Passion for being a PA?

[Moiraine57]

I'm basically a phlegmatic person. Very few things get me super emotional. In fact, the one thing that did (September 11) led to a career choice in the military that ultimately was not for me (while I appreciated my experience and service, overall it wasn't a career that I wanted to pursue 20+ years.)

 

I think PA is ultimately a good choice for me, but my reasons are, well, reason-based.

 

I did not wake up at 15 years old and dream of a career in medicine. As a matter of fact, I wanted to be a professional golfer.

 

But I read all these personal statements that seem to be super emotional "I always wanted to be a PA rah rah types".

 

Is this what admission committees are looking for? Is there something wrong if my PS is basically "I want to be a PA for X, Y, and Z logical reasons, and here are assets A, B, and C that I bring to the table"?

[Just Steve]

The practice of medicine is a passion for many people. People are a cliquish breed of animal that prefer to be surrounded by folks of the same mentality. The "passion" part comes into play when it comes down to going the extra mile for a patient. There is a concern that if a person is very pragmatic, they will just be a "clock puncher". I don't know you or your reasons and it is not my intent to sound negative towards being a pragmatist, I am just sharing my view as a person who is passionate about medicine.

[Timon]

Let me ask you, what is motivating you to become a PA? When I was younger I didn't want to be a PA. I was actually against anything in healthcare. My dad was an ER physician, my sister is an ER physician, all my uncles with a few exceptions are physicians, and my cousins are various techs of some sort. When I went to college I decided to do something different. I ended up working in business for 12 years and just got tired of it.

 

I was in a nitch field of cost negotiating amd effeciency. My last employer was an injection molding company that manufactured CDs and DVDs and the technology is obsolete now. That's what prompted me to start looking at other fields since I knew my time would be limited at my employer and i was tired of my industry.

 

After shadowing a RN, MD/DO, PA and various techs i became very drawn to being a PA and later built a passion for it. My point is you don't have to grow up saying I've always wanted to be a PA. Had I said that I would be lying. But there should be some type of passion for wanting to help people and from there I believe one can rationalize in what capacity fits their personality the best. I hope this helps.

[Moiraine57]

Thanks for the help guys. I guess to me I read some of these essays and they read like "I want to be a PA so badly I knew it even as an embryo and would do it even if I won the lottery" (paraphrasing). I was wondering to myself if this was the way you need to write your essays or even what the admissions folks were looking for.

 

I know plenty of medical professionals, from CNAs, to techs, to doctors and dentists, and none of them feel that way. They find healthcare interesting, they like working as a team, they like helping others. But it's still a profession with many unpleasant aspects as well. The key is just finding a profession where the positives overwhelm the negatives and overall your are interested in your work and find fulfillment to doing it.

 

The more I think about it, I guess this is what many essays boil down to, I just tend to be less hyperbolic and more stoic...I get to the same conclusion via a slightly different path.

[beattie228]

I was very honest in my personal narrative about my previous career plans. Long story short, I was sure I was going to be a college history professor. All of that changed after my experiences as a military medic, and I've never looked back. The admissions committee interviewing me commented on how refreshing it was to read an essay that didn't start out with "Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be in medicine" or talking about a picture their parents have of them as a toddler with a stethoscope around their neck. I'm old fashioned, and I believe wholehearted honesty and sincerity goes a long way. If there was some pivotal point in your life when you realized you wanted to pursue the prestigious PA field, discuss it in your essay. If you met a PA along your journey who was influential to you, elaborate on that. As far as passion for healthcare, it's really about finding the little things throughout your day that remind you why you decided to dedicate your life to medicine in the first place.

[Will352ns]

I know how you feel. I had trouble writing my PS. I am best described as stoic, I don't get overly emotional or excited about things. Why do I want to be a PA? I work in the medical field and I like it....would like to do more. Really, it is that simple.

 

Don't focus on the fluffy crap when you write your PS or interview. Focus on why you are a good candidate. My PS and my interviews were best described as very "a matter of fact".

[greenmood]

You don't have to burst into tears about how badly you want to be a PA. Nor do you need some overwhelmingly-emotional reason to want to be one. Plenty of excellent workers in the world are very dedicated to their professions and doing what is right without carrying this "passion" everyone talks about. I think you can be an excellent provider and go the extra mile for your patients if you are one of those people, who can commit to your duty and understand it to be more than what is written in your contract.

[bcreid2]

Even if you are a pragmatic and rational thinking person, I hope that something in medicine gets you excited, even if you don't express it outward. I personally find complicated cases fascinating and get excited to try to figure out what is going on. I think if you are not excited about what you want to do you will burn out. I have seen many burned out providers who are miserable and second guessing why they got into this profession...