Administrator rev ronin Posted May 22, 2011 Administrator Share Posted May 22, 2011 Are you a prior service medic who wants to get into PA school? A firefighter or paramedic who wants to go beyond field EMS? A mid-career something-or-another who's finally found your calling in medicine and wants to move from one successful career to another? I will be offering ongoing FREE* personal statement reviews to qualified candidates. Here's how it works: - You PM me two things 1) A summary of your GPAs, HCE type and hours, non-HCE work experience, and other things that you think will make you a good PA, and 2) your email address. - I evaluate statements and will help one person at a time, as my clinical rotation schedule allows. Others will be able to wait, and I will contact them when I'm available, or simply told they're not who I'm looking to help. Preference will be given to veterans (just because), Firefighter/EMTs (because I know that world better than nursing or other disciplines of HCE), and older candidates (because I was one). I am not offering a PS-writing service. I can only take what you bring me and help you focus and polish it, and successfully collaborating on a high-quality PS will require your intimate involvement in the editing process. * The quid pro quo is that I expect evaluations of my editing skill and assistance, suitable for use as testimonials and references if I ever get around to offering this service for pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgdog Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 As everybody on this board knows, the competition for those 50 seats is fierce. If you don't bring every fiber of your being, every last molecule of desire and lust to the goal, then, you ain't gettin in. If you want to be part of the club, I cannot stress this enough, EVERYTHING connected to your application needs to be flawless. The LOR's, the PS, the CASPA job descriptions, the CASPA volunteer job descriptions, of course, good grades help. Having the highest quality on all of those different elements signal to the ADCOM that this person is serious. The PS is a very strange animal. It's not intuitive, well, it wasn't to me anyway and I think I have some decent writing chops. I spent probably 200,000 hours on it. Well, maybe not that much, but a lot, probably a month and a half and 20 re-writes. I don't see how anyone can do it without help. A physician friend helped out while crafting the piece. After beaucoup hours spent on this weird piece of advertising, I sent it to the Rev privately. As I'm a 51 y/o former Navy corpsman with a million hrs of HCE, he took pity on my soul and a look at my masterpiece. Even after all of that work, he still caught some very miniscule issues for me. He has great insight, not to mention his mad skills as an editor. If he offers to work with you, I would be all over that. I got in. Thanks Rev. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemedic13 Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Rev is a good editor of PSes, I can say that for him. I have watched him work on PSes for years on this board, and if I were applying to PA schools, I would use his services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted May 22, 2011 Moderator Share Posted May 22, 2011 thank you for doing this and thanks specifically for the audience you are aiming to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren389 Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Hello, I am interested in a private review of my Personal Statement and just wanted to make sure your offer is still valid. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I don't see how anyone can do it without help. It's not hard. People have been writing their own PS for quite a while now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted June 22, 2011 Author Administrator Share Posted June 22, 2011 I am interested in a private review of my Personal Statement and just wanted to make sure your offer is still valid. It is, but response has been brisk, and I'm finishing up a surgery rotation at a teaching hospital, so I don't have a lot of spare time to review PS'es at the moment. Things may get better soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_me Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I wrote mine but I will admit I could have used a personal editor to catch some typos that were missed....I recently read over mine and caught a couple :-( It's not hard. People have been writing their own PS for quite a while now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I wrote mine but I will admit I could have used a personal editor to catch some typos that were missed....I recently read over mine and caught a couple :-( So using a computer spell/grammar check and re-reading your own PS a few times can't catch all errors? How do you review a patient's chart? Medications and problem lists? Lab reports? Is there a service that cross-checks those for you as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_me Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 actually no it didnt catch all the errors and I read it, a professor read it and 2 other people and I still found 3 errors reading it the other day as for your 3 other questions....."as carefully as possible" sadly humans make mistakes...and unfortunately I am human (well being human isnt really a bad thing) and Im pretty sure theres no human that so perfect that they have never/will never make a mistake. wouldnt you agree? unless youre saying that youre above making simple typos/grammtical errors....if so then I guess theres at least 1 human :-) it is always nice to have someone professionally review you work for the little things that they eye can miss....quality assurance :-) and yes I understand that that certain mistakes can injure a person and perhaps cost a life; and yes I understand that as a PA I will have to make sure to review properly and mistake free or it could cost me my job/license/money etc; and yes I understand that as a PA I will not have someone there to review all my stuff etc etc ---however, none of this changes the fact that I am human So using a computer spell/grammar check and re-reading your own PS a few times can't catch all errors? How do you review a patient's chart? Medications and problem lists? Lab reports? Is there a service that cross-checks those for you as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMSArtist Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I sincerely hope you'll still be doing this when I get there :) The whole being human practitioners of medicine is why it is called the Art of Medicine. Mistakes will happen and we design systems to help us avoid them. We review lists, and we double and triple check and yet mistakes still happen. Patients are regularly prescribed medications they are allergic to and if you get lucky you get caught and get double up on your cautions and make as few mistakes as humanly possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgdog Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 It's not hard. People have been writing their own PS for quite a while now. Oh really? Successful candidates have written that good ol PS and haven't had anybody read it? They've never had anybody look it over for for content, never read it aloud to anybody to check for flow. They haven't had anybody re-check it for spelling error's. And they got in? So your recommendation is just dash that bad boy off and press send? My bad. You got in the first time right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgdog Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 So using a computer spell/grammar check and re-reading your own PS a few times can't catch all errors? How do you review a patient's chart? Medications and problem lists? Lab reports? Is there a service that cross-checks those for you as well? So....you've never cross-checked anything with your SP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Since you asked.... Oh really? Successful candidates have written that good ol PS and haven't had anybody read it? So your recommendation is just dash that bad boy off and press send? Yes. They've never had anybody look it over for for content, never read it aloud to anybody to check for flow. They haven't had anybody re-check it for spelling error's. Yes. And they got in? Yes. So your recommendation is just dash that bad boy off and press send? No, it's to write your PS, spell/grammar check it, re-read it a few times over a few days to give it fresh eyes, and then submit. As a PA you won't have someone "looking over" your work. You're the only one who knows your experience and what you're thinking. You got in the first time right? Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_me Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Simple spelling and grammar check by an outside person does not change the meaning or content of your PS. I proof my daughter's papers all the time....am I doing her homework for her? No. She took the time, did the research and wrote the paper. I am simply making sure things that she may have missed are caught Having someone proof your paper is vastly different than having someone write it.....having someone proof it is no different than using the spellcheck except that a human can typically catch slight things that are often missed with Word spellcheck If you see proofing and re-writing as the same then I dont know what to say besides "they are not"... and call it a day...afterall, this conversation was not rev's intention for making this post. No, it's to write your PS, spell/grammar check it, re-read it a few times over a few days to give it fresh eyes, and then submit.As a PA you won't have someone "looking over" your work. You're the only one who knows your experience and what you're thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 So....you've never cross-checked anything with your SP? All things that I am legally required to (I can't admit a patient or take them to the OR by myself) or those things that are of his discretion. Which is quite different than the near hundreds of daily decisions, many of which can threat morbidity or mortality, that are made autonomously. The issue here is that this is a PERSONAL statement. It is not managing a patient which may be "co-owned" with an SP. It is the narrative of the applicant and (hopefully) the applicant alone. If these services we are talking about are for "spelling, gramar and flow", then they can be done by anybody. Any writer or person with a writing background/english degree etc. It doesn't need to be done by a PA, or a PA student, or Pre PA. By using someone involved with the PA application process, the applicant is likely to take influence on content. it's the nature of the relationship. If that wasn't the case there would be no need to go to a PA/PAS/PrePA. Understand......in the pre-internet days, the closest thing you had to finding this sort of help was whatever PA you may know or if you were lucky your school had a pre-PA club. Thus, most of us (if not all) wrote our PS alone and submitted it that way. People argue that the process is "more competitive" these days, but that's a slippery slope. Athletes use PEDs.....prePAs use....Personal statement Enhancing Discourse???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Simple spelling and grammar check by an outside person does not change the meaning or content of your PS. I proof my daughter's papers all the time....am I doing her homework for her? No. She took the time, did the research and wrote the paper. I am simply making sure things that she may have missed are caught Having someone proof your paper is vastly different than having someone write it.....having someone proof it is no different than using the spellcheck except that a human can typically catch slight things that are often missed with Word spellcheck If you see proofing and re-writing as the same then I dont know what to say besides "they are not"... and call it a day...afterall, this conversation was not rev's intention for making this post. See above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_me Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 It doesn't need to be done by a PA, or a PA student, or Pre PA. Im really not sure what to think of your reasoning....it doesnt make sense to me sorry:-( none of those people are an authority on the application porcess and certainly cannot give anyone a boost by editing a paper. I went through the same application process as rev and I certainly couldnt tell a person how to formulate their paper to increase their chances of getting in and Im certain that my editing skills would be of no benefit to them either. If he were a current PD or ADCOM member then perhaps I would agree with you but hes not.... You say above that anyone can do it "Any writer or person with a writing background/english degree etc." rev is any person and does have the skills/background listed as well a a desire to do it......thats what makes the offer beneficial...I certainly doubt anyone would want his assstance if he did not have the background that he has. Im not sure why I came back to respond lol sorry rev!! From here I will agree to disagree..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktalon Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Here is where I stand on the issue: it is one thing to have somebody read through it for grammatical errors that only need fresh eyes to correct. It is another to have someone correct an applicant's essay far beyond that applicant's abilities. You all have read some of the PSs that are posted on this forum. Some of them are so bad. If that quality of writing is the extent of the individual's capacity to write then it should be sent that way to the adcoms because the school has a right to know that the applicant can't write worth crap. Whether or not they may still make a great PA is not for me to judge but for the adcoms to decide. Some of these PSs are so bad and then tons of people give their input till it ends up looking good. And I am not talking about changing content. I am talking about grammar alone. My grammar may not be perfect in a casual situation (like now) but I do know how to write formally, and do it quite well. Not because I was an English major, but because I was educated to write well. Some of these people can't even construct a full sentence. They submit it here thinking that it is pretty good when it reads as if a 5th grader wrote it. This level of competency should be reflected in their submitted draft and not someone else's level of competency. It is one thing if you hire someone to teach you skills in grammar, it is another for them to just go through and make all your corrections that you had no idea how to do, or were even aware of the mistake in the first place. If I am taking a biochem test I can't have somebody review and change my answers and then submit my "A" as if it were my own grade. I got a 3.5 on the writing portion of my GRE because I didn't finish my essay and got cut off. I can't make excuses for that score. It is what it is and I will deal with the consequences of not having a professional writer sitting next to me during the GRE. Why should it be okay for somebody else to do this amount of work on an applicant's PS and then submit it as if it were their own work? I think a proofreader is okay to the extent that they are proofreading for mistakes that the writer actually knows are mistakes but needs fresh eyes to see it. Even professional writers have proofreaders for this reason. But if the proofreader is correcting mistakes that are far beyond the writers ability, to me, it is a misrepresentation. Adcoms are certainly judging the PS's for more than just content. If this were not so then grammar wouldn't be a big deal. But it is. So as long as grammar is a competency evaluation that the adcoms use, the level of writing that is submitted should reflect the writer's level of competency. Then again, if adcoms allow this kind of misrepresentation, then I guess everybody better find a professional writer to proofread their essays so they don't look bad compared to all the other professionally written essays. As far as what Rev Ronin is offering, I don't know the level of editing he is offering so I am not going to judge whether or not I agree with it. It is very kind of him either way. If I am way out of line on this somebody please tell me, but as far as I am aware, the entire application packet is supposed to be a reflection of the candidate and every piece within should be an accurate reflection of the applicants competencies and only the applicant's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktalon Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 And just to make clear, I am not saying Rev Ronin is wrong for offering the service, I am just saying that, ideally, an applicant shouldn't need such a service and if I were on an adcom board I would not allow PSs that were heavily edited by someone other than the applicant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themanpete Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Personal Statements are just that personal. I agree with AndersonPA on this whole subject. I wrote mine, my wife read over it once and submitted the damn thing a couple days later. Surely did not spend hours on end doing this either. IMO if your spending hours on writing something personal and stating the obvious on why you want to be a PA then maybe Physical Therapy or Nursing is a better route. If you got what they want and you can be Personal in the statement then you will get accepted to a program. I personally would not help any Pre PA with a PS and I wont ever. It's personal. Just my opinion and everyone has one so thought I would contribute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Im really not sure what to think of your reasoning....it doesnt make sense to me sorry:-( none of those people are an authority on the application porcess and certainly cannot give anyone a boost by editing a paper. I went through the same application process as rev and I certainly couldnt tell a person how to formulate their paper to increase their chances of getting in and Im certain that my editing skills would be of no benefit to them either. If he were a current PD or ADCOM member then perhaps I would agree with you but hes not.... You say above that anyone can do it "Any writer or person with a writing background/english degree etc." rev is any person and does have the skills/background listed as well a a desire to do it......thats what makes the offer beneficial...I certainly doubt anyone would want his assstance if he did not have the background that he has. Im not sure why I came back to respond lol sorry rev!! From here I will agree to disagree..... So....a pre-PA, going to a PA STUDENT...for advice on how to write a personal statement....and you think that all that is going to happen is "strict grammar and spelling checks"? If so, then this "service" should be offered to applicants of ALL programs: med school, law, dentistry, underwater basket weaving, etc.... Implicit in the service is that the applicant is being guided on their personal (PERSONAL) statement by a fellow member of their profession. Of course the discussion will be on how to contstruct an essay which will is aimed at being attractive to a PA school Ad Com. Why else? I don't see how the PA status of the reviewer can be extracted from this business arrangement to make it sterile. And I disagree with: I certainly doubt anyone would want his assstance if he did not have the background that he has. you see the daily influx of prePAs wanting their PS reviewed by ANYBODY on this anonymous forum. People will do (almost) anything if they think it will give their application an edge, regardless of the english langauge credentials of the reviewer ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acvdmlac Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Hello, Rev Ronin, I greatly appreciate your offer, if it is still open, and thank you in advance for any critique you may offer! I am a 47 year-old seeking entry to PA school to build on my experience as a physical therapy aide and Licensed Acupuncturist and expand my scope with PA training & certification. Here's what I have: 1) GPA: 4.0 for all PA pre-reqs 2) HCE: two types: physical therapy aide: about 2,000 hours; Licensed Acupuncturist over 11,000 hours. 3) my email address is acvdmlac@gmail.com 4) Below is my draft personal statement for Stanford's Primary Care Associate Program (next year I will be applying to others as well after I re-take anatomy (for the 3rd time, but it needs to be current for CASPA!)) Personal Statement of Application to Stanford Primary Care Associate Program I am seeking to become a Physician Assistant to better serve a broader array of health-care needs of people in my community. As a Licensed Acupuncturist, my ability to care is limited by my current knowledge base and scope of practice. I wish to expand my training to be able to provide a wider array of modalities in community or public health as a Physician Assistant. During three childhood years in Uganda and Ethiopia, I saw first-hand poverty, disease, and malnutrition, but also the vibrancy and diversity of human culture. These experiences inspired a life-long orientation to service to disadvantaged communities, and to the health-care professions. For 10 years after college, I served as a volunteer and professional community organizer in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, and for the Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinics’ “Neighborhood Multi-Cultural Partnership” program. I worked with homeless people and social and public health workers to advocate for policy change. During this time, injuries left me with chronic neck, back and leg pain. My work provided little income and no health benefits, and I sought out public health and low-cost acupuncture clinics. Being a low-income patient was stressful, deepened my appreciation for the plight of those with no access to care and for public health workers, and inspired me to develop clinical skills to serve the health needs of individuals. In 1998 I began a four-year, full-time Masters in Traditional Chinese Medicine (MTCM) program, eager extend to others my experience of healing from this medical modality. The MTCM also included Western Medicine courses, taught by a team of excellent physician instructors. During school, I worked part-time as a physical therapy aide and gained experience in physical rehabilitation. These classes and my work experience whet my appetite for more medical training and oriented my acupuncture practice towards integrative, patient-centered care. Acupuncture Licensure has required me to perform a wide variety of tasks independently without supervision. I have enjoyed getting to know individual patients’ stories; caring for and re-assuring those in acute pain and distress; supporting patients’ self-direction while taking responsibility for clinical decisions; and teaching self-care and motivating behavioral changes. I have also served in the offices of physiatry and pain physicians, and as a specialist acupuncture provider for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation—Santa Cruz HMO. In these roles, I have greatly enjoyed collaborating with physicians and physician assistants. But despite my enjoyment of practicing acupuncture, I would like to more directly and regularly participate in health-care teams. I would like to improve my history and exam skills; to be able to order, perform and interpret diagnostic tests; and to provide a much broader array of medical modalities myself. I am eager for the challenge of developing these new skills and learning a new profession. My specific long-term goals are: 1) to practice medicine, autonomously and collaboratively in physician-lead teams, with particular interests in preventative care and physical rehabilitation to address the growing socio-medical challenges of obesity, sedentarianism and chronic pain; 2) to continue serving diverse, at-risk and disadvantaged people in my home community; 3) to teach and serve as a clinical preceptor for future generations, if I prove qualified; 4) to return to East Africa to provide relief work and training. I am enthusiastic about the prospect of Physician Assistant training to greatly enhance my ability to care for diverse communities of need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 You forgot to post your home address and SSN.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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