In my application last year I found that my greatest faults were timing and work experience. Unfortunately for me, I discovered I wanted to be to a physician assistant late into my undergraduate studies. This postponed the completion of my prerequisite courses, which directly delayed the time my applications could be processed and reviewed. Additionally, I did not have as much variation in my direct patient care experience as I would have desired. My late decision to pursue the PA profession left a small amount of time to become certified for a direct patient care position, and as a result, I was limited in the patient care experience I could obtain. However, I have made several efforts within the past year to improve the content and timing …show more content…
These experiences consisted of shadowing PAs as well as physicians. Shadowing different clinicians did contribute to my desire to pursue a career as a PA and provided me with a diverse insight into the field of healthcare. In addition, I have been speaking with current PA students for further insight into the application process and the demands of PA school. In terms of improving the content and timing of my application, I sought out many useful resources for advise, such as colleagues, mentors, PA forums, blogs, videos, and current PA students. During the previous application cycle I was working as a medical scribe for an outpatient urology clinic. Throughout the year I worked as a medical scribe my clinical knowledge and insight into the thought process of a clinician substantially increased. I observed various physicians acquire patient histories, perform procedures and exams, determine diagnoses and develop treatment plans. Transcribing patient encounters enhanced my ability to parse written and reported information and distinguish the pertinent components of that …show more content…
I worked directly under the supervision of a PA, which gave me an understanding of the specific duties of a PA in an underserved setting. The clinical experience and additional direct patient care hours, particularly within an underserved area, make me a more competitive applicant. I acquired knew knowledge and skills, and I practiced several procedural tasks such as drawing blood, removing sutures, taking EKGs, administering intramuscular injections, using Combivent inhalers, performing spirometry tests and more. Performing these tasks on the occasional apprehensive patient helped me establish compassionate patient care skills. I also have a better understanding of the work entailed in medically underserved areas and a stronger desire to pursue the path of practicing as a PA in an underserved area. Currently, I continue to get exposure working in a medically underserved area through my position as an MA for North Florida Heart. The main cardiovascular clinic is in Gainesville, Florida. At this clinic I take vitals and help perform nuclear stress tests, electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, ankle-brachial index tests, and other diagnostic tests. Our second clinic is in the medically underserved region of Chiefland, Florida at which the same diagnostic tests are performed with the exception of stress tests. This position is
As a second year Pathologists’ Assistant student at Indiana University School of Medicine, I am writing to express my interest in the Pathologists’ Assistant position. I believe that this position is ideal for me because my internship at Montefiore was the first step in me become a Pathologists’ Assistant. Through this internship, I was able to obtain the knowledge on how to become a PA, what a PA does, and it solidified any question on whether I wanted to be a PA.
PA programs are based on the medical curriculum and clinical achievements. The programs are very competitive to get accepted into (What is a PA? para. 4). By your freshman year, you need to find and apply to PA programs you are interested in. Before you start the PA program you need to have some experience. Most programs require you to have clinical experience before starting the program (Kimberly para. 5). You can get clinical experience at physician or doctor offices, ambulatory clinics, or acute and long term facilities. Clinical experience includes family and internal medicin...
The physician assistant is a team player in the medical world, working daily with surgeons, physicians, therapists, and many other health care professionals. Similar to the job description of physicians, PAs see patients, take medical histories, preform physical exams, make diagnoses, order and interpret tests, and develop treatment plans (Ludwig). A physician assistant, nowadays, may even perform procedures that were once performed exclusively by physicians. Because every PA must have a supervising physician who oversees their work, it is assumed by many that PAs are “assistants to doctors”, however, that is not the case because a vast majority of PAs work independently. The extent of supervision by a physician varies depending on location and branch of medicine. Although, a physician assistant may carry out much of the same roles as a physician would, the amount of schooling required to become a PA is nearly half as many as that of a physician. Physician assistant programs nationwide require an undergraduate degree in one of many sciences, such as biology, and certain
I am interested in pursuing the Physician Assistant (PA) degree because of my experiences both within the medical field and as a patient. These experiences have led me to believe that a team approach to patient-centered medicine provides the best and most comprehensive care possible. Further, the PA profession offers me the opportunity to continue my lifelong passion of helping others, giving back to my community, and provides me with further opportunities to teach.
At Seton Hill, I will be a student of the 5-year physician assistant program. From visiting campus and interviewing with the PA program staff, I am confident that Seton Hill will shape me into a competent and compassionate medical professional. Furthermore, I am confident that my fellow students and I will have an opportunity to make a difference in the community. A main pillar of the physician assistant career is catering the underserved populations. With a simple internet search, anyone can deduce
The knowledge that I will obtain in the public health portion of the program will allow me to be better prepared to understand the social and environmental determinants of health that contribute to the development of diseases, and this will allow me to care for my patients more effectively. As these and other public health issues become more prominent, having a well-trained workforce that is equipped to address community-level health concerns is vital. As a profession, PAs are well educated as primary care clinicians and are able to handle a wide variety of common health care disorders. Adding a master’s degree in public health equips PAs with an expanded skill set which can be used to manage the health of entire communities, specifically those which are
The medical field is among the largest and ever growing career fields, especially when dealing with Physician Assistants (PAs) and Nurse Practitioners (NPs). In the 1960’s when the physician shortage began, the medical field created the PA and NP positions to fill in the gaps (Curren, 2007, p. 404). This matter has opened up numerous questions as more and more PAs and NPs begin practicing, especially concerning their education level. Many patients are concerned that they will not get the proper care. PAs/NPs are beneficial to everyday life by providing patients with the necessary skills needed to successfully treat them.
The first students enrolled in a PA program were hospital corpsmen from the Navy in 1965. Leadership, accountability, teamwork and excellence are just a few of the many qualities instilled in each and every Sailor who joins the Navy. These characteristics promote unity among your shipmates, working together and keeping each other accountable so no one finds themselves in a position where they feel helpless. These are qualities found in the Physician Assistant values, making a Corpsman-to-Physician Assistant transition appealing.
Finally, I believe my experience as a CPhT, clinical experience along with knowledge and passion for helping people will help me become a successful physician assistant candidate. While working in groups as an undergraduate student, I would always motivate myself and dedicate to reach the team goal. And learning from my shadowing experience, I think that motivation to give fullest attention and care to patients is very important. I believe being a PA is having great responsibility and with my educational background, cultural diversity and strong desire to be a health practitioner, I am ready for this challenge.
I shadowed one PA in internal medicine who had an integral role, sharing the responsibility for care of patients right beside physicians. Another PA who specialized in pediatrics was extremely warm; this was key for interacting with fearful children and nervous parents. I learned so much everyday, from things like medication, dosage, reading lab tests, drawing blood, immunizations, signs and symptoms. I shadowed another PA at the NICU at Kings County Hospital. She worked close with residents and the head physician, and made frequent rounds checking infants who were kept in a sterile, climate controlled
My educational experiences sparked my first consideration of a career in physician assistant and encouraged me to further explore this interest. At the same time, I started giving community services to healthcare. My first opportunity to personally interact with the patient was in the emergency department as a volunteer at Dekalb Medical Center. The first day I stepped onto the floor, my
Physician Assistant is a career choice that entails various specialties and flexibilities that attracts many. Those who desires a path to practice medicine as soon as possible, PA 's lateral mobility allows that to happen. Compared to medical school, PA school requires less time and amount less debt. As the population grows and chronic diseases spreads, The future projection of PA is growing faster than the average careers.
At the end of volunteer services I have decided on a major, I am now striving to become a physician’s assistant. In this position, not only do I get to care for patients, but I am presented with the opportunity to change their lives. I will be able to see firsthand the diversity of cultures from around the world.
I began my college career unsure of the path ahead of me. I knew I had a passion for medicine, however, I did not know which direction I would take. With the expansive amount of options offered within the fields of science and medicine, it was difficult to narrow down exactly what direction I wanted to take. I gained some clarity the summer of my sophomore year when I stayed at a close friend’s home, whose father, a practicing Medical Physician, became somewhat of a mentor to me. The passionate way in which he discussed the practice of medicine led me to develop an interest in pursuing a career as a physician. He explained that a career in the medical field was about responsibility, the responsibility to work with all members of the healthcare team for the well-being of the patient as well as their family
The flexibility of Physician’s Assistants is very appealing. The ability to be able to change practices if situations arose in which I needed different hours, needed to move, or simply wanted a change from the patients and conditions being seen is another factor in the decision to apply to PA school. Growing up, my step father worked in construction, and would be gone for several periods at a time. I watched as my mother was lonely during that time because she did not have a job in which she could move with my step father. Sometimes that period was years at time with visits only on the weekends or every three weeks.