Personal Statement- All Critiques are Welcomed! Thank you!

[adpa]

            “Porque esta aquí hoy? (Why are you here today?).” I asked this question to nearly one hundred patients in the three days my medical brigade ran a free clinic in Jinotega, Nicaragua. One morning, an elderly woman who had walked many miles in the dry heat to find care for her daughter approached our clinic. She tried to describe in Spanish her daughter’s issue- a rash. I asked where the rash was and could tell the women felt embarrassed. Trying to help her protect her modesty, I pointed to different parts of my body. First my arm, then my leg, and finally, my face. Slowly, she glanced down and pointed to her genitals. I realized immediately how difficult it had to be for her to tell me her daughter had a rash in her pubic area. I smiled softly, nodded my head and let her know I understood and we would be able to help. 

            Through my interaction with this patient, I discovered the therapeutic and comforting effects of a reassuring smile and friendly conversation. I appreciated how much a healthcare provider’s encouraging warmth and confidence gradually transformed a patient’s unease and hesitance in an uncomfortable situation into optimism and trust.     

            My desire to become a Physician Assistant (PA) was not formed in a day. Instead, it developed over years of academic, professional, and volunteer work as well as personal introspection. It is the culmination of all of my experiences, not just those that are health related, that has ultimately led me to my decision to apply to PA school. These experiences have strengthened my belief that through medicine I will be able to make a meaningful contribution to people’s lives both on an individual and societal level. Additionally, I know that my various experiences have made me into a more mature and insightful person, and I hope that they will help me to be a more informed and sensitive healthcare provider. 

            Through my experiences as a health promotion and physiology laboratory teaching assistant I was reassured in my interest in health and science, and I discovered my love for teaching. I believe that a love for teaching will benefit a career in healthcare. I was able to create lessons plans on a variety of topics: a skill that corresponds to developing treatment plans. Not all students learn the same way; likewise, all patients have a unique manifestation of symptoms that require personalized attention.

            I am also a lifetime learner. The idea of needing to constantly research new treatment methods and medications in order to best care for patients excites me and motivates me to learn more. I am investigative and if I do not understand something I will explore the topic extensively. You would be surprised how much I know about why the sky is blue and why clouds float at different levels.

            My experience shadowing a PA at a clinic further proved that this profession was exactly how I want to spend the rest of my life. She consulted with her supervising doctor when necessary, but was often autonomous in her decision to treat and diagnose. I like the idea of having control over my treatment plans and being able to create genuine relationships with my patients, and also be able to work with a team of healthcare providers to ensure the best quality care for our patients. They would call her “Doctora,” because they did not know the difference between what she was doing for them and what a physician would do for them. I had considered other medical professions; I thought I would like being a nurse because I love to care for patients and make them feel comfortable and taken care of. I know that I can have that same effect as a PA but also be able to analyze, diagnose, and treat the symptoms of my patients.  

            My Biobehavioral Health concentration gives me a rich knowledge in preventive care and the influence of stress on health, which corresponds to my interest in primary care. I am also fascinated by skin conditions and know I would enjoy spending a few years in dermatology. I appreciate that I will have the opportunity to change my specialty and have the opportunity to grow in a number of different medical fields. For me this is one of the most important advantages that the PA profession has that the physician profession does not.  

            I aspire to become a Physician Assistant because this profession is the perfect outlet for all of my passions. I love to teach, and would fulfill this passion by explaining causes for illnesses and disease and respective treatments to patients in a way that is unique to each individual’s understanding. I love learning, which I would be able to do through continued medical education and research, and also changing specialties once or twice so that I can satisfy my eagerness for acquiring knowledge.

            Now I ask myself, “Porque esta aquí hoy?” I love health and all of its facets. As a Physician Assistant, I would work to improve the health of my patients and myself every single day. 

[fishbum]

As an essay in general or a PS in particular, this is really good writing. I especially enjoyed the way you circled back to your introduction in your conclusion...nicely done.

 

You did a good job of positioning your experience as a teaching assistant as an asset to your future work as a PA. Do you have any direct patient care experience that you can talk about along with it? If so, I think you'd strengthen your PS a great deal.

 

Best of luck.

[PA hopeful]

"it developed over years of academic, professional, and volunteer work as well as personal introspection"

 

Careful with this. These words are almost (if not exactly) verbatim from a personal statement book for medical school. I literally just read the sample essay with that exact sentence last night.

[adpa]

Thank you doug, I will try to see where I can fit in more healthcare experience!

 

And, thank you PA hopeful, I definitely will look into making a change of words. I can imagine a lot of personal statements start to sound alike after admissions committees read so many and I would not want to sound unoriginal. 

[adpa]

My desire to become a Physician Assistant (PA) was not formed in a day. Instead, it developed over time through volunteer opportunities, exposure to science and health courses, and personal introspection about how I want to utilize my skills in the future. It is the culmination of all of my experiences, not just those that are health related, that has ultimately led me to my decision to apply to PA school. These experiences have strengthened my belief that through medicine I will be able to make a meaningful contribution to other people’s lives as well as my own. Additionally, I know that my various experiences have made me into a more mature and insightful person, and I hope that they will help me to be a more informed and sensitive healthcare provider.