A True Patient Connection 2, Please read! Please comment!

[tj1986]

His hands were cold, his heart was weak, his eyes full of life. Dreu visited frequently for his monthly nuclear medicine bone scan. An aggressive form of prostate cancer was attacking Dreu but that didn’t stop his humorous character from shedding a little light and laughter on others during this process. Dreu and I began to develop a friendship over the four years during his visits. We often spoke of family to each other, his recurrent fishing trips and his new perspective on life. Drew went fishing every Friday before his routine scan the following week. He had done this so often it became a ritual, as if to forget reality, detour his mind from the thoughts of more treatments, more scans, more chemotherapy. My heart went out to Dreu. Each visit I could feel his fear and worry increasing as he sat in the chair waiting for me to start the IV. Anxiously awaiting results had taken a toll on him. I could only do so much as a healthcare professional to show compassion and comfort. I wanted to do more. I wanted something to mean much more to Dreu, it needed to be personal. It needed to be what took him away from his worry, from his pain, from his reality. We planned a fishing trip together before his next routine follow up scan. I was so excited and thrilled to spend some time with not only my patient but a friend. We planned on taking a Friday off and visiting a lake nearby. Our shared stories in the department created so much laughter it seemed this trip was destined to accomplish its goal. As the weeks passed I waited with anticipation for Dreu’s escape to arrive. His wife worked as a nurse at the same facility as I. As we passed each other in the halls she would enlighten me to how happy and eager he was for the upcoming getaway. The feeling was mutual. The week before we were to leave I ran into Dreu’s wife again but this time she was in normal clothing. She was not carrying herself the same. She explained to me Dreu would not be joining me on this trip. My heart sank in my chest. I felt as if I had lost a member of my own family. It was hard hearing those words but deep down I knew that day may come. Its people like Dreu that reassure the honor and privilege I feel when working with my patients.
I thoroughly enjoy developing a relationship with my patients. During interviews it is a priority that they feel compassion, comfort, care and the desire to help coming from me. It is on this foundation of trust that the patient feels they matter, are important, and they are going to receive the utmost care they deserve. They deserve to work with a professional whose sole desire is to improve their quality of life.
For as long as I can remember I’ve always had a deep desire to hold a profession in the healthcare industry. In high school I job shadowed many different departments (Radiology, Physical Therapy, Cardiology, etc.) to help guide my career decision. In college I worked as an Acute Care Therapy Technician where I gained my first hands on patient contact. The position was an eye opening experience. Working with so many different departments and staff, all striving to accomplish the same goal was incredible. The experience proved to me that patient care was not only where I wanted to be but where I needed to be.
My patient care experience and close contact with practicing PA’s while working as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist and Acute Care Therapy Technician has confirmed my desire and decision to become a PA. The past year included job shadowing different PA’s to establish a better understanding and acquire a closer perspective of the daily routine and responsibilities. Given the opportunity, I was able to shadow and observe a variety of PA’s working in their respected field. The way they evaluated each and every patient and spoke to them as a human being, not just a number, could be felt by each individual in the room. Their determination to find the most suitable diagnostic test based on the patient’s condition or limitations showed they cared more about what was appropriate to order versus selecting multiple tests to run and hoping one of those were to return positive. My conversations with a couple of the PA’s were extremely educational to me, opening my eyes even more to the broad scope and flexibility of the Physician Assistant profession. Specifically, the option that a PA can transition from one specialty into another.
I desire to become a PA because I truly enjoy being around people and becoming a part of their lives. Dreus life is a story I am very humbled to have known and been a part of. Becoming a part of his treatment process and reviewing his progress report from one appointment to the next simply strengthened my decision to choose this path. Having the privilege of following some great PA’s merely reinforced my desire to move forward with this career. My strong motivation to provide aid and do what I can for others is a huge part of my personality. So much that I want to be a provider of medicine for those who need it, for those who want it, and for those who can’t afford it. My motivation, work ethic, and personal beliefs are without question going to make me a successful and fulfilling Physician Assistant.

[jaciebg]

What works: I really enjoyed your personal statement. The opening story tied the end conclusion in the best way. Also, I feel like I got a feel for your goals and your understanding of the PA profession.

Ideas: Work on breaking down the large paragraphs to hold the reader's attention. Long drawn out paragraphs paired with short ones can be distracting.

In my opinion, one of the best personal statements I have read. Good work!

[benpichette]

Hi. I thoroughly enjoyed your personal statement. I though the story that you shared showed many of your excellent interpersonal qualities and clinical skill set.

One thing I noticed was that Dreu's name was spelled Drew at least once in there. Minor detail; easy fix. Other than that, I also think that if you broke down the paragraphs, it would make for an easier read.

All over. Very nice personal statement.