Anesthesia Assistant Masters Application Essay - Nontraditional student.

Treat others how you want to be treated. It's a simple statement and my personal mantra. This is what has shaped my career as an EMT, working in both the ER and ICU settings as well as throughout the entire COVID pandemic. Talking a patient through a chest tube while asking about her favorite novel, crying with family members when their loved one succumbed to their illness, and rejoicing with a patient when gaining the independence in feeding themself. Showing the patients and families that we are still humans in healthcare and trying to treat them and their loved ones how I would wish to be treated.
During my work I was able to assist with many procedures including the placement of chest tubes, arterial lines, and intubations. Speaking with families and patients regarding risk and benefit, patient wishes as well as possible outcomes is where I found my calling. The critical care setting is where I am able to deliver the most immediate relief to individuals, and the procedures are not necessarily solutions but step stones to solutions.
With this I was reignited in my passion and returned to school to complete my first bachelors degree. Because of mental health issues and financial insecurity I did not end my Creighton career with a GPA that was satisfactory. I attempted to apply to Post-Bacc courses, but due to my lacking GPA I could not. This led me to return to school and obtain a second Bachelors in Biology. While returning to school full time and maintaining a B average I continued to work full time as a Critical Care Technician in a local hospital. This time was challenging mentally and physically but when I felt I had lost focus on my goal individuals would come into the ICU and remind me of my goal. I continued to shadow during this time, and entered the OR. I shadowed several surgeons but with my background as an EMT as well as Telemetry Technician I continually found myself drawn to "the other side of the curtain".
I did not think that anesthesia was a route that was available to me due to my personal struggles through higher education, but after speaking with my partner I was pushed to further research opportunities I could obtain. This led me to the career of Anesthesia Assistant. The level of attention to detail, high stress environment, as well as collaboration with other hospital personnel, working in healthcare as an anesthesia assistant is my vocation. From there I shadowed Dr. Umali and fully understood that I had found my calling. The attention to detail, continual monitoring of not just the patients vital signs but the patient themselves, as well as the delicate balance of medication administration was something I had not seen before. With my background in emergency medicine as well as critical care I found the niche for myself in the healthcare field.

I realize that you are a non traditional student applying for entry into a Masters course for Anesthesia Assistant. However, That was not the focus of your personal statement, which makes it difficult for the reviewer to honestly see how you grew your interest in the field. Your highly technical background should have been the footnote in the development of your interest rather than having it comprise 80 % of this paper. I would revise this paper in totality.

It would be best if you discussed the current last part first. That way you keep the focus on the development of your interest and how you have pursued it until recently. Then discuss your college woes that led to your career as a technician in the field. Try to connect your current career with your masters interest somehow. Find a commonality that would show how you have learned some things through experience and exposure, that would allow you to be a successful student in this course. Right now, I do not see any reason for the reviewer to take your application seriously.