I'm applying to PA school through CASPA. For the personal statement, there is a 5000 character (about 625 word) limit asking what makes you want to become a PA... Please help provide feedback with some constructive criticism. Thanks!
My grandfather once said, "One must strive to be a shepherd in a valley of sheep." This was a motto my grandfather had always instilled into me. It was his way of encouraging me to be a leader amongst followers. I first realized that I wanted to be a physician's assistant when I was a little girl. I would create first aid kits and practice fixing my dolls. As I got older this need to fix dolls transformed into the need to 'fix' my friends. The first moment in my life where I could not fix someone was when my grandfather died. After his death, I fully realized that I wanted to embody the essence of a strong determined character my grandfather would appreciate and learn to apply these traits in my future career.
My first encounter with the medical world was when my grandfather passed away after a tragic car accident fifteen years ago. In my native country of Albania, hospitals were ill equipped, understaffed, and had little to no emergency services. As I approached my teenage years, I was told that if the emergency department had been operated properly, my grandfather might have lived. Life lessons are learned, however, through our unfortunate experiences. I lost my role model and the greatest father figure I ever had, but this ignited my need to follow his idea of leadership. The desire to work in the medical field only magnified from then on. My mind became set on the thought that I could become a physician's assistant and possibly save another person's grandfather in a perilous state.
I have always had a love for medicine, as was exhibited by my determination to care for my dolls and friends. It was only when I became an emergency medical technician that I realized that becoming a physician's assistant would fulfill the morals and ethics my grandfather instilled into me. My determination to succeed continued when I joined New City Volunteer Ambulance Corps in August of 2011 hoping to get glimpse into the unfamiliar world of patient care. I realized that I wanted to have the capability to help someone in a critical state; to be someone who could provide extended care for a patient after the initial EMS assessment as a physician's assistant would.
A physician's assistant is someone with a strong work ethic, a person who has morals, and is determined and compassionate. These are all qualities that I possess. I yearn to become a successful physician's assistant, and I am certain my grandfather would have been proud to know this is the path I plan to pursue. Working in the emergency medical services has affected my life in a myriad of ways. Looking back now, I would never have realized that fixing my broken dolls would have helped me become the woman I am today. Through volunteering in the emergency medical services, I realized that the qualities I was searching for are in my profession of choice.
It was his way of encouraging me to become a leader amongst followers.
TheMy desire to work in the medical field became magnified from then on.
My determination to succeed continued when I joined New City Volunteer Ambulance Corps in August of 2011, hoping to get glimpse into the unfamiliar world of patient care.
...to be someone who could provide extended care for a patient after the initial EMS assessment, as a physician's assistant would.
Through volunteering in the emergency medical services, I realized that the qualities I was searching for are in my profession of choice.
:)
