CASPA Narrative

[nminto91w]

Following is my narrative. I welcome constructive comments and suggestions. Thanks!

 

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I am an army veteran who served on active duty from September 2003 through September 2010 as a medic. As a medic, I have worked under the tutelage of some highly dedicated military healthcare providers, such as neurologists, cardiologists, clinical psychologists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants (PAs). However, I have spent more time with PAs than any other military healthcare providers. They are the first-line medical officers overseeing the medics in majority of army units and the care they provide is critical to battlefield medicine. The depth of knowledge displayed by these PAs, many of whom were former medics themselves, as well as their dedication to service-members has been my first inspiration to become a PA. My other inspirations to become a PA stem from my penchant for medical science and a strong passion to help others and improve the quality and delivery of healthcare to all Americans.

 

While in the army, I planned to complete 60 college credits in prerequisite courses and then apply to military's Interservice Physician Assistant Program. However, due to continual deployment training exercises, followed by year-long deployments, I was never able to achieve that goal. While stationed at Walter Reed, when I thought I was going to have that opportunity, I had to withdraw from a local community college in the middle of the term because of orders requiring a change of duty station. Thus, during my last combat tour in Mosul, Iraq, in 2009, I started mulling over the idea of not reenlisting the following year to enable myself to return to college uninterrupted and pursue my passion of becoming a PA. I was also aware that the transition from military to civilian life was not going to be easy for me, especially attending classes fulltime during a period of economic downturn while taking care of an aging parent.

 

In the end, overcome by my passion to become a PA, I opted for the most challenging option available to me. I left active duty to enlist with a reserve unit for a year to allow myself to slowly transition out of a military life. When I finally resumed my college career in January 2012, I also took up a part time job at a local hospital. It was vital for me to have a job as my disability and education benefits from the VA were not enough to keep me economically viable. Despite such constraint, I had been able to complete my undergraduate career in as little time as 2.5 years. This was only possible by taking an average of 6 classes per term. But, taking this many classes in such a short period of time, while transitioning into a civilian/academic life, was not without its challenges. However, I have learned a lot about myself as an individual and as a student and have worked hard to develop effective study strategies.

 

Moreover, I have also learned to improve my chances of getting into a PA program since this is the second year of my application. Last year, I applied to a total of 6 programs and was interviewed by two of them with no offer of admission in the end. Since then I realized that my passion to become a PA and more than 10,000 hours of healthcare experience, including the experience of managing a healthcare clinic at Walter Reed, was not enough to compete against other applicants with stellar academic records than mine. I quickly recognized my disadvantage and decided to improve upon it. Hence, instead of waiting for another year while applying to PA programs, I have decided to undertake a year-long graduate program in cytotechnology. I am hoping that my initial success at this program would serve as a clearer indicator of my resolve and potential to be successful at any PA program. Moreover, being trained as a cytotechnologist and then as a PA could not only open up the possibilities of a post-graduate PA residency in oncology, but also having a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of an allied healthcare aspect. This in my opinion is crucial to the development of a complete clinician.

 

As I prepare to submit my application one more time, I keep reminding myself that the very first PAs trained by Dr. Stead were former military medics themselves. If Vietnam veterans like Kenneth Ferrell, Richard Scheele, and Victor Germino were able to have an illustrious career as PAs, as an Iraq war veteran, why can’t I? I am as capable and hard-working as they were. In fact, with my higher level of healthcare experience and the understanding of the profession itself, I am even more committed than ever to becoming a PA. A PA with compassion and dedication, qualities I cultivated in the chaos of Iraq during many explosions of improvised explosive devices and rocket attacks. On the battlefield and in the classroom I have shown a "can do – never give up" attitude that will continue to be a valuable quality in pursuing a rigorous curriculum and a highly rewarding career.

[DejaBlu]

I think your statement is great.  I don't know why you weren't accepted from the schools where you interviewed. 

 

Have you called the schools to find out why you weren't accepted and request some feedback? 

 

Also, while you're back in school, it might be a good idea to shadow some PAs (non military) so you can show that you're still getting PA experience.

 

I hope this helps!  I'm no expert.  Like I said, I'm struggling myself.

 

Good luck!!!

[nminto91w]

Thank you for your comments. It means a lot to me. Since posting my narrative last night, I have made at least 10 minor revisions even though the overall message/theme remains the same. One school I have been interviewed at forgot to notify me officiallly that I did not make it. And the tragedy is it is my alma mater. The other school that interviewed me was Emory. Well, they mentioned that 24% of their accepeted class are re-applicants. Ever since leaving the military, I have not had chance to shadow any PAs due to school and and the need to work. I work in a hsopital lab. As you might get an idea that I reference my experiences within the context of the narrative. I am trying to avoid redundancy based on what I have said in other sections of the application as well as what my references have addressed in their evaluations of my potential. 

 

I would be more than willing to read your next versionwhen posted and comment on it. My current version is exactly 4999 characters; 850 words.