CASPA draft! Please give me some criticism

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“Find a job you love, and you will never work a day in your life” - Confucius. Growing up, medicine has always been a topic of conversation in my household. I descend from a family of doctors, and from an early age it was clear to me that I wanted to go into healthcare. Despite working long hours at the hospital, my mother always came home with a smile on her face, a clear sign of a woman satisfied with her job.

Later in college, I became aware that some of the leading health issues in America are a result of poor dietary choices, which fascinated me, so I went on to complete my Bachelor’s degree in nutrition. However, as I learned more about the clinical side of nutrition I realized that I would like to further my studies and be more medically involved in patient care than I would be as a dietitian. As a physician assistant, I see myself being an excellent asset to a patient care team. My background in dietetics will be valuable in providing preventative care and alternative treatment options to clients.  Didactic studies also provided me with most of the necessary prerequisites for physician assistant programs and a unique perspective on health as a whole. Having learned about how diseases can be managed through nutrition, food interactions with pharmaceutical therapies, how to interpret bloodwork results, and the repercussions of malnutrition will help me with my future coursework and to be a well-rounded healthcare provider. In addition, my counseling courses have taught me useful skills in caring for people in mental and physical distress, which is important in establishing a trusting relationship between the provider and patient.

In continuation, despite the difficult nature of physician assistant school, I am a great candidate because I have demonstrated the ability to both multitask efficiently and handle a heavy workload. Throughout my time in college, I worked several jobs and was a member of multiple clubs, all the while maintaining a competitive GPA. Additionally, my time working in a microbiology research lab has trained me to be attentive to detail and an effective communicator, both of which will be beneficial when assessing and diagnosing patients, as well as communicating with my colleagues. Moreover, being a physician’s assistant requires not only a deep understanding of medicine, but also of people and their emotions. Empathy and effective interpersonal skills are a vital part of dealing with patients, and I have plenty of experience doing that through many years of working in customer service and as a personal care assistant. While both jobs allowed me to care for the needs of others, it was the latter that solidified my desire to work as a healthcare provider. The humble gratitude expressed by my clients during my time as a PCA has shown me that it is my purpose to help others through patient care.

Moving further, the reason I chose to pursue becoming a physician assistant over another health profession is because of the unique place this position holds in the healthcare model. As a person who is independent, but enjoys working in team settings, this career is a perfect fit. It is more suitable for me rather than becoming a doctor because I do not aspire to own a practice and I’d like to have the ability to change specialization if needed.  Furthermore, as a physician assistant I want to help alleviate the deficit of doctors in underserved areas, and be a financially favorable option for clinics, to allow for more affordable health care. Furthermore, I am interested in helping underprivileged members of our communities because I am grateful for the help I received myself as a child. After losing my mother, I relied on medical assistance programs, and I would like to give back to the public by working in a place where I could provide similar aid to others. Some of the ways I have worked to help the less fortunate in the past are working to start a community garden and a nutrition education summer program for children from low income households, volunteering at the Children’s hospital, and going to Indonesia to provide health education to children in rural schools. These experiences were not only emotionally fulfilling, but a great chance to practice cultural competency skills.

To conclude, I have developed a plan for the purpose of bettering myself as a prospective physician assistant student. This spring semester, I will be taking human anatomy, as well as physics and I am currently gaining further medical experience through working at a dialysis clinic. There I practice IV placement, electronic documentation, and taking vital signs. Despite the difficulties of the work, I love it because learning exciting new skills and leaving knowing that at the end of the day I helped someone is everything I strive for.  Ultimately, being a physician’s assistant is my dream, and I hope I am given the opportunity to prove my abilities.