First Time Applicant - Help with topics (First draft)

[kaithost]

Hi,

 

I am a first time applicant and I am currently trying to determine if my approach to this statement is even going in the rght direction, or if there are major problems or changes I should focus on. I am well aware that my flow is not quite correct, and that I need more editing and gramatical work, but I want to know if the big ideas I mention are worthwhile, and if not, what should I be focusing on instead?

 

 

Thanks

 

 

Imagine with me, a symphony. In it, you hear many different instruments, each playing its own individual melody. Yet, it all works together to make the song strong, passionate, and beautiful. If one instrument is removed, or off beat, it will ruin or lessen the quality of the entire piece. In this way, medicine is like a musical masterpiece.

 

In any medical setting there are many individuals who are working toward the same goal; providing the best possible healthcare for the patient. Some of these positions may require less training than others, and stigmas may suggest that they are less impressive, or less noteworthy. In the symphony however, these are the people playing the low notes in the background. If they were to disappear, the music would lose a very crucial backdrop, and would lose its balance. Without every piece - each individual - working together, the song will not be complete, and the medical care cannot reach its potential.

 

As a physician assistant, I will work with a wide range of healthcare workers, from medical assistants to physicians. Because of my past experience, I know and value both ends of this spectrum and the work that they do. I can see the importance of both jobs, even though they are vastly different. The past two summers have provided me with a strong background in teamwork. In the summer of 2013, I worked at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in a soybean pathology lab as a research assistant. I participated in weekly collaboration meetings where we discussed the experiments, and I shared my findings with the team. Without my contribution however, they would have been unable to move forward into further research.

 

This past summer I worked at a long-term care facility as a nurse aide and again was a member of a team consisting of different training requirements and statuses. I was responsible for providing the best possible care I was trained and able to perform, and my frequent communication with the nurses provided my patients with the care that they needed that was beyond my training. Without the care I personally provided and communication between all members of the team, the residents wouldn’t have received the quality care they deserved.

 

This past summer I also was given the opportunity to study global medicine abroad in a rural hospital in Zambia. While I was there, I saw healthcare that was vastly different from what is practiced in the United States. With very little hand washing, dirty floors and walls, and insects roaming freely throughout the hospital, it was easy to question what good could come out of such a hospital. However, I saw something much different. All the patients who were there looked up to the physicians. They also had a gratefulness that I had not seen in many patients in the U.S. They were simply grateful for the opportunity to get healthcare in an area where professional healthcare is difficult to access and receive. This has fueled my desire to work for low-income patients in areas of need. It seems to be a very rewarding area of medicine.

 

PAs also have an opportunity to help patients beyond the present physical ailment. On one shadowing visit with a PA we were examining a patient who had been stabbed a week prior. His wound was healing great, and if that was all that the PA was responsible for, he would have been in an out in a few minutes. However, he continually mentioned that he didn’t feel safe where he was staying, he wanted to get out, and how he didn’t know the first thing about getting himself into a shelter or safe place. The PA I was shadowing took care of his actual physical ailments, but she also took the time to help him by printing out information for a local shelter, and took the time to talk with him. This PA showed by example just how much impact the profession can have beyond the present physical ailment. She had the opportunity to promote a healthier future life of a patient by focusing on them as a whole, not simply the affected body part that had the disease.

 

            All of these aspects of the PA career have meshed together to create my desire to practice as a PA. I also know that my personality, hard-work, and dedication towards the profession make me a worthy candidate for your program. I have a go-getter attitude and I want to learn the material to the best of my ability. As I get more deeply immersed into my major, I have grown more interested in the material, and I enjoy the studying and learning that is required for my more intense classes. I have been faced with difficult classes, and I take it as a challenge. I will work hard to get where I want to be, and that is PA school. If I put in the work now, I know that the job will be rewarding, and I will not have any regrets.