Hi yellow85,
I too am applying to PA school. I really like the content of your essay. It tells the ADCOMs that you went on a journey to get to where you are and that you didn't make just a spur of the moment decision to go to PA school. When are you submitting your CASPA application? If you have some time before you submit I think there are a few things you could work on to make it more readable and more succinctly address the CASPA prompt.
From talking to admissions counselers at multiple PA programs, I have deduced that they want to see the following in your PS: That you understand the role of a PA. In your PS you say that the residents of the facility you managed motivated you and that you knew for sure you wanted to be a PA after reading a documentary and talking to a PA. You may want to consider the following questions: Have you shadowed? What did you learn about the role of a PA? What about this role draws you to the profession?
I think its really good that you explain how you worked full time during college. I worked about 30 hours per week during school as well and my work was very important in my decision to become a PA. However, from your PS I don't really understand what your job was. The word "manager" is fairly ambigious. Did you manage nursing staff? Or were you a coordinator? Or did you actually take care of patients? You would probably only need to add one sentence to clarify this.
During this period, I watched a documentary on the healthcare crisis in the Appalachia region and I was dumbfounded at the lack of health care right here in the United States. Nearly 3,000 individuals gathered over a weekend to receive healthcare as many had to choose between insurance and providing other essentials for their families. I began to grasp the overwhelming need for quality healthcare for the underserved population and I wanted to help. Although I knew about physician assistants, it wasn't until I watched this documentary that I began researching it as a potential career path.
This paragraph is confusing. I would just proof read this and make it more concise. At the end of the paragraph you might say something like "As a PA, I will strive to provide high quality affordable healthcare." Or you could at least add a sentence explaining that PAs can help to address the problem of the lack of affordable healthcare in the US and that you want to be a part of this and it draws you to the profession.
king as a medical assistant has solidified my desire to become a physician assistant. Moreover working in primary care, I feel strongly that I would like to pursue work as a primary care physician assistant in an underserved region.
During this statement I think you should explain why working as a medical assistant solidified your desire to become a PA. What did you like about it? Why did it make you want to become a PA and not an MD like your supervising physician?
Lastly, you have some run on sentences in your essay. I would go through and read it out loud. There are some places where you could replace a comma with a period and start a new sentence.
I hope this review helps! I wish you the best of luck with applying to school! If you have time, I would really appreciate it if you reviewed my PS as well!
Thanks,
Kris