PA personal statement- please help

[paphilly]

“Can we get a stretcher?!” screamed the nurse from outside the waiting room. Several nurses, techs, the PA, the physician, and I rushed to the waiting room towards the patient, who was found unresponsive. “She was completely fine in the car!” said the husband frantically. At this point, she was not responding to verbal or painful stimuli and was rushed to the emergent side of the ED.  CPR was started immediately and the patient was hooked up to an EKG machine, which showed a STEMI.   From the physician to the PA, nurses and techs, everyone worked together to revive the patient. I was there making sure everything was documented as it occurred, such as medications ordered and administered, EKG readings, Cardiology consults, and CPR. Within 20 minutes, the cardiologist came in and the patient was taken to the cath lab. Fortunately, she survived.  It was touching to see how everyone contributed to saving a person’s life.

 

Working in the medical field had always seemed to be thr right choice for me, but I had no concrete plans on what career I would choose.  I wanted to treat and diagnose patients but it was very important that I keep a balance between my professional and personal life. During my freshman year in college, I was more inclined towards science courses and always had a thirst to learn more about the human body and its intricate functions. I transferred my education to ****** University in Pittsburg to further my studies. The transition was difficult to get used to as I was in a completely different university structure, as well as living alone in a new city. But, I took it as a challenge and pushed myself to do the best. I took as many science classes as I could to further my knowledge.    During the middle of my education, my father was diagnosed with a life threatening disease. This took a toll on me financially, emotionally, and physically and that was evident on my grades and GPA. However, I decided to work harder to reach my goal and decided to take classes as a post-bac to improve and show my commitment to this field.

 

As I graduated college, I wanted to gain more experience in the healthcare field and took advantage of a work opportunity as a medical scribe in the emergency room. Working as a medical scribe ensured my ambition of becoming a physician assistant. This opportunity exposed me to the hospital setting on a very profound level. Working in the emergency room, I started to understand the different types of treatments and interventions needed for medical emergencies. For example, starting heparin for myocardial infarction, tPA eligibility for stroke patients, give aspirin for chest pain, intubating patient for airway protection, and much more. I was also able to interpret labs such as elevated troponin is secondary to NSTEMI, elevated BUN and creatinine secondary to renal insufficiency. Although, I worked mainly with physicians, I got a better understanding of the role of a physician assistant and the job functions while talking to several physician assistants. After one and a half years, I was promoted to Chief Scribe due to my work ethic, and leadership and communication skills. This role allowed me to further strengthen these qualities and develop managerial skills.

 

I had the opportunity to talk with several physician assistants to discuss their experiences, as well as get insight into the positive and negatives of the job. Talking with them made me realize that I had made the right career choice. They helped me guide and decipher if this was a right career choice. I received insight on several aspect of the profession including hours, maintaining a balance between professional and person life, and as well the ability to work in different specialties of medicine without have to specialize. To further broaden my perspective of my chosen career path, I shadowed an Orthopedic Physician Assistant, Angela, for two weeks. I was exposed to the wide spectrum of career opportunities in various work settings.  Angela had previous specialized in emergency medicine prior to becoming an Orthopedic PA. “The greatest things about being is a PA is that you’re not stuck in one specialty of medicine”, she states. For me, this comes as a major benefit as, currently, there are many specialities I would like to work in including primary care, Emergency Medicine, and Cardiology. In addition to shawdowing and working as a medical scribe, I continued my education after graduation by taking classes in the field of medicine such as biochemistry, medical terminology, endocrinology, and more.

 

I believe my personal experience and interests as well as my intellectual curiosity build a strong foundation in excelling as a Physician Assistant. I hope to attend a program that can sharpen my skills and nurture me into a well-rounded, professional Physician Assistant. I hope to use my past experience, dedication, and commitment to make a positive contribution.