Personal Statement Advice from "Ask a PA Admissions Director"

[paproof]

Sir, you are right, Parsonal statement is crying needed to better job. I searched and found another site, visit: http://residencypersonalstatements.net/

 

Sounds legit...

[lauren7409]

should you us the PA acronym in your essay or actually write out Physician Assistant? I am getting conflicting reviews between administrators and students. Thank You!

[Lyrical M]

should you us the PA acronym in your essay or actually write out Physician Assistant? I am getting conflicting reviews between administrators and students. Thank You!

I am wondering this as well.  I used "physician assistant" once, and PA the rest of the times, and my essay is exactly 5,000 characters (I hope to submit next week).  Lauren, which people gave you which answer?

[asyed1]

i am applying for the first time can someone please review my essay first draft 

 

She stood alongside my bed consoling me as the anesthesiologist set me to sleep and I woke up to a life that would transform me as an individual. It was a perfectly warm and brisk morning as I headed out the door accompanied by my husband to embrace motherhood. Fifteen minutes into my C-section, my baby boy was born. I had barely bonded with him when the nurse took him away in haste. The white sheet that was stretched over me was lowered by the obstetrician to inform me that I was on the verge of a life-threatening hemorrhage because of placenta increta. An emergency hysterectomy was to be performed.  Startled, my body turned numb as tears made their way out. That’s when I heard her voice: “It’s going to be ok. Trust me.” She held my hands as I turned my head and I vaguely saw her name on her white coat. In the recovery room, she introduced herself as the physician’s assistant who was working with the obstetrician handling my case. This was my first interaction with a physician’s assistant. She sat down with me as I lay there still in shock and denial. Comforting me at my bedside, this event had affected her as much it affected me. Her humanistic approach towards me truly inspired me to a career as a Physician’s Assistant.

As a kid, playing doctor was my favorite game. I grew up with doctors around me. I always thought I would go into medicine. However, when I moved to the United States I was bounded by cultural and social beliefs. Originally, I wanted to become a doctor. While my parents were supportive of education, I was also expected to get married and have kids. I did not feel that I could successfully complete medical school and settle down at the same time because of the lengthy schooling process. Instead, I went to operations management. I wish I had known about physician’s assistant school then because I would have taken this opportunity years ago.

Two years after researching the PA profession, I decided to start my science prerequisites. Determined, I was a full-time mom to two toddlers and a full-time student. The drive and passion inside me kept me going despite numerous challenges that came my way. To explore the real-life hospital setting with patient contact experience, I started volunteering at the elderly life program at Inova hospital. During my volunteer work, I visited patients, helped them with a diet that conformed to their medical conditions, assisted in a range of motion exercises, and provided memory activities for dementia patients. Whether I had to run several floors before finding that sugar free ice-cream for my diabetic patient, pamper my patients with a massage, or spend a little extra time with that patient who won’t have any family visiting, the most rewarding part for me was to see them all content. I know being a PA will give me the opportunity to provide the holistic care that each and every patient deserves.

In order to understand what it is like to be a physician assistant and to broaden my knowledge on emergency medicine, I started working as an ER medical scribe at Good Samaritan Hospital. Shadowing several physician assistants in the ER helped me understand the role of a PA and their relationship with the physicians. I watched the PAs perform intubations, sutures, and wound repairs. I witnessed situations in which physicians and PAs would come together to save a patient’s life.  Working in the ER made me appreciate the field of medicine more than ever. The contribution that PAs make and the impact they have on other people’s quality of life further strengthens my decision to become a PA.

I am not a perfect candidate, but surely I am a candidate who works every single day to attain perfection. In my two and half year journey to prepare myself to apply to PA schools, I have challenged myself every day to turn myself into a competitive candidate who can handle and balance all things. I am looking forward to the career in PA and providing holistic, humanistic health care to individuals in every community.

[hannamarin]

thank you for sharing you point of view! I share it and think that this advice from a PA Admissions director is of a great importance! http://royalediting.com/15-tips-how-to-proofread-your-essay-like-a-pro will explain you how to create the best article on a professional level!

[ColoradoIMCardsPA]

Question: Is it ok to use idioms in your personal statement? I'm on the fence about using them in mine as they make writing sound more casual, but also more approachable. What are your two cents?

 

Thanks!

These are cliches, in addition to being idioms. Cliches will put you at risk of mixing metaphors. And they're just not the most effective way of writing.

 

 

Also, agree with above... Unless you clearly connect your clinical situation story to why you want to be a PA, it's just going to be another "and then I actually got to empty urine from a Foley!" story. The "epiphany" type essay can be corny and might not impress experienced healthcare providers.

[loquat]

Looking for advice on a supplemental application essay (Stanford) who asks applicants to describe describe their future practice scenario. I am not 100% certain what specialty I want to practice as a PA. I've worked in ER, Ortho and really look forward to exposure from the rotations to find the best fit for my future PA career. Do you guys all know what you want to do and did you write about that? 

[loganmills]

·         Story Time: Limit your personal stories about a patient or incident in the clinic to ONE no more than TWO.  The statement should focus more the topics mentioned above.

 

I don't know why but this was the hardest thing for me to do.

• Show,  don't tell. Don't tell me you're great at multitasking. Show me! Describe it instead: "Despite having to care for my ailing mother at home, work the graveyard shift at the hospital, and help victims of abuse at the women's shelter, I still managed to keep my by grades by merely studying instead of sleeping."

And This is a hell of a great advice!

[EMTSS]

I would like to share my personal statement experience for PA school. I moved to the US 6 years ago and I do not speak English like most applicants do. I had a very hard time preparing my personal statement so I decided to seek help online with PS editing services that are offered. If you are one of those candidates that are looking to purchase PS editing services, please read:

 

I spent a lot of money with DLA editors thinking they will help me write the best personal statement ever. Little did I know, when we were done and I had friends read it everyone said "are you going for Doctor or PA?". Long story short, yes they know what they are doing, BUT NOT FOR PA SCHOOLS. They are clueless of what PA schools look for.

 

Next, I Invested more money in mypapersonalstatement.com ... disaster. They found nothing wrong with my PS. Clueless again.

 

Next, I invested even more money with mypatraining.com to help me with my CASPA application. The gentleman misspelled words. Need I say more?

 

I did so much research and I just couldn't get the service I wanted.

 

I had found myparesource.com and told myself I will save them for last because they seem to know what they are doing. Let me tell you. I applied to 2 programs only. I got interview invitations to BOTH. The Personal Statement EDITING services they have is phenomenal and I recommend to ANYONE who is looking for a little help with theirs. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MY PERSONAL STATEMENT and they made it happen. They guided me through it.

 

 

So if you are looking to spend money, be smart and use myparesource.com and do nottttt waste over a thousand dollars on all these websites.

[nkad]

Thank you for this incredibly helpful post!

 

I was wondering if it is okay if I do not include my main source of HCE in my personal statement.

 

I thought about instead focusing on my work experience as a peer learning facilitator for underprivileged, first generation college students (not medically related). I wanted to connect the ideas of empowering others and being able to create deep meaningful relationships with others, which I learned through that role, with how I envision doing the same in my role as a PA.

 

I was thinking of mentioning an impactful experience I had while shadowing in order to tie that all together.

 

Is this too unrelated to the actual role of a PA, or does this sound like an okay basis for my personal statement?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Karlie]

This was extremely helpful, thank you so much!!!!!

[ham655]

Wondering if I messed up my personal statement because I have not heard from any schools, but I am unsure if this is correct or not. Wondering if anybody could point me in the right direction to have someone read it and give me feedback?

[hmtpnw]

1 hour ago, ham655 said:

Wondering if I messed up my personal statement because I have not heard from any schools, but I am unsure if this is correct or not. Wondering if anybody could point me in the right direction to have someone read it and give me feedback?

If you send it my way I could read through it and give you some input.

[ham655]

13 minutes ago, hmtpnw said:

If you send it my way I could read through it and give you some input.

yes please!! I will send it real quick

 

[JMck16]

Thanks for this! I found it most helpful.

[user2917]

If possible can you elaborate on what is meant by the following." 

 

“I am a victim”: Victims are never attractve applicants and any difficulties along the way should be dispassionately addressed.  These explanations should be brief and also address what you have done to overcome the situation and what you learned from it.

[paadmissions]

Hi everyone,

I've written my first book about getting into and through PA school.  It's written in layman's terms, with a side of humor and sarcasm. A very quick read, but hopefully useful.  Click here.  Happy reading.

 

[Ellen001]

Additionally, when writing your personal statement you should ensure to include your background, life experiences, and cultural, geographical, financial, educational opportunities or challenges that might help the admission understand your interest in the selected program/degree. If you are experiencing difficulties writing or editing your personal statement, experts at Panoply Statements Writing, can help.

[IdahoPA]

Way late to the party, but you would include physician assistants and PAs in your paper by spelling it out the first time and putting PA in parenthesis, then using PA throughout. 

Example: I want to become a physician assistant (PA) because ___________________.   I think that PAs _________________.  

This is the formal way to use ANY abbreviation in your paper.  You first have to introduce it in full, then can use the short version.  
 

[MoWannaBePA]

Thank you so much!