Jump to content

Critics welcome. Close to Final Draft (hopefully)


Recommended Posts

      It is not an epiphany that was the product of a circumstance but rather a series of lifetime events that accumulated and shaped my decision to pursue the career choice of Physician Assistant. It was the small steps throughout my life that seemed to lack meaning at the moment but have subconsciously built the path for me to follow. A lot of contemplating and reflecting has led to my decision to become a Physician Assistant. I wanted a wider scope than nursing had to offer, a leadership role, but to also work as a team member.

 

 

       The foundation for my decision started many years ago as I have a close relative with mental and physical disabilities. My uncle was the youngest of four and had his first seizure at the age of two. Ever since I can remember, he has been on routine medications to control his seizures and prevent unpredictable behaviors. My uncle currently lives in a group home; thus, growing up, I did not get to spend much time with him. In order to become closer to him, my mother suggested that I volunteer at his religion class for individuals with special needs called SEARCH. For the next seven years, I volunteered my time every Saturday helping to make crafts, reading bible stories, and praying with people that I would come to know even better later on in my life when I became employed at their group homes.

 

      As time progressed, the people I assisted became powerful, influential factors in my life which sparked my interest in the medical sciences. These people had anything from mild ADHD to a severe case of Down’s Syndrome and ranged from young children to the elderly. Communication was very difficult at first due to language barriers. Some individuals spoke clearly while some could not speak at all. When crafting, an individual might have wanted a certain color of marker but could not speak. I would lay out all the colors in front of him/her and let them pick which color they wanted.  I had to learn to adapt to the individual’s needs in order to be understood and, most importantly, to understand them. I believe that the ideal health care providers know how to communicate not only with their patients but also with their surrounding health care team.

 

   

       My experience of volunteering with SEARCH coupled with my interest in medicine, led me to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biology with a concentration in medical sciences. As a freshman, I had no idea what a Physician Assistant was. It was an emerging field that my aunt had told me about. I did my research and started shadowing a PA in a primary care facility to see first-hand what a PA actually does. I admired the leadership role a PA provided and the higher scope of practice. At first glance, he seemed synonymous to a doctor but also shared qualities of a nurse. He was an ideal blend that consisted of determining the plan of treatment while also counseling the patient about a diagnosis. While he worked a normal 8 to 5 shift, this did not limit his abilities to be an exceptional health care provider and a family man. He took vitals, listened to and answered the questions of patients, and empathized with their concerns.

 

     

      One particular experience that stuck with me from shadowing was when people from the group homes had their physicals for the Special Olympics. He started off by asking the patient how their day was, which established a more comfortable environment for his patient. He would notice if the patient was wearing new shoes and give a compliment, which made the patient’s eyes light up. He was developing the same level of trust that I had learned to establish when volunteering with SEARCH.

 

      After shadowing for the summer, I became part of a research team at the graduate school in the Exercise Science department. I worked in a team of undergraduates, graduates, and a graduate professor. I acquired the skills necessary to perform simple lab techniques and eventually developed my own project with the help of the professor. Just as I had the freedom to conduct my own experiment and consult my research professor for methods and ideas, a PA can consult with a physician for treatment plans and opinions. The physician-PA relationship is similar to the relationship I held with my research mentor; I highly value the relationship between physicians and PAs as they are both integral parts of a system that works in unison to provide the best possible medical care to their patients.

 

       I have been immersed in the disabled population for ten years now while completing research and pursuing my bachelor’s degree in biology. These life events have slowly added up over the past 21 years to prepare me for the perseverance, compassion, and open communication needed in physician assistant school and will stay with me throughout my career. I can confidently state that the events of my life leading up to this moment have led me to one path, one goal, of becoming a Physician Assistant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, there.

This isn't a critique on the content of your essay, but I edited it by making some sentences more concise and flow more smoothly.  I hope I helped.

 

 It was not a circumstance epiphany that shaped my decision to pursue a Physician Assistant career, but rather a series of lifetime events. Throughout my life, small steps that seemed to lack meaning in the moment inconspicuously built the path that I now follow. A lot of contemplating and reflecting led to my decision to become a Physician Assistant. I wanted a wider scope than nursing had to offer, a leadership role, but to also work as a team member. (this last sentence feels awkwardly placed).

 

       The foundation for my decision started many years ago with a close relative diagnosed with mental and physical disabilities. My uncle had his first seizure at the age of two. Ever since I can remember, he has been on routine medications to control his seizures and prevent unpredictable behaviors. Because my uncle lives in a group home, I did not get to spend much time with him as I grew up. In order to become closer to him, I began volunteering at SEARCH, his religion class for individuals with special needs . Every Saturday for the next seven years, I made crafts, read bible stories, and prayed with people that I would later come to know better once I became employed at their group homes.

 

      As time progressed, the people I assisted influenced my interest in the medical sciences. These people had anything from mild ADHD to a severe case of Down’s Syndrome and ranged from young children to the elderly. Language barriers made communication difficult. Some individuals spoke clearly while others could not speak at all. When crafting, one may lack the ability to express his or her desire for a certain marker color. I would lay out all the colors, then let them pick which color they wanted.  I learned to adapt to individual needs in order to be understood and, most importantly, to understand them. I believe that ideal health care providers know how to communicate not only with their surrounding health care team, but also with their patients (note: it made more sense to me to switch these around because this entire paragraph is dedicated to talking about communication with patients, not about with a health care team)    

 

       My experience volunteering with SEARCH, coupled with my interest in medicine, led me to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biology with a concentration in medical sciences. I had no idea what a Physician Assistant was until my aunt told me about the emerging field. I did my research and started shadowing a PA in a primary care facility to see first-hand what a PA actually does. I admired the leadership role a PA provided and the higher scope of practice. At first glance, he seemed synonymous to a doctor but also shared qualities of a nurse. He was an ideal blend that consisted of determining the plan of treatment while also counseling the patient about a diagnosis. While he worked a normal 8 to 5 shift, this did not limit his abilities to be an exceptional health care provider and a family man. He took vitals, listened to and answered patients’ questions, and empathized with their concerns.

 

      One particular experience stuck with me from my time shadowing him. When providing physicals for the Special Olympics, the physician assistant started off by asking his patients how their day was, establishing a more comfortable environment for them. He would notice if they were wearing new shoes and give a compliment, which made their eyes light up. He was developing the same level of trust that I had learned to establish when volunteering with SEARCH.

 

      After shadowing for the summer, I joined a research team at the graduate school in the Exercise Science department. I worked in a team of undergraduates, graduates, and a graduate professor. I acquired the skills necessary to perform simple lab techniques and eventually developed my own project with the help of the professor. Just as I had the freedom to conduct my own experiment and consult my research professor for methods and ideas, a PA can consult with a physician for treatment plans and opinions. The physician-PA relationship is similar to the relationship I held with my research mentor; I highly value the relationship between physicians and PAs as they are both integral parts of a system that work in unison to provide the best possible medical care for their patients.

 

       I have immersed myself in the disabled population for ten years now, while completing research and pursuing my bachelor’s degree in biology. These life events have slowly added up over the past 21 years to prepare me for the perseverance, compassion, and open communication needed in physician assistant school and will stay with me throughout my career. I can confidently state that the events of my life leading up to this moment have led me to one path, one goal, of becoming a Physician Assistant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to the Physician Assistant Forum! This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn More