PAGirl689 Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 All opinions are welcome :) The different experiences I had during my high school and college years, from working in nursing home to volunteering in a hospital, gave me the inspiration to pursue a career in the medical field. However, it was not these experiences that had first drawn me in deciding to become a physician assistant, it was the story of Jay Monahan, late husband of CBS anchor Katie Couric. As many would probably know, Jay was diagnosed with colon cancer in the late 90's and sadly passed away at age 42, leaving behind Katie and two very young daughters. I didn't really know what colon cancer was until I heard about this story, but when I looked it up, I was surprised, very surprised to learn how much damage cancer of any kind can do to you and how it can change your life forever. As a result, I became a bit more interested in learning about cancer and later critical care. I knew at that point that I would like to have a career that would involve caring for cancer patients or patients residing in the ICU unit. I certainly knew that enrolling into medical school was out of the cards for me. Sure it would be nice to become a doctor, but I knew I could not handle that kind of responsibility with all the studying, paying enormous amounts of money, and the rigorous competition as well. I just didn't feel comfortable going for it,but I still felt I wanted to do something with helping cancer/ICU patients. A friend of mine later suggested on becoming a physician assistant. After researching this career for sometime and finding out that this job is less demanding than a doctor, I decided to give it a try and started planning to become one, and while I was planning on my goal, I went through several experiences in between that made me decide that this was the kind of job I really want to do for the rest of my life. It is obviously understood that several PA schools require hours dealing with patient care. This past summer I had gotten the opportunity to work in two different places in order to fulfill these hours. I worked at a nursing home as a CNA trainee and as a voluntary medical assistant at my former pediatrician's office. And while I was working at both of these places, I was able to receive alot of insight from the patients as they appeared to have much more wisdom and knowledge about this world that I have yet to experience. I never knew how much you can learn when caring for a patient. I find that these people have a special kind of heart for the people who take care of them while living in a nursing home because it is obvious that many residents find it difficult and sometimes depressing for them to adjust in a place where they are seperated from their families and the kind of life they used to enjoy when they were younger. However, they do tend have a lot of respect towards though who make them feel like they are at home again by attending to their needs and engaging them in their interests and hobbies. When I was training as a CNA, I remember that one of the eldery ladies that I was caring for had a love for newborn babies. She used to be a baby nurse back in her day and would always tell stories about some of the families whose babies she helped deliver, and also when her own children were born. I would help engage in the conversation by asking questions bringing up any personal experiences that I encountered as well. It was a lesson learned because this was where I knew that keeping patients and happy, as well as building a good relationship with them is a vital thing for those pursuing a career in the medical field. Through the experiences and inspirations I had, I began to fell in love with the idea of becoming a physician assistant. It is like a dream that I really want to achieve, where I can contribute to the well being of others and make sure they live long, healthy lives. Besides, it is everyone's goal to live as long as they can nowadays, and I want to help them to acheive that by treating them and giving them advice on staying healthy and fit. As Randy Pausch, who is famously known to give "The Last Lecture" right before he died from pancreatic cancer, has put it, "Anyone can acheive their dreams as well as enabling the dreams of others.If you just lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, and the dreams will come to you" It just takes a lot of hard work and committment just to obtain it. By the way, I do know there are grammatical errors and such so please don't say I have lots of spelling mistakes and such. I will fix that later before submitting but I'm am just wondering about the content and if there is anything to make it better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorRRT Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Hmmmmm......was this a first draft? It's all together poorly worded, which is why I stopped reading halfway through. If you want great feedback, provide the forum an essay that you've already proofread yourself. In general, the section in first paragraph addressing PA school as less competitive and less work than MD school needs to go, unless you really feel this way. From all of the reading I've done, it seems PA school requires just as much studying, if not more so than MD school in the first year since the material is delivered in a shorter amount of time. If you can't handle a rigorous course load, maybe nursing might be more for you. This essay works for expressing your interest in working in healthcare, but it doesn't address why you want to become a PA, versus another health career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktalon Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 GatorRRT, I am pretty sure this is not for real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAGirl689 Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 Hmmm thanks...yea maybe it does need to go, but no problem, I am going to re write it anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alleycat Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 a well proofed essay - before asking for critique- is appreciated by us and demonstrates respect . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAGirl689 Posted September 11, 2011 Author Share Posted September 11, 2011 ^Yes I did not really know that until you mentioned that. Sorry if I was being rude or anything, but this is just a draft, but I'm going to start fresh again and also thanks to RTTGator for giving his statement about PA vs. Med school as I have remembered NOW that sometime ago I have been in that similiar discussion and my input about it...anyway, I will start re-writing a new one and this time about how a PA that I worked with really influenced me to become one as well. Thanks for feedback. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akeith72 Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 It sounds like you went for second best....not an MD but PA, I would drop that part and make it sound like PA is the best thing ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joanna.nola Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 As I prepare for another week of 5 nights of 14-hour overnight shifts in my 4th week of rotations, I laugh at the time when I thought the classroom part would be the toughest part of PA school. While the Med School won't let their students do these overnight shifts (what used to be "call" but has changed w/ the new residency requirements), or even stay a full 12 hour day-time shift (they leave around 4 while we stay till 7), the PA students are there the whole time. I'm not complaining; I'm learning a lot, and the doctors respect how hard I'm willing to work. But I will say, if you don't want to work hard, PA school is not the place for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAGirl689 Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 It sounds like you went for second best....not an MD but PA, I would drop that part and make it sound like PA is the best thing ever. Yes I noticed when I reread that. I had written it poorly, and am writing the entire thing again. I did not mean to make it sound like PA school is second best.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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