The following is the prompt for a specific PA/MPH program. This is for my supplemental application so it will be in addition to my PA school (CASPA) personal narrative. This one is shorter and needs to be more to the point.
Please provide a personal statement, not exceeding one page, describing the following:
(1) Why XX University Master of Science in Public Health?
(2) Any academic and/or professional preparation for a career in public health
(3) Reasons and motivation for seeking to enroll in the public health program
(4) Career plans upon completion of the program
Dual degree program applicants (PharmD/MSPH, MSPH/JD, MSPH/PA), must specifically address his/her future goals with both degrees.
I feel like I say what I want to say but not in a coherent way. Any suggestions or edits would be much appreciated!
I was first drawn to the field of public health when I began working in social and clinical research my sophomore year of college. Prior to that, coursework for my biology major had provided me with an understanding of the biological principles underlying disease. Research introduced me to the concept of social and environmental influences on health and exposed me to the importance of preventative medicine. Over the past four years I have worked in primary care research investigating the leading causes of preventable death in the United States: smoking, hypertension, and obesity. Through smoking cessation research, I gained experience designing and implementing a smoking-cessation intervention in a community hospital. I learned that it takes a number of people with a range of skill sets to make an intervention successful. My research in hypertension has focused on better ways to diagnose and treat hypertension. By finding a model upon which to base the treatment of hypertension, we can reduce the amount of visits needed to achieve hypertension control. Consequently, this will improve the accessibility of treatment and decrease the cost to the patient. The research I'm currently working on with obesity investigates the importance of calorie labeling. We are labeling food in a cafeteria with calorie content and with exercise equivalency content and researching whether the change in labeling affects the exercise and dietary choices of obese patients.
My work with obese patients opened my eyes to the fact that many of the lifestyle choices that adults make are deeply rooted in their childhood experiences. This led me to begin volunteering with a free community-based wellness program for obese children and their families. Although my work with this program, called Bull City Fit, has just begun, I am quickly learning the impact that the program has on the community. Not only does Bull City Fit provide a safe place for children to be active, it also provides a judge-free environment where they can be themselves. Almost ninety-percent of these children come from low-income families who are on Medicaid. Bull City Fit has taught me that health is more than just taking care of a patient. It's important for practioners to know how to address community needs.
My ultimate goal in pursuing a dual degree in Public Health and Physician Assistant Studies is to gain the tools to make a lasting health impact on the community I serve. I hope to use my public health degree to complement my physician assistant education in many ways. First and foremost, I believe a public health education will enable me to practice medicine in a way that addresses the social and environmental determinants of disease. The multi-dimensional approach that a public health education offers will allow me to incorporate concepts of population medicine into my everyday primary care practice. Second, I believe that a master's in public health will enable me to evaluate medical literature and confidently implement evidence-based medicine in my treatment of disease. Everyday, the way providers diagnose and treatment of disease is changing to incorporate new research. It is important to me that I have to tools to change along with the healthcare system. Finally, I hope to use my public health education to develop and raise funds for community programs, similar to Bull City Fit, that focus on education and prevention. Free and low-cost community programs that are accessible to underserved populations will serve as a cornerstone for future advances in community health. My research and volunteer background has given me insight into ways to fund and man community-based lifestyle programs.
I believe that the dual-degree program at XX is best suited to help me achieve these goals. I was first drawn to the program because of its location in a rural, underserved area. The demographic of patients and types of clinics in the surrounding area offer a prime location to study both public health and the clinical competencies of the physician assistant program. The location also gives students the chance to work with rural communities in both a public health setting and a clinical setting. Another aspect of the dual-degree program at XX that interests me is the community outreach project. I believe that hands-on field experience is just as important as classroom training. In conclusion, I believe that medicine tends to focus on treatment while public health focuses on prevention. I believe you need a combination of both to create a healthy community and attending XX's dual-degree program will help me to become a primary care provider who can address issues from many perspectives.
