This personal statement traces the author's path toward a career as a physician assistant, beginning with a formative childhood experience providing first aid to a younger sibling. The paper highlights the applicant's academic resilience — including a dramatic GPA improvement — along with a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology, hands-on experience working alongside physicians, and consistent PA shadowing since a previous application. The statement argues that the author's teamwork skills, attention to detail, communication ability, and genuine desire to help others make them a strong candidate for a physician assistant program.
We all have dreams and aspirations. As a young child, my dream was to become an officer in the army. When asked why I wanted to become a soldier, my answer was always consistent: "I wanted to save my family, my neighbors, and my pet in case of an outbreak of war." I was naive. As I grew up, I became more informed and my view of the world became clearer — and it was then that I realized that, deep inside, I wanted to end up in a profession that impacted positively on the lives of others.
Then something happened that completely convinced me I would most comfortably serve in one of the helping professions. A couple of months after my 14th birthday, my 6-year-old brother was left in my care while our parents went out. While playing with his toys outside, he was bitten by a spider and came running back to the house screaming. Although confused, I had to act. I did the most reasonable thing: I called our family doctor, who immediately gave me instructions on how the bite was to be treated. For the next 20 minutes or so, I played the role of a doctor as I administered the necessary first aid treatment under the physician's guidance. To put it simply, I enjoyed every bit of that short experience. I would say my resolve to join the helping professions — specifically the medical profession as a physician or physician assistant — was born from that moment.
In addition to being hardworking, I am a focused individual who sets goals and stops at nothing to accomplish them. I have worked extremely hard to reach where I am today. Once I recognized that I risked seeing my dreams slip away, I gave my all and improved my GPA from 1.0 to the President's List. As noted in my resume, I hold a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Biology. I have also served in various positions of responsibility, most of which gave me the opportunity to work closely with physicians in the delivery of quality care to patients.
"Skills and personality aligned with PA duties"
"Second application backed by ongoing PA shadowing"
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