medicfourlife Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 In the spring of 2006 I was working as a waiter, toiling away the days and daydreaming of my future. The only problem was, those daydreams did not reveal much. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. In my first few years of college I lacked any kind of direction and my grades certainly reflected my lack of ambition. So, I dropped out of school and got a job working at Olive Garden. This was not my proudest moment, especially when I had to tell my parents (who had been paying my tuition). My mother told me about an EMT class which my brother-in-law had enrolled in, then she signed me up as well. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was a defining moment in my life. At the completion of the EMT course I began my job search, only to realize I needed to obtain more education to really work in the medical field. I started second-guessing my decision, but only briefly. While helping a friend move into a new apartment, we watched as a girl we went to high school with got into a high velocity car accident. Immediately I jumped out of the truck and told my friend to call 911. As I ran to towards the accident I remember thinking “I can help her, I actually know what to do”. The feeling I had help treat and load her onto the ambulance was filled with adrenaline yet simultaneously calming. I sat down on the sidewalk, called my parents, and told them “This is what I am meant to do. I want to help people.” However, the search for a job did not improve, no matter how much I looked. Having an EMT-B certification did not mean much to prospective employers. I was looking for something which would give me a leg up on my competition. Something to distinguish me, to get my foot in the door of the prestigious medical community. So, I joined the Army National Guard as a “health care specialist”, better known by most as a combat medic. That designation led to my first medical job when I returned home, and I started looking to the future once again, but this time with much more enthusiasm. In 2010 my unit was activated to deploy to Afghanistan. I left behind my wife, daughter, and 3 day old son. During my deployment I had countless experiences that only served to strengthen my decision to work in the medical field, however one instance stands out far beyond the others. Nearly one month to the day after arriving at our station, I was woken by air raid sirens at around 3:00 in the morning. The base had come under attack. As medical personnel assigned to the hospital, our procedure in such an event was to report to the hospital to receive patients. My roommate and I quickly put our body armor on, grabbed our rifles, and ran down the street to the hospital to report in. When I arrived in the trauma bay, my commanding officer (an orthopedic PA) was there, working hand-in-hand with one of the lead trauma surgeons to control the hemorrhage from an amputation and establish an airway device. With the room filled to capacity, I watched through the windows as the two of them worked together seamlessly in an attempt to save this Soldier’s life. I felt helpless, watching from the outside. I longed to be in there, and since that day, I have wanted to be a physician assistant. I knew that if I wanted to be involved in medical care at that level, I needed to finish my schooling. When I returned home, I began working again, and started taking classes to continue my education. In the last three years I have moved up the ranks in the Army to a position in which I am responsible for 35 other medics. I have also been working full time, though not in the medical field. As passionate as I am about medicine, the flexibility I have had working in my current position has allowed me to finally complete my degree. With a direction and sense of purpose, I have been able to offset the majority of the poor decisions I made my first few years of college and I have already signed up for postgraduate courses to continue enhancing my knowledge. I consider myself a lifelong learner. I want to keep improving, and increase my knowledge and level of responsibility. I want to be a physician assistant because it allows me to do just that. The ability to be part of a team, yet practice independently are major factors in my desire to pursue this profession. I want the opportunity to learn from others and apply their ideas in the care I provide. Through my experiences, I have found a purpose; a position where I find I can truly make an impact and love the work I do. I am driven to succeed and will no longer accept anything less from myself and I look forward to expanding my interest in the medical field by becoming a physician assistant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in-kognito Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 In the first paragraph few first sentences are repetitive in nature.Is it necessary to add you brother in-law in the last sentence of the first paragraph? Do you take any classes right now? What I would suggest is to go to your college and find one of the writing instructor with open hours. They could help you to with style, structure and grammar. I went to my community college today to work on my PS, and it really helped. You have a great bones to build amazing PS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandr468 Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 This is a very well-written and captivating statement. I think that the first paragraph is a great "disclaimer" for any potential poor grades you may have, yet you constantly take responsibility for your actions in the following lines. Thank you for your service and good luck in pursuing PA school! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medicfourlife Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 In the first paragraph few first sentences are repetitive in nature. Is it necessary to add you brother in-law in the last sentence of the first paragraph? Do you take any classes right now? What I would suggest is to go to your college and find one of the writing instructor with open hours. They could help you to with style, structure and grammar. I went to my community college today to work on my PS, and it really helped. You have a great bones to build amazing PS! Thanks for the input! I have a couple people I work with who were english literature majors so I am going to have them look it over. Once I get it closer to polished on the content side, I will take it to the writing center. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radtash Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 I agree that the content is good, but get help with style and structure. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostraadms Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Hi there. First off, you have an amazing experience and thank you for your service it means a lot. I have worked with national guard folks, and you guys are just awesome. I sometimes felt that your essay dragged on a bit. You can easily shorten the parts where you talk about being lost. I really enjoyed your last paragraph. I think it did a great summary of who you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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