Wanting to submit CASPA soon! Critique welcome

[andreamozelle]

“Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos, santificado sea tu nombre…” as I whispered the first words of the Lord’s Prayer in Spanish, I witnessed the look on Frida’s face transform from one of fear and pain to one surprise and comfort; the crows’ feet by her eyes relaxed, and her mouth closed to mumble along in prayer. The nurse continued to insert the straight catheter, and I continued on, whispering the words of solace, holding her hands and observing her face for her usual look of torment, but noting with a sense of purpose and relief that it was absent.

I was ecstatic to learn that I could use my studies of Spanish to relate to a patient, and it was the initiative taken to learn the Lord’s Prayer in Frida’s native language which truly helped me to improve her life and give her relief. It was that small-bodied Mexican resident who taught me how small acts of compassion in the healthcare field can result in the most rewarding feelings and memories.  

I have now spent 2 years doing CNA work since my first summer with Frida, and it has continued to be the residents and patients that inspire me to pursue a career as a physician assistant – possibly more than any other factor. I have a genuine desire to help my residents, but I do not feel it is always fulfilled, due to the limitations I have; I can drain a catheter foley, but I cannot complete the procedure for a suprapubic catheter, I can suspect uremic frost on a patient and find in their charts that they do, indeed, have chronic kidney disease, but I cannot diagnose it, and I can tell a patient that she uses her levator-ani muscles during bowel movements, but it oversteps my boundaries to assure her that her pain during them is related to her hip surgery.

The role of a PA, however, will allow me to utilize my skills and really fulfill these desires to improve the health of others. I did consider going the medical school route to achieve this goal, but I found that PAs have many benefits that an MD or DO does not necessarily have, like the ability to change specialties. Switching my main CNA experience from memory care to rehabilitation has taught me that I enjoy new challenges, and the initiative and analytical skills I employ have allowed me to learn new information quickly and adapt. Hence, I would love to try a couple different specialties for the opportunity to learn and broaden my experiences as a PA, rather than remain stagnant.

Additionally, I am very drawn to the team environment that physicians, physician assistants and nurses often create, as I witnessed while shadowing Carrie White, PA-C. I was enticed by the ability of White to consult her overseeing physician for a second opinion on an x-ray, and by her inclusion in the discussions of his patients, both in order to learn and to seek her opinion as well. Like the neurologist and MD I have also shadowed, I saw that White has the ability to autonomously diagnose and attend to patients. She also seemed to have more time as a PA to effectively listen to a patient’s background and communicate her opinions and plans, which I think is vastly important in ensuring the patient’s comprehension of diagnoses, treatment and future prevention.

I have always had a compassion for helping others, and the initiative to ensure that I would end up on the path to a career in the healthcare field.  Even so, I never fully apprehended how excited I would feel to view x-rays, and make connections between symptoms reported by residents and the pathophysiology of the disorders causing them. My first summer as a CNA, I realized that this compassion, initiative, and using analytical skill to infer a patient’s background and read their body language helped me to provide a resident with truly personalized care. Now I recognize that these are abilities I will implement for the rest of my life, and, moreover, they are qualities I encompass that will help me to save just as many lives as a physician assistant as ordering the correct tests and prescribing the correct medications.

[lmichele]

Overall, I think it's really good! I'm a current applicant as well so this is just a quick opinion. I would put (PA) after the first time you write out physician assistant. I read online somewhere that's the correct way if you're going to use the abbreviation after. 

Also I would cut the ending short slightly. I think it would be more meaningful if it said:

"Now I recognize that these are abilities I will implement for the rest of my life, and, moreover, they are qualities I encompass that will help me continue to care for patients as a physician assistant."

But overall, it's really good. I think you hit all the major points - your experience, your empathy, and your passion. Good job! And good luck!