writer's block before even writing

[arezuie]

Hello everyone, 

 

I am looking for some inspiration to start writing my personal statement. It has now been two weeks since I have started working on it, and I've got nothing, seriously nothing. When asked why do I want to be a PA my answer tends to get complicated.  I feel like I have been preparing for this career my entire adult life without knowing it. I started out as a surgical tech, got a degree in anthropology, became a massage therapist, then went on to tissue recovery, and currently I am a Spanish medical interpreter. I don't have a specific moment to talk about when being a PA became a clear choice to me, it was a collection of moments over the past 14 years that led me here. Actually, I have limited experience working with PA's, I have mostly work with physicians (I need to do some shadowing but that's a topic for another forum). I know I want this, I just don't know how to express it. I want to be a clinician. I want to not just help people but treat patients. I want to use my knowledge to diagnose, to solve the puzzle of symptoms, and to prescribe when necessary. I want to stitch, inject, intubate, even cut. I want to talk to patients about how to stay healthy not only with medicine but with lifestyle. I want to do all these things in Spanish and English, in the US and abroad. What I like about the PA profession is that in your career you can practice different specialties. I worry that mentioning all my career changes makes me look indecisive and flaky, which is not completely untrue, I have been indecisive and flaky. But now I am serious, I know this is the career for me.  

I would greatly appreciate any ideas from anyone on how you started writing your personal statement. ANYTHING HELPS!

 

Thank you

[marktheshark89]

Sounds like a great PS right there ^

[arezuie]

OK. I will try to build on this then. Thank you!

[cop to pa]

My suggestion would be that if you have writer's block answering this question, then don't.  Try and write about some of these:

- What was the worst or hardest day of your life?

- If you could do college over again, what different classes would you take and why?

- Forget the definitions, what does a PA do?

- What school do you want to go to? Why?

- What do you imagine your workday as a PA will be?

- What area of medicine do you want to go into? Why?

 

None of these are for anyone else to see.  They are just to get you writing around the subject.  You don't have to write about/ answer them all.  But, if you start writing, you may find that thread you're looking for that can lead to your PS.  If something else comes to mind, write about that.  Find a start, find five starts, then build on them.

 

I wrote, threw away, rewrote, edited, threw away, rewrote, edited, chopped, sliced and polished my PS off and on for over a year till I was happy enough with it.  It can be done.  Good luck.

[paproof]

Agree with above.  One of the hardest things you can do is write a 5000 character essay basically proving why you should be accepted instead of literally THOUSANDS of others.  Just focus on your strengths and passion for the career and separate yourself from the others by telling YOUR story!

[arezuie]

My suggestion would be that if you have writer's block answering this question, then don't.  Try and write about some of these:

- What was the worst or hardest day of your life?

- If you could do college over again, what different classes would you take and why?

- Forget the definitions, what does a PA do?

- What school do you want to go to? Why?

- What do you imagine your workday as a PA will be?

- What area of medicine do you want to go into? Why?

 

None of these are for anyone else to see.  They are just to get you writing around the subject.  You don't have to write about/ answer them all.  But, if you start writing, you may find that thread you're looking for that can lead to your PS.  If something else comes to mind, write about that.  Find a start, find five starts, then build on them.

 

I wrote, threw away, rewrote, edited, threw away, rewrote, edited, chopped, sliced and polished my PS off and on for over a year till I was happy enough with it.  It can be done.  Good luck.

Thank you! this was extremely helpful. Answering those questions I wrote almost two pages and, I think, I am finding the thread. Now I need to narrow it down. Still have lots of work to do but at least now I have something to fix. 

[TheGunsnMoses]

For me I started with the question: Why do you want a career in medicine and not something else like being a farmer or trading stocks?  Also, what is your motivation to go into medicine, was it someone you cared for?

 

Then I asked: What is my goal in medicine, meaning what patient population do I want to work with, where do I want to work, what specialty am i interested in, etc.

 

Then I asked: How will being a PA help me to achieve that goal better than an MD, better than an NP or any other job while still keeping me sane and happy.

 

Then once you read over your statement, ask yourself: if someone who has never met you before were to read this, would they know why you want to be a PA?  Does this statement paint you as the person you want them to see.

 

Then have other people check your grammar and spelling.  90% of people do not know how to spell 'guiac', go ask any medical professional. 

 

Edit: Just noticed I misspelled guaiac!  Damn, I'm part of the 90%.  I'm part of the problem.