So I have been working on this essay for PA schools for a while now and I am still having trouble. Some of my family members have helped me through some revisions but would like any outside opinions as well. Below is the essay which I feel is a near final draft...
I would like to specifically ask two questions:
1) What are your overall impressions of the applicant (myself)?
2) Do I answer the prompt? -- I want to be sure that my motivations are obvious
Thanks in advance for any input!!
Please describe your motivation towards becoming a PA:
My desire for becoming a physician assistant stems from my personality, my rewarding experience in the healthcare field, and my ability to work well with both physicians and patients in a dynamic and continually changing healthcare setting. As the middle child in a Latin-American family of ten, I quickly learned how to thrive in busy settings that required a sense of versatility and resourcefulness. It is here, within my family, where my passion to serve and care for the well-being of others began and where my inspirations found meaning and momentum.
From a young age, I discovered the power and importance of service and how this could ultimately lead to healing. Working alongside my father as a missionary to low-income Hispanic communities throughout Houston, I eagerly served and inspired others as a youth group leader, outreach volunteer, and tutor to intercity children. Each experience was an opportunity to learn about the people I was serving and establish genuine relationships. Serving others requires a purposeful decision to figure out other people's needs and try to meet those as best as possible. In the process, I also experienced first-hand that to learn how to lead, you must first learn how to serve. Years of serving in my community instilled a passion and calling to improve the well-being of people in a career that combined the best of service, healing, and inspiration.
As a student in the top ten-percent of my high school class, I was awarded an internship with two thoracic surgeons and their physician assistant at the Methodist Hospital and Baylor Clinic. I observed and interacted with patients while learning about disease assessment, diagnosis, and treatment options. Experiencing the small clinic setting, cardiac operating room and intensive care units, I realized most importantly that I loved having the ability to connect with patients. My perspective and respect for the medical field grew and so did my understanding of the role of the physician assistant. I became intrigued with the manner in which the physician assistant cared for every patient on a personal level. I realized then that, because I inherently like caring for and connecting with people on a deeper level, I could best serve patients as a physician assistant.
When I enrolled at Baylor University, I decided to pursue my interest in science and began an education in Biology. After a combination of taking courses such as Human Physiology, undertaking a biological research project, and shadowing a physician assistant in the emergency department of a local hospital, I remained absorbed with physician assisting and soon became an active member of Baylor's Pre-Physician Assistant Society. Through this student organization, I met and interacted with several physician assistants, received encouraging advice from students in various physician assistant programs, and served in numerous health-related community outreach events.
After graduating, I immediately explored the business aspect of healthcare with intentions of understanding medicine further. Intrigued, I soon began a unique job opportunity working alongside two entrepreneurial emergency physicians to create and cultivate a new, market driven company which aims to better connect physicians and patients while bringing price transparency to healthcare. In the hope of making healthcare services more accessible and affordable, I understand now healthcare policies and challenges of upcoming changes. As a physician assistant, I will empower and inspire my patients to become well-informed about accessible and affordable treatment options.
Overall, I bring a unique perspective, job experience, and stead-fast knowledge base that can serve as chief assets to any physician group as I continue my lifelong passion of becoming a physician assistant. In the process, I have gained insights, enthusiasm, determination, and heart needed to provide superior, compassionate care. I am prepared to be a well-rounded resource for physicians in a challenging and changing medical field.
It is here, within my family, where my passion to serve and care for the well-being of others began and where my inspirations found meaning and momentum.
Nice.... this sentence comes with a punch : )
Each experience was an opportunity to learn about the people I was serving and establish genuine relationships.
This is fine... However, I feel like giving a suggestion for this : )Each experience enriched my knowledge about the people while letting me form genuine relationships with them.In the process, I also experienced first-hand that to learn how to lead, you must first learn how to serve.
I feel this is a conviction, not an experience.... you were convinced that learning how to serve is important to learning how to lead.1) What are your overall impressions of the applicant (myself)?
Good... overall impression is really good :)