Paramedic to PA applicant statement....any advice?

[diablo03]

Medicine is a gift that isn’t appreciated until it’s not there.  One of my first patients as a paramedic died because she did not have good access to medicine, and the minimal access she had, was not enough to help her.  In this statement we will call her Emma.   Emma was 16 years old and was not feeling well.  She had been seen once at her doctor's office and diagnosed with a viral infection, weeks went by and she didn’t get any better, finally she presented to a rural emergency room where she was treated and transferred to my hospital because she was a pediatric patient and they were unable to get her oxygen above 92%.  She had received tylenol because she had a fever, and an ambulance was called for transfer.  Immediately upon seeing Emma it was clear she was sick, she was hypotensive, tachycardic and febrile.  We drew labs, administered antibiotics and vasopressors, but it was too late.  Emma died of septic shock in our ER, just hours after she made it here.

Emma didn’t have access to great medicine, and this is not a problem that only affects rural communities.  During my time as a paramedic, I have met countless numbers of people who did not have access to the medical care they needed.  It is unnecessary that here in the modern world, for people to not have access to quality medical care.  I want to be able to bring quality medical care to those who do not currently have access to it.  

Paramedicine is an awesome profession, and I am proud to be a part of it, yet I find myself yearning for more, I have a burning desire to expand my current scope.  Through my experiences as a paramedic I have had the wonderful opportunity of learning from some great physicians and physician assistants.  It is through this exposure, I have been able to hone my existing skills and venture into learning new ones, including the utilization of ultrasound imaging for trauma exams and vascular access.  As a physician assistant I would be able to expand my skill base and assessment skills further to allow me to help people in the most effective way possible.  Each patient deserves to have individualized treatment plans.  Nobody deserves “cookie cutter medicine”, and the only way this is possible is to spend some time with them, get to know them, and assure them of their questions and fears.  After care is delivered each patient should also understand what role they play in the treatment process.

I have seen populations that don’t know what healthcare is, as well as populations that utilize the ED as their primary source of medical care.  This should never be the case.  People need to be able to have access to medicine no matter where they are, as a physician assistant, it would be possible to take that medicine out into the community, help those that otherwise would not have that access.  Physician assistants are soon going to be the staple of primary care, with the limited access of primary care physicians, it will be a PA that people will benefit from seeing.  Physician assistants are able to give personalized care and educate them to give them the most effective care for their condition.  

I understand that being a PA is a lifelong career as a student.  Despite the graduation date, the learning never stops.  My journey to this point has not been an easy one, but my motivation was strong and I have been able to rise to the challenges that have been presented to me.  Dedication got me to this point, and it is that same dedication to my goals, medicine and education that will make me a strong PA.  Working in medicine is a life long educational journey, the journey, the challenges, the knowledge will never stop.  As a PA, I can become part of the team of providers that assists that access, so more people, especially those from medically underserved and rural populations, can receive the care they need and deserve.  The possibilities are endless after graduation, as a PA I will continue to learn and grow and bring great healthcare to every patient I touch.

 

[cpkpa]

I think the theme of your statement is very clear and speaks volumes. There are many schools with values similar to yours. However, I don't feel like I've learned anything about you other than you work as a paramedic. You don't even share how you felt when Emma died. Overall, very good theme for your first draft! :)

[kenab1]

I really like the themes you present (I may be a little biased as they're the same themes I mentioned in my personal statement and am passionate about). I can really see your passion, but I would agree with what was said above, that I'd like to see a little more about you as a person, as well as why not MD, etc

 

 

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[EMEDPA]

It has good bones, but needs to be cleaned up a bit. the phrase "assure them of their questions and fears" for example is awkward. send to RevRonin. he is quite the wordsmith. also your motivation IS strong(present tense), not WAS strong. I know what you meant, but it doesn't flow well. After using "physician assistant" once you can use PA thereafter. you go back and forth between the two. you have several long sentences with lots of commas. break those into separate sentences. it's a good start. keep working on it. maybe if you took classes while working tell us about that so that we can gain insight into how you successfully multi-task, etc. best of luck.

[fishbum]

"....answer their questions, and assuage their fears..."?

[EMEDPA]

something like that...or ease their fears...

[diablo03]

Take #2 

 

Medicine is a gift that isn’t appreciated until it’s not there.  One of my first patients as a paramedic died because she simply did not have good access to medicine.  Emma, as we will name her, had minimal access to a very small community hospital that was not well equipped to take care of her.  At 16 years old, Emma walked into the 4 bed ER complaining she did not feel well.  Two weeks prior she was at her doctor's office, sent home diagnosed with a viral infection.  After not feeling better, she presented to the ER where she was treated and transferred to my hospital due to her age and inability to get her oxygen level above 92%.  She received tylenol because she had a fever, and an ambulance was called for the transfer.  The ride up sounded non eventful, but immediately upon seeing her, it was clear she was sick.  Her pale look, sunken eyes and lethargic appearance showed a bad start to our encounter, a quick glance at the monitor revealed she was hypotensive, tachycardic and febrile.  Immediately I activated our septic shock protocol, we drew labs, administered antibiotics, fluids and vasopressors, but it was too late, Emma died of septic shock in our ER, just hours after she made it here.

In the days after Emma's death I found myself thinking about her, wondering how nobody caught this before she was transferred, why she had to die, because after all she had walked into the outside ER.  After some research I found out the outside ER did not have ‘time sensitive diagnoses’ and at that moment i knew I had to do something about that.  I started working with our outreach department, to bring clinical education to outlying facilities, because what happened to Emma should not happen to anyone.  Emma didn’t have access to great medicine, but this is not a problem that is confined to only rural communities.  In my time as a paramedic, I have met countless numbers of people who did not have access to the medical care they needed.  From primary care visits, to follow up consults, to emergency care, it is unnecessary that in the modern world, people are unable to have access to quality medical care.  I want to help solve this problem by being able to bring quality medical care to people who currently do not have access to it.  

Paramedicine is an awesome profession, and I am proud to be a part of it, yet I find myself yearning for more, I have a burning desire to expand my current scope of practice.  Through my experiences as a paramedic I have had the wonderful opportunity of learning from some great physicians and physician assistants.  It is through this exposure, I have been able to hone my existing skills and venture into learning new ones, including the utilization of ultrasound imaging for trauma exams and vascular access.  As a physician assistant (PA) I would be able to expand my skill base and assessment skills even further allowing me to help people the most effective way possible.  Each of my patients deserve individualized treatment plans versus ‘cookie cutter medicine’, and the only way this is possible is to spend some time with them, get to know them, while being able to comfort them through answering their questions and easing their fears. It is also important to be sure that each patient understands the role their play in their own treatment process.

There are numerous populations who simply do not know what quality healthcare is, along with those that utilize the emergency department as their primary source of medical care.  This should never be the case.  People need to have access to medicine no matter where they are, as a PA, it would be possible to take that medicine out into the community to help those that otherwise would not have access.  PAs are going to be the staple of primary care, filling the void due to the limited numbers of primary care physicians.  PAs are going to be able to give primary care medicine the ability to individualize care to each patient and educate them on the most effective care for their condition.  

I understand that being a PA is a lifelong career as a student as learning never stop, despite graduation.  My journey so far has not been an easy one, working fulltime, going to school fulltime, and raising a family, but my motivation is strong and I am able to rise to challenges that are presented to me.  Dedication got me here, and that dedication that will get me to my goals.  My experience in medicine and willingness to do what is right for my patients will make me a strong PA.  Working in the medical field is a lifelong journey filled with challenges, and I am ready to tackle them at each turn.  As a PA, I look forward to becoming of a team of providers that assists in access to healthcare so more people, especially those from medically underserved and rural populations, can receive the care they need and deserve. After graduation, there are endless possibilities as a PA and I will continue to learn and grow to bring great healthcare to every patient I touch.