multiple patients he is able to review X-rays, crack a joke with his office manager, and answer questions from patients, his physician and me. And though the other PAs Ive shadowed have different responsibilities and specialties, they all have dexterity with people skills, flourish working on teams, and enjoy using science to investigate, diagnose, and treat patients.I admire them all not only for their choice of profession but also for their knowledge personability, and social skills.
As an assistant Buyer at Bloomingdales my social skills were not being utilized and I was not following my core interests in science and and I know that is what lead to my feelings of insignificance. After shadowing PAs and working with doctors on a daily basis I feel confident that my own abilities in communication, adeptness in science courses, and comfort in the team setting will mesh perfectly with the requirements of the PA profession. I am excited to serve as a Physician Assistant where I will get to use the attributes that I admire most to serve in a role that I find significant. I know I wont always be the final decision maker for treatment but that is fine because I’d consider it an honor to have both patients and physicians trust me to use my knowledge and skills to enhance the lives of others.
Hello! I need helo with transitions, and trimming the length….
Thank you for your time!
Mya Alves says
My first truly memorable experience with medicine occurred when I was in the third grade. My friends and I were playing hide and seek as usual; however, I placed my hand around a door frame when one of my friends unknowingly closed the door on my finger. The door clicked shut, and I screamed while trying to pull my bleeding hand out of the white door frame. My friend yelled for her mother, who called my parents, and they took me to the Emergency Department at Mad River Community Hospital in Arcata, California. My parents completed the proper forms, then the person working registration gave me an ice pack and told my parents to wait until the nurse called my name. We sat in a small waiting room for a few hours before my name was called. The first thing that the nurse asked me was, “On a scale of one to ten, how bad is your pain?” I responded with, “Well, it was a seven when I got here, but it is probably a two or three right now.” The nurse laughed, looked at my bleeding finger, and brought me back to a bed where I met the doctor. While I was sitting on the hospital bed, I wanted to sleep because of how late the time was, but I could not look away as the doctor talked me through how he cleaned up the bleeding, adjusted my fingernail, and bandaged my finger. It was at that point in my childhood that I realized that medicine was about repair and recovery, not pain and dying. I was captivated by how the doctor fixed me as well as the other sick people in the department, and I knew that I wanted to be that person for another scared little girl when I grew up.
After I earned my driver’s license in the summer before my junior year of high school, I immediately applied as a volunteer at the Mad River Community Hospital Birth Center. As I was learning about the human body in school, I thought that bringing another life into the world was the most fascinating thing that we could do. Although I saw how happy the OB nurses were, I kept wondering how the new mothers and babies were doing after they were discharged. Was the family adjusting well at home? Did they have follow up care with a pediatrician?
During my senior year of high school, everyone asked what I wanted to do. I knew that I wanted to serve others, but there was a wide array of careers which served this purpose. I did not know if I wanted to be on the front line like the OB nurses or if I wanted to be responsible for follow up care like my pediatrician. My aunt had recently married a veteran who told me many stories about the tragedy that he saw while overseas. At that time, I decided that I wanted to make a difference for those who sacrificed the most to keep my community safe. I was accepted to Humboldt State University with the intent to study prosthetics, and I declared my major in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Science and Health Promotion. However, as I took more classes, I learned about the importance of preventative care and how many lives could be saved by changing daily habits. This reignited my interest in medicine, and I decided to jump in to see what the medical world was like.
At the end of my freshman year of college, I was hired as a medical scribe at the Emergency Department for St. Joseph’s Hospital in Eureka, California. Now that I am a part of the medical team, I understand why there are not enough providers to fulfill the needs of our area. During one of my recent shifts, there were eleven ambulances, two of which were codes requiring the presence of all staff members, in the amount of time that I had spent in the waiting room when I was seven years old with a bleeding finger. This made me realize that there is a limit to how many patients a doctor can safely see in their shift, and the number of people in Humboldt County who need treatment exceeds that limit. The charge nurse called the physician assistant who offered to come in a few hours earlier than his scheduled shift. The doctor appreciated his willingness to assist her with the accumulating patients in the waiting room, and I appreciated the quality of care that he delivered to the worried lower-acuity patients.
When my upper division physiology teacher began his class by saying “exercise is medicine,” I was intrigued. All too often, patients presented to the Emergency Room for evaluation of chronic conditions such as uncontrolled hypertension and diabetes. I realized the importance of preventive and primary care in controlling chronic disease and therefore reducing mortality. Although the Emergency Room is full of fascinating cases, primary care is where the community is best served. In Humboldt County, there is a severe shortage of primary care providers, and I plan to return to my hometown to spread preventive knowledge and primary care to my community. (4784 characters)
Ashley W says
While I shadowed a neurosurgical physician assistant, I was given first hand insight on how individualized the position can be as well as how autonomously you work with your provider and other mid-level providers as a team to achieve the highest level of patient care possible. When I am working as a neurologist’s medical assistant, I cannot help but wish I was the provider they were coming to see and to be able to help them determine a remedy for their migraines or seizures or figure out why they are having balance and gait dysfunction. I constantly pursue elevating my education by asking all my providers questions and learning new material. When I pursued both my high school diploma and bachelor’s degree, I worked a part-time job in customer service. I would work as many hours as possible and extra during the summers. As I worked my way through school, I exponentially improved my time management skills. The remarkable level of time management I demonstrate will help tremendously with the physician assistant course load. In addition, all my years of customer service experience elevates my ability to provide high-spirited patient care.
Throughout my years of exposure in the medical field, both with being a volunteer and employee, I maintain one unwavering realization. I am dedicated to becoming a Physician Assistant. I have a high need for achievement and excel in conditions that are challenging with achievable goals and individual responsibilities. I define myself as a servant leader. I strive to be a great listener, exude empathy, maintain self-awareness, be a conceptual- thinker, as well as, a go-getter. I drive myself to be committed to fellow employees and volunteers by promoting growth as well as building trust and team community within the organization. Furthermore, I use persuasiveness and logic to influence peers in lieu of positional authority when appropriate. As someone who is always up for a challenge and has a multitude of interests, the career of a physician assistant allows for new challenges and subspecialties whenever you begin to feel stagnant. Moreover, my personality combined with my determination and interests will make me an astounding physician assistant.
First draft and application cycle. All help is appreciated!
Elaina says
A piercing cry splinters the hospital emergency room. I look to Dr. James for a sign of what to do, but he is already moving towards bed 6. The squad had just wheeled in a patient who was involved in a motorcycle accident. His femur was positioned at a grotesque right angle to his body. By the time we arrived, the man had been hooked up to various lines and machines and was being attended to by a flurry of nurses and doctors. There was one doctor who seemed to be in control of the frantic activity coursing through the room, leading the others to give morphine, directing them to put pressure on the wound. She is self-assured and moves with a confidence that can only stem from experience. With a satisfied nod, Dr. James leaves the room and I scurry along behind him, wondering why we have left our new patient so abruptly. “Is that other doctor going to take this case?” I ask, bewildered. It only further intrigues me when Dr. James replies with, “Who, Marie? She can handle this one; she’s one of our physician assistants.”
Right away, I was curious to know more about the role of a physician assistant (PA). I had always thought that doctors were the only autonomous providers and the thought of Marie handling such a gruesome injury on her own perplexed me. During my next shadowing experience, I talked with one of the PAs, Lindsey. She had been an emergency PA for several years now, and her enthusiasm and obvious passion for her work inspired me more than any doctor had in the past. Now, after shadowing several PAs in different areas of medicine, I am more confident that I want to be a PA than ever.
My current position working as a state tested nursing aide (STNA) has further fueled my desire to become a PA. During my final semester at John Carroll University, I made the decision to take a gap year following graduation to continue shadowing and gaining valuable healthcare experience. Within a few months, I had become certified as an STNA and begun my new job at a long-term care and skilled nursing facility. Caring for residents who are entirely dependent on the nursing staff, even for basic activities like dressing and eating, has been one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, parts of my post-graduate experience. I have been there to comfort dying residents and I have learned how to soothe those who suffer from severe anxiety and confusion.One of the residents who I am the closest with is named Mary (not her real name), who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. Nearly every morning at 6am, as I walk through the door to start my day, Mary is one of the first people that I see. She usually wakes up around 4am, some days even earlier, and is too nervous to go back to sleep. Whenever I can, I try to take a moment to sit with her and distract her from her constant hand-wringing and worrying. Some days, I will take her in her wheelchair to see the birds living in the facility’s aviary. This always seems to calm her, and we’re able to enjoy a few moments of peace and quiet that benefits both of us: for me, sitting with Mary is a way to escape from the constant stress of my day, and for her, it is a respite from her mind’s tangled anxieties.
Being present for the deaths of several residents has shown me that even during the very last stages of life, the role of the provider never ends. Frequently, a PA comes to see residents who are part of our hospice program and nearing the end of their life. The outstanding care that these PA’s provide start with simple acts of comfort, like getting a resident a warm blanket. I aspire to be the PA that thinks of the little things, doing everything to ensure the best possible experience for my patient.
Since I made the decision to become a PA, my shadowing and work experiences have only solidified my resolve that this is the healthcare path I want to take. It seems that the more I learn about being a PA, the more determined I am to become one. I want to be the PA who calmly stitches up a child that rolled off the bed during naptime and soothes their tears when I am done. I want to be the PA who listens to their patients and does everything in their power to improve their situation. I want to be some other student’s Marie, and inspire them to change their path in life.
Amandeep says
Numerous medicines rendered useless to treat my acne left me hopeless. I had suffered from acne problems for a long time and tried many different medicines but to no use. Then, I visited my new Dermatologist PA and he listened to me carefully and answered my questions and concerns and then, explained me my condition and treatment plan. He thoughtfully and very capably gave me a new regimen that worked for me. With the medications he prescribed I saw tremendous improvement and continued to follow up with him. I was so impressed by his knowledge and the care he provided me.
Growing up in India gave a sense of what I want to do at an early age as the society is more focused on deciding career at an early age. I was always asked what I want to do when I grew up? My idea of medicine was broad thinking one physician can do everything, he can provide diagnosis and treatment for all medical problems. As in my village there was one doctor who my mom would visit for any problem she has. A year left to finish high school and about to follow my path to my dream of medicine. We got Visa for United States and we started preparing to move to USA. Coming to USA felt like I was being born again at the age of 16. I was a newborn who is learning to adapt to new society, and culture. As excited as I could ever be to start high school and make new friends it turned-out undesirable and with my limited English it was hard to make friends. My classmates laughed at my English and accent and bullied me. These experiences caused me to hate school and my introvert self slowly took over which led (led to loss of my focus) my focus to pursue a career in medicine. Struggling with all these challenges have caused me emotional and mental suffering. My introvert self had taken over and I grew a fear of public speaking. I started volunteering in a hospital to overcome my fear of public speaking. Volunteering at Mount Sinai hospital provided me the opportunity to directly involve with patients Opportunities such as greeting all the patients in the morning and then visiting them one by one and introducing myself asking them for any assistance they need. I started getting more comfortable having conversations as I was assisting them in various manners. These interactions with patients helped me overcome my fear of public speaking and I rebuilt my confidence. I also got some exposure to physician assistant as I often saw them with patients. After seeing PA’s at a hospital and my encounter with my Dermatology PA, I was intrigued to explore the PA profession.
To gain an insight into the profession, I started shadowing a PA after graduating from college. I always admired shadowing her as I have witnessed her building strong relationships and deep connections with her patients. She always listened to her patients calmly and worked towards making their relaxing through providing answers to their questions. Being a PA gives an opportunity to focus on patient care and spend valuable time with their patients to address all their health issues. I also love when treating a patient it is like putting a pieces of puzzles together, patients present with their health problems and as a PA you put the information together and provide the best treatment for to the patient. This shadowing opportunity had solidified my decision to pursue a career as a PA.
Currently shadowing another PA at urgent care provided me an opportunity to observe the PA carrying his practice with confidence and capable of treating patients with broad knowledge of medicine due to their wide exposure to medicine. He always explains patients their medical conditions and addresses all their questions. He always explains medication before giving to patients with their names and how it will help improve their condition. I appreciate the PA profession as it focuses on providing quality healthcare to patients and educating them about their health.
Serving the underserved community as a medical assistant and seeing the patients not having enough education of their own health have solidified my decision to go into medicine. As a medical scribe for a GYN has given me an opportunity to be directly involved with patients as I am first person patients see before seeing the doctor. I utilize the skills I learned from PA’s to make them comfortable and gain their trust which assures them to discuss their medical problems.
As a kid my idea of medicine was broad and it still is, PA profession will provide me an opportunity to help people with my broad knowledge of medicine, without being restricted to one area of medicine. As practicing physician assistant I will be provided an opportunity to fulfill my dream of helping others with wide knowledge of medicine and an opportunity to practice different specialties throughout lifetime. My challenges and struggles have made me an even stronger person, motivated me to work hard towards achieving my goal. Working as a medical assistant and scribe have prepared me to utilize my patient care experience as a PA to make their visit comfortable and less stresssful. The combination of knowledge, compassion and desire to help others as a PA will help me provide them a quality healthcare they deserve.
Kelci Bethke says
With her tiny limp body and no head control to look up at me, Clarisa Grace, a two-year-old foster child was brought to my family’s door step. Five years ago it was placed upon my family’s heart to begin the foster and adoption process through our church. Within two days of receiving the certification to foster, a social worker called. She stated that she had a two-year-old little girl with mild medical setbacks. Little did we know upon acceptance of Clarisa into our home she was extremely medically fragile. Clarisa was born with hydrocephalus, this condition was left untreated, consequently cerebral palsy took over her life. Clarisa instantaneously captivated my heart and immediately expanded my passion for medicine.
I began researching everything there was to know about Clarisa and every one of her medical conditions. We walked into Children’s Hospital in Dallas Texas where I met her pediatric physician assistant. The amount of time and passion that this physician assistant took with Clarisa was none like I’d ever seen. The holistic approach taken as the provider to prove with medicine anything is possible for Clarisa solidified that I had found my calling in life. The impact that medicine has done for Clarisa has been such an amazing eye opener. She will never be able to walk and will forever be on a feeding tube, but her quality of life is better than ever as she now approaches seven miraculous years on this early. My ambitions in life are to daily assist in improving that quality of life in every patient that I encounter, now as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist II and in my future career as a physician assistant.
I have been in direct patient care for five years now and could not see myself being anywhere else. I leave the hospital everyday with joy knowing that I have positivity impacted my patient’s life’s. As a Clinical Exercise Physiologist II at Baylor Scott and White the Heart Hospital my main duties are to provide exceptional rehabilitative and secondary preventative care to patients who have recently suffered a major heart event. Daily I; complete comprehensive cardiovascular patient assessments, check and monitor vitals and heart rhythms, treat signs and symptoms during rehabilitation, as well as provide counseling for medications, cardiac devices, and psychosocial issues. I also am very fortunate to be a top leader in my department. This leadership has taught me how to lead by example of effective and efficient high-quality patient care. Working in the health care is a very rewarding job that I want to be able to expand my scope of practice. Being a Physician Assistant will give me the opportunity daily to give someone exceptional patient care, to be preventative as well as corrective in their health.
Medicine is rapidly growing and changing, I strive to be a part of that as I expand my knowledge in the medical field. My moto since I have begun the Pre-PA process is to always go the extra mile no matter what is thrown my way. I wanted to know everything there was to know about the profession. I joined TAPA as a Pre-PA student and attended the annual conference. I sat in every seminar, made Pre-PA business cards, and engaged in getting to know the PA professionals. I was overwhelmed with the warm welcomes from PA’s all-around Texas. I felt as if I was already home in my profession. Little did they know the impact that they had on justifying my calling in life. Being an exceptional PA to me means to not only provide care but also lead in educating your patients. I fell in love with the education aspect of health care while I was a graduate TA at Texas Tech University. Not only did being a TA expand my desire to teach my fellow students, but it also enhanced my leadership skills.
From the TAPA conference, shadowing a wide variety of doctors and physician assistants, to being offered a Pre-Med fellowship to Portugal, my love for medicine grew more than I could have ever imagined. I had spent many hours shadowing here in Texas, but nothing compared to my shadowing experience abroad. I submerged myself into a completely different culture, I didn’t know the language or how different their health system was before I arrived. I spent my mornings shadowing a wide variety of surgeries while the physicians spoke broken English to teach me every move they made in surgery. After surgery I spend hours researching each surgery that I watched. The hospital that I was at, Hospital De San Jose, was a teaching hospital it was an extremely old hospital for low income patients. It was an amazing place to truly understand the differences in American health care. These hospitals are eye openers to appreciating the health system that we have in America. I spent time learning the culture, language, and history of this gorgeous town. I believe to be an amazing physician assistant one must be able to connect with patients on a wide variety of cultural levels.
I have remained a full-time employee as I have taken my prerequisites, shadowed, and volunteered. I know being a physician assistant is a very rewarding career but being an outstanding physician assistant means going above and beyond. As the oldest of 5 children I made this path to set the example to my younger siblings. Unto everything that I do I will always strive to make a difference in those around me and take every opportunity thrown my way. The events during my Pre-Pa process have brought so much joy and ambition into my life I can only imagine what else medicine has in store for me.