The #1 Mistake PRE-PAs Make on Their Personal Statement

What's the #1 one mistake that potential PAs and pre-physician assistant students make while drafting their PA school personal statement? A failure to outline and plan! Outlining your personal statement is like following a proven recipe. Althoughstrong personal statementsdo not all follow the same format (nor should they), there is a certain formula for success thatwill showcase your qualifications while highlighting your passion for becoming a PA. And that's whywe have created this time-tested personal statementstarter kit to help you outline and write your compelling first draft. Download Your Ultimate PA School Personal Statement Starter Kit This starter kit takes you step by step through the process of outline and writing your personal statement. Just follow our collection of prompts, write your paragraphs in the spaces provided, and at the end, you will have astrong first draft personal statement that showcases your strongest assetyou! GET YOUR STARTER KIT You know what, this is so important, I'm not even going to ask you for your email address to get it, I'm just going to give it to you right now, and all you have to do is click the button below to get instant access to it. DOWNLOAD YOUR STARTER KIT STEP 1: MAKE YOUR MARK WITH A STANDOUT INTRODUCTION Paragraph #1: Your Opening Paragraph Start your personal statement by describing a lightning-bolt moment that launched your interest in patient care or confirmed that the PA profession is right for you. Be sure to include specific, compelling details that give the reader a good sense of why this story had such an impact on your decision to become a PA. Inspiration abounds! Consider writing about: An experience with a special patient that helped you decide to be a PA A critical health or safety incident that pushed you to act and taught you that you perform well under pressure A time when you or a family member were cared for by a dedicated PA What you learned from growing up in a medically underserved area Volunteer experiences that taught you the important impact you can have on the health of underserved individuals STEP 2: SHOW US YOUR JOURNEY Paragraph #2 How did your decision to work in healthcare evolve? (One caveatplease dont start with childhood experiencesadmissions committees wont care what you thought as a five-year-old). Did you volunteer to gain experience? Take a job working with patients? What path did you take to build your patient care hours? Pro Tip:Specific details make your personal statement shine.Show your readers more about how you relate to patients and colleagues. Whether youre a paramedic, medical assistant, or hospital volunteer, how do you perform your duties while taking time to make each person you encounter feel cared for and heard. Paragraph #3 How did you build your understanding of the PA Profession? What experience do you have shadowing/working with PAs or other healthcare professionals? What do you admire about the PAs you've met? Why do you want to be a PAspecifically rather than a doctor or nurse practitioner? Pro Tip: Your target audience already knows what PAs do.Keep in mind: Your target audience already knows what PAs do and why they rock, so try your best to go beyond simply stating what you like about the profession. Instead of rehashing the what, show readers why you are passionate about the PA profession. Paragraph #4 What specific skills will help you be a successful PA? What experiences (professional or personal) developed these skills? Show readers why your skills, personality, and trademark awesomeness will benefit your future patients and the profession. Pro Tip: Show your commitment to teamwork and communication.Bonus points: Its always a great idea to work in some details that show your commitment to teamwork and communicationboth are essential components of a PAs success. Optional Paragraph #5 Do you have experience volunteering or working with underserved people? Is this a focus that you'd like to have in the future as a PA? How do you show empathy to patients with special needs? Pro Tip: Be SpecificBe sure to highlight the specific ways that your similar personal background or relevant professional experience can meet the special needs of a certain population (e.g., urban medically underserved communities; immigrants with language barriers; rural residents who experience long delays for service or must travel some distance to receive specialty care). Optional Paragraph #6 Are there any academic issues you need to discuss (grades of C or below, or any withdrawals)? Provide an explanation for any lower grades or academic issues. Pro Tip: Take ownership of your mistakes.No excusesits better to take ownership of any mistakes and show how you worked to overcome the challenges. Be sure to indicate how you will manage any similar issues to avoid problems during PA school, if necessary. Here are:7 Tips for Addressing Shortcomings in Your PA School Personal Statement Download Your FREE PA School Personal Statement Starter Kit FREE DOWNLOAD STEP 3: CLOSE WITH CONFIDENCE Always leave them wanting more! Your Concluding Paragraph End your personal statement with a paragraph that connects to your standout opening or overall theme and reiterates why you will be a great PA. In our book, How to Write Your Physician Assistant Personal Statement, I talk about how the conclusion of your essay is like the last kiss at the end of a first date. It should always leave the recipient wanting more. Here is a good example: We never know whether our patient will be a drug dealer, alcohol abuser, a mother, father, son, or daughter. The one thing I know is that they must all be treated with respect and given the treatment they deserve. We laugh and smile when we succeed or find a man with his finger stuck in a drain. We cry when we fail or our patient dies. Mistakes and failures are a reality faced by PAs, doctors, and EMTs every time they encounter a patient, but only those who do not fear failure can succeed. They are the ones who look forward to going to work every day with the chance to make a positive difference. Pro Tip: let your little light shine.Its a great time to remind the reader of your empathy, skills, and dedication to patient care and the profession. Dont be shy about showing us that youre passionate about being a PA! Step 4: Putting it all Together Outlining your essay really is is like following a proven recipe. Before outlining, you brainstorm or mind map to consider what can be included in your essay. You associate freely, considering related ideas. Outlining means bringing structure to your scribbles. You decide which ideas youll cover, and which youll leave out. And you define a logical flow. Then, like the ingredients in your Grandma's homemade chocolate chip cookies you pull it all together. If you have downloaded your starter kit and followed the prompts you should have a cookie that's ready for the taste test. The final step is to test it on some beta readers whose opinions you trust. Let us do the work for you! Step 1: Download your copy of the personal statement starter kit and fill it out. Step 2: Send us your completed starter kit and your rough draft essay for completion. Receive your free digital copy of our book "How to Write Your PA Personal Statement" and "101 PA School Admission Essays" just for signing up! Within 48 hours you will receive your edited and revised personal statement that's on point, personable, polished, within the character limit, and 100% written by you! Click the buttons and complete the steps: Step 1: then Step 2: Download Complete YOUR STARTER KIT Send us your essay for revision View all posts in this seriesHow to Write the Perfect Physician Assistant School Application EssayThe Physician Assistant Essay and Personal Statement CollaborativeDo You Recognize These 7 Common Mistakes in Your Personal Statement?7 Essays in 7 Days: PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 1, A PA Changed My LifePA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 2, I Want to Move Towards the Forefront of Patient CarePA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 3, She Smiled, Said Gracias! and Gave me a Big HugPA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 4, I Have Gained so Much Experience by Working With PatientsPA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 5, Then Reach, my Son, and Lift Your People up With YouPA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 6, That First Day in Surgery was the First Day of the Rest of my LifePA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 7, I Want to Take People From Dying to Living, I Want to Get Them Down From the Cliff.Physician Assistant Personal Statement Workshop: To say I was an accident-prone ch ild is an understatement9 Simple Steps to Avoid Silly Spelling and Grammar Goofs in Your PA School Personel Statement5 Tips to Get you Started on Your Personal Essay (and why you should do it now)How to Write Your Physician Assistant Personal Statement The Book!How to Write Physician Assistant The PA Grammar Guide101 PA School Admissions Essays: The Book!5 Things Ive Learned Going Into My Fourth Physician Assistant Application Cycle7 Tips for Addressing Shortcomings in Your PA School Personal StatementThe #1 Mistake PRE-PAs Make on Their Personal StatementThe Ultimate PA School Personal Statement Starter KitThe Ultimate Guide to CASPA Character and Space Limits10 Questions Every PA School Personal Statement Must Answer5 PA School Essays That Got These Pre-PAs Accepted Into PA School7 Questions to Ask Yourself While Writing Your PA School Personal Statement101 PA School Applicants Answer: Whats Your Greatest Strength? You may also like -The Ultimate PA School Personal Statement Starter Kit If you are struggling to write your PA school personal narrative, then this message is for you. Here's why . . . PA school admissions teams have an uncanny ability (honed on the job) to detect when an applicant's essay rings []5 PA School Essays That Got These Pre-PAs Accepted Into PA School Ever wonder what PA school admissions directors are really looking for in a winning PA school essay? Have you been searching the internet and physician assistant forums for samples of PA school applicant essays for []PA Personal Statement Workshop: Essay 5, Then Reach, my Son, and Lift Your People up With You In this fifth installment of our special week-long personal statement workshop, we continue to pull essays submitted from the comments section through our free essay submission processand provide you, and our users, with a more []