I was a first responder at the Boston Marathon, on the finish line… make my personal statement?

[Dante311]

Hi guys so I am a unique non-traditional candidate with a masters and a low uGPA.  That story can be found here (see just below)…  I was told I should address my backstory in my application, and how I’ve persevered to become successful clinically. 

 

http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/index.php?/topic/42414-schools-that-may-overlook-your-gpa-do-i-really-have-a-shot-anywhere/

 

But on top, I was a BAA medical volunteer on the finish line during the Boston Marathon Bombing…  and was told I should write about that… I just don’t know where to begin or what to do.

 

Thoughts?

 

Thank you J

[pastudentw]

I used a unique patient trauma story that impacted me as my opening hook paragraph. But the thing to be careful about is to make sure you aren't writing too much about an experience, instead of using those precious characters to tell your own story and why you want to be a PA. If there was a particular instance that gave you a deeper passion for becoming a PA through the experience of being a medical volunteer with the Boston Bombing, absolutely use it and tie that in to the rest of your narrative. I think it works well to use a story like that to open up the personal statement so it doesn't sound so immediately boring.

Just my two cents!!

[Guest HanSolo]

I agree with the above post. While the story may be interesting, you have to remember that this essay isn't about describing the event. It's about how the event impacted you, and you need to be able to tie that into the overall theme - why do you want to be a PA? 

 

It sounds like you have a lot of topics you want to talk about. You don't have to write about them all. If you don't have a rough draft yet, I suggest putting it all out there initially without any regard to character count. See what themes form naturally. Then it's triage time.

 

Lastly, your story sounds interesting. However, the tone of your posts (not this one in particular) come off as being a little desperate. You need to convey confidence. Something to keep in mind. I mean no disrespect. Just something to be aware of. 

[Dante311]

you both are absolutely right... 

 

thank you@!!!!!

[south]

 make sure you aren't writing too much about an experience, instead of using those precious characters to tell your own story and why you want to be a PA

 

well said.  Brevity is your friend here.  Books and movies have been written about this, 9/11,  and the guy who landed the plane in the river.  Spare them another detailed story, they need to move on and it might make them want to ask about it at your interview.

 

"I found myself here during this event.  It was a thing, like wow, as you know.  When it was all over it made me realize that I was probably on the right path, so I decided to keep going despite the difficulty"  BAM.  relates right back to you.

 

I wouldn't relate directly from the event to a career either.  99.999% of PAs are busy plowing through regular patients, not standing on watch for the next bombing or mass shooting.  Just use the parts of the event that you need; we know the rest.

[paproof]

So many people focus on a story as the overarching theme throughout their essay rather than focusing on what CASPA is looking for!!! 

 

"write a brief statement expressing your motivation or desire to become a physician assistant."

 

Stories are great, but the real focus should be discussing why you want to be a PA.

[M1ke10191]

Mine talked about my first call in EMS which was a cardiac arrest. I used a little over half a page talking about it but it's important not to dwell. I think the best part of having a real story is you'll grab an adcoms attention after they've read 60 other statements that day. But the meat of it really needs to be "why PA?"

 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk