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My little PS. Any edits are welcome.


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    My interest in medicine has long motivated my life.  Growing up in a rural, mountain town can be a very isolating experience. I found solace in watching the life-flight helicopters land at Mammoth Hospital. Life flight brought in patients from all over the world, which inspired me to connect with people. My interest in medicine was further sparked by watching the hospital staff assist the paramedics with patient care. At the age of 19, I took a job at that very hospital in emergency room admissions. During busy hours I would help the ER techs administer oxygen and clean wounds. My supervisor noticed my devotion towards the patients and my ability to quickly learn these tasks. She encouraged me to attend the EMT class at the local community college. The hospital offered to pay for the course while I continued work. Their support boosted my confidence and pushed me to excel to the top of my class. 

    Continued experience and opportunity solidified my career path. After earning my EMT certification the hospital clinics presented me the opportunity to work within various specialties. It was at this point I worked with my first PA, Tom, in Orthopedics. Tom taught me about his role in a specialty clinic. We took care of patients in the clinic as well as attending numerous surgeries. During surgery Tom demonstrated the technique of harvesting a patellar tendon to repair a ruptured anterior crucial ligament. This showed me the dynamic skills that PAs use in surgery.  The fact that this could be accomplished by a PA excited me. I appreciated the complexity and range of Tom‘s job and enjoyed being part of the care he provided to his patients. It became my window into the world of a PA and I knew it could be a fulfilling profession for me.

    Wanting to diversify my patient contact and broaden my experience after three and a half years at the hospital, I took a position at Symons ambulance company. My first partner was a small, tough, highly skilled paramedic named Candy. She taught me how to administer IV’s, read EKG’s, determine an emergency diagnosis, and the value of equanimity in times of extreme stress. One evening we were dispatched to a fatal accident on highway 395 involving a passenger van and a semi-truck. The dispatcher cautioned a child was in the van. I knew this call could cause detrimental anguish to our team since Candy had previously warned me that calls involving children are hard on first responders. The scene was terrible, but we lifted each other up, working in unison and successfully transporting the child from the collision to the hospital. Candy taught me the importance of being a caring and efficient EMT, lessons I carry with me today. She was one of the finest paramedics I have worked with and her love for her job changed my life. In our two-years together I learned more about emergency medicine than I ever dreamed I could as an EMT.

    At Symons I received a call from an orthopedic clinic in Southern California in need of a medical assistant and I was recommended by a colleague from the hospital. I took the opportunity to move to a large city and work within a healthcare system that is diverse in their treatment. As Dr. K’s MA, I treated trauma patients as well as sports  injuries. Dr. K was confident in my aptitude to swiftly learn new techniques and invited me to work alongside him in the operating room. I was immersed in every surgery and Dr. K understood my passion for learning. He insisted I finish my degree and apply for PA school, since he knew it was my goal in medicine. I started my academic search and I fell in love with Tulane University. I was drawn in by the prospect to attend school and work with the diverse citizens of New Orleans.

    Candy was diagnosed with terminal cholangiocarcinoma while I was away attending Tulane. It moved at a rapid speed and just 22 days later Candy passed away. I lost my best friend and my inspiration was gone. I became distraught and receded into myself for the remainder of the semester. I lost focus and my grades suffered. I received a wake-up call when I failed my first college course. I knew this was unacceptable and Candy would never want me to put my life on hold to mourn her. She would have told me to get up and be the ambitious, hard headed EMT who came to Symons looking for a job. I made a promise to myself to never allow my mental state to be effected by grief to the point of failure. I will make Candy proud and prove to myself that I will become a compassionate and caring PA. 

    Medicine has allowed me to move out of my small town and expand my horizons. Each position has been centered around refining my understanding of medicine and becoming an inspiring health care practitioner. I continued my schooling through each obstacle I faced and dedicate myself to continual improvement. My journey to PA school has been long and filled with adversity, yet through it all I remained focused on my dream to become a PA and help people in their time of need.

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This is a very touching and well written PS. Only thing I can pick at would be that it seems (to me) to highlight medicine, which is of course fantastic, but you're applying to PA school. There was really only one paragraph about PAs and it doesn't really illustrate why PA. This PS highlights that medicine is fantastic, and you are working in medicine and have a broad background in medicine. But honestly, why PA? As an EMT you helped people in need, as an MA you helped people in need, as a tech in the ER you helped people in need. What is it about being a PA that will enhance this capacity, and what can you bring to the PA profession that you have learned prior to applying? Hope this is helpful! Otherwise very well written. Best of luck! 

 

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12 hours ago, SOCM02-09 said:

This is a very touching and well written PS. Only thing I can pick at would be that it seems (to me) to highlight medicine, which is of course fantastic, but you're applying to PA school. There was really only one paragraph about PAs and it doesn't really illustrate why PA. This PS highlights that medicine is fantastic, and you are working in medicine and have a broad background in medicine. But honestly, why PA? As an EMT you helped people in need, as an MA you helped people in need, as a tech in the ER you helped people in need. What is it about being a PA that will enhance this capacity, and what can you bring to the PA profession that you have learned prior to applying? Hope this is helpful! Otherwise very well written. Best of luck! 

 

Thank you very much for your help!! Any fresh eyes on this essay helps me very much. I ended up rewriting to include more PA experience and how seeing the numerous skills PA's are able to have is what ultimately turned my head towards this profession. I was impressed by my friend who is a PA and I put more of that in my essay. 

Thank you for reading and I hope you are enjoying PA school! 

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I don't think it's a wise idea to spend so much time on your struggles, at least in your CASPA personal statement.  Generally schools give you an opportunity to provide "additional information" in supplemental applications, which would be more appropriate.  Keep in mind that your essay is a first impression, so we want to do the best we can to make the reader interested in meeting you in person.  Talking about failing classes in this first impression may not be the best choice...

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On 7/25/2017 at 11:27 PM, paproof said:

I don't think it's a wise idea to spend so much time on your struggles, at least in your CASPA personal statement.  Generally schools give you an opportunity to provide "additional information" in supplemental applications, which would be more appropriate.  Keep in mind that your essay is a first impression, so we want to do the best we can to make the reader interested in meeting you in person.  Talking about failing classes in this first impression may not be the best choice...

Thank you! I am keeping this in mind during my edit. ?

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I thought it was a very good PS. I agree with paproof's comment about first impressions. Also, I believe you meant to use affected instead of effected in the the second to last paragraph talking about Candy and mourning her loss. I would maybe emphasize more on how directly all of this correlates to being a good PA, but it shouldn't take much.. I feel like it wouldn't take much editing, I mean. It's good that you didn't focus on the loss too much. People can seem to make a mistake on making things dramatic, and it sets a little bit of an off-putting tone for the reader. But you got to the point, I like how you mentioned "working in unison" because that's what being a PA does, so maybe making other references to it might help?

I'm still writing mine, but I've seen paproof on this section a lot, so weigh their advice higher over mine. Just giving my own input :) Good luck! 

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On 7/28/2017 at 0:46 PM, Michael Stone said:

I thought it was a very good PS. I agree with paproof's comment about first impressions. Also, I believe you meant to use affected instead of effected in the the second to last paragraph talking about Candy and mourning her loss. I would maybe emphasize more on how directly all of this correlates to being a good PA, but it shouldn't take much.. I feel like it wouldn't take much editing, I mean. It's good that you didn't focus on the loss too much. People can seem to make a mistake on making things dramatic, and it sets a little bit of an off-putting tone for the reader. But you got to the point, I like how you mentioned "working in unison" because that's what being a PA does, so maybe making other references to it might help?

I'm still writing mine, but I've seen paproof on this section a lot, so weigh their advice higher over mine. Just giving my own input :) Good luck! 

Thank you so much!! Good luck with writing yours! We are here to help if needed. ?

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You're welcome! I actually made a revised version of it and posted it late last night on here! If you feel like taking a look at it, by all means! :) I appreciate anyone's perspective!

Of course! I'll take a look at it right now.


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