revised personal statement

[daniturley]

                As a child, I did not have the normal aspirations about wanting to be something extraordinary such as an astronaut or princess. Instead, I focused on one thing; not wanting to be in the medical field. Both of my parents were nurses and I felt that same path was expected of me. All I knew was that I wanted to defy those expectations.

 

 I decided to go to college in Montana on a soccer scholarship. I majored in biology to leave my options open for the future. My freshman year I joined the ROTC program at my school. This was the first time that I felt inspired to do something larger than myself. To know that I had the power to make a difference on a bigger scale was one of the most comforting feelings.  This is where I first started to consider the idea of becoming a physician assistant (PA) because of the history of the profession and the Army. I was able to take away some great things from the experience but needed to focus on my schooling and soccer for the time being.

 

                My junior year I decided that I would get a part time job to get a better feel for the healthcare options out there. More importantly, I wanted to find some inspiration that would direct me to a path of how to use the biology degree that I loved and was working hard to get. I was given a chance at an eye clinic and this was the opportunity I had been hoping for to find guidance. From the job, I learned that I truly did have a passion for helping people in a medical sense despite what I had been trying to tell myself for all those years. Witnessing patients grin when they could finally see clearly was a feeling that never failed to brighten my day, no matter what was happening. There was one thing that always bothered me though; my lack of knowledge to be able to thoroughly answer questions that patients asked. This frustration has now turned into my motivation. I want to be the person who can provide comfort by answering the questions that patients so desperately want to understand.  My work at the eye clinic fueled by desire and ambition of becoming a healthcare professional. I realized I had three options; I could go through school again and become a nurse, spend the same amount of time in school to become a PA, or go to medical school. To be able to help people by using my strengths to the best of my abilities I decided a PA was the best fit.

 

                I have committed my gap year to doing everything I possibly can to prepare myself to get into school. I work as many hours as my job allows at an assisted living facility to gain the necessary patient contact hours. I worked with residents and provided input on how to increase their quality of life. It ranges from tasks like making them more comfortable to noticing how medications were affecting them. I also spent time shadowing a variety of PAs to see what areas might interest me the most, as well as get a better understanding of the career. Right before I started shadowing a PA in orthopedics I was in a motorcycle accident and suffered from a ruptured patella tendon and a deglovement of my left lower leg and right quadricep. I was still able to shadow and the number of things I saw as their patient and shadow taught me so many things. What I took out of the experience was that the PA position would allow me to spend more time with each patient than a doctor normally gets to. I will be able to build better relationships with patients which I feel is a strength after working with residents for so long. I would not be able to get this as a nurse because I have witnessed what they do in a clinical setting, and it consisted of a lot of paperwork with very limited patient contact time. As a nurse practitioner, I wouldn’t necessarily get that same support system as a PA has because they often work more independently. I have always worked better in teams where I can bring my ideas to the table and use the people around me to talk about them and figure out a solution if needed. From my time shadowing different PAs I learned that many of them have not focused on one specialty. This flexibility and wide range of knowledge calls to me in the PA profession. I found that many jobs can become repetitive, which honestly scares me. When I become a PA I will get to see something different every day. No two patients are alike and each will bring a new challenge to face.  

 

 My work at the eye clinic and assisted living facility taught me that what my parents do is unique.  The way they can provide comfort while fully explaining the problem and then providing a solution is something I cannot wait to be able to do. I want to be a PA because despite my accident, I have become a stronger person that wants to continue my education in a field that excites me and better relate to patients by pulling from my own experience. I will use my skills as a critical thinker to look at information and solve a problem, as a caretaker to provide quality care and comfort, and as a teammate to work with others toward a common goal. 

 

[TheMoYouKnow]

A pretty big chunk of your essay knocks other professions when it comes to patient care, and it comes across quite narrow-minded. Essentially, a PA and MD are one in the work environment, and your day to day involvement will be very similar. Also, not all NP's practice solo. Much of them are in offices and specialties as are PA's. As far as RN patient contact, this is also dependent on the environment you observed them in. In the ER, RN's will be the individuals who are hands-on in saving an individual's life in the trauma bay.

 

I say all of this to caution you in making such bold statements about other professions and their scope of practice. If I were you, I would turn more attention to what you have learned about being a PA, and how this career suits you. For example, you mention learning "so many things" after your accident and while shadowing in orthopedics. I would expand on this and be specific as to what you learned.

 

Hope this helps!