Physicians Assistant Program at Northwestern University - Admission/Application Essay Example

?Mission of the program The mission of the Physician’s Assistant (PA) program at Northwestern is to provide “compassionate, high-quality patient centered care as a member of an interdisciplinary team”. This mission is directly linked to why I am seeking this program. To date, I have had several internships and job shadowing opportunities that have prepared me for this mission. I have had the opportunity to job shadow with general practitioners, OB/GYN doctors and a doctor who specialized in geriatrics and have learned greatly from each one. As an example, for the general practitioners I learned about bedside manner, I learned about surgery with the OB/GYN doctor and I saw in every case how to treat patients well. I also was able to shadow a PA-C Family Physician who was also my doctor. From this physician I learned how the PA works with the doctor and the various procedures that the PA can perform. Because of my various volunteer efforts I understand how to treat people in a compassionate and high quality way. As an example, when I was working with Habitat for the Humanity, I understood that we were building a home for a family that could not afford to purchase a large, luxurious home. When I passed out food to homeless people or boxed food that was going out to them, I realized how fortunate I was in this particular situation because I was learning about the circumstances that put people into these positions; I also learned about different cultures and how to approach them. I think that I am a loving and caring person. I come from a rural town where everyone knows everyone else and I realize that in times of illness, people seek support. They want to know that when they go into an emergency room or into a doctor’s office that they are going to be treated well. From my earliest years, I wanted to be of use to members of my community or to a community that was very much like my own. I decided to become a pharmacist at first and began my bachelor degree studies with this goal in mind. However, after much thought, I decided that this choice would not provide the frequent and close interaction with patients that I felt that I needed for a satisfying career in healthcare. I changed my major to medicine and I have spent my undergraduate education tenaciously pursuing this goal. I also understood that I needed the experience to understand what aspects of medicine I wanted to pursue. With this in mind, I worked one summer as an intern in a rural hospital, I spent a year working at a nursing home and I am currently working in a hospital. Each of these experiences has been built in a way that helped me to create an understanding of quality patient care and how to work with a team. I have seen how interdisciplinary teams work together to provide care for a patient. Sometimes this was a good team and at other times it was not as good as it could have been. However, in each situation I was able to take care of patients, make them laugh and give them some peace as they went through their ordeal. I feel that these experiences have made it easier for me to bring together my compassion and my ability to help people heal through treating them well. (568 words) Why Attend Northwestern University Prior to my decision to apply at Northwestern University I researched many programs. I chose Northwestern because it seemed to be compatible with what I think about medicine. I chose the program because it was rigorous and I felt it would give me the best opportunity for training. I read on the website that this program provided a “didactic curriculum that utilizes lecture, small group discussion, clinical experiences, team-based learning and problem-based learning”. I am the type of person who learns best through hands on experiences. This program provides clinical experiences that are in and around Chicago. This gives me experience in working within my community. The program also offers seven rotations that allow students to have hands on experience in working directly with patients. I saw this as my best opportunity to learn because of my experience with internships and job shadowing. I wanted a program that would provide me with a variety of experiences. I did not want to only go to one hospital where I would only learn about that specific hospital. I feel that students must have the experience in a variety of healthcare facilities in order to have the broadest experience possible. The reason I think this is important is so that the individual can decide the type of setting they want to work within. Another reason I chose this program was because of its emphasis on family and community medicine. Since I want to serve my community I wanted a program that would emphasis this type of care. I also was impressed that this particular department was committed to “becoming one of the top 10 academic departments in the country.” To me, this means that they are also very student oriented. I think that a program that is based on helping the student achieve success is important if they want to create students who have compassion and connect with the mission of the university. On another personal note, I became aware of the role of P.A.s during my internship, not only in observing day to day routines, but also in specialty areas such as surgery and maternity. I was encouraged by a P.A. who I knew well to shadow her and to consider her role as a career option. This P.A. has been an excellent mentor who has encouraged me to make this application. Having carefully observed her work, I am convinced that the role of P.A. will fully satisfy my original career goals and personal aspirations. I am very much attracted by the fact that so much of a P.A.’s time is spent dealing directly with patients on an autonomous basis, by the variety of the conditions and patients treated, and the opportunity to apply and develop practical, diagnostic, academic and interpersonal skills on a daily basis. (464 words) Approach to Working with People Who Are Different I have had the opportunity to work with a variety of people who were different than I am. I intentionally put myself into these situations in order to meet different types of people and help to meet their needs. I believe that this has helped me understand diversity differently than if I had not had these experiences. As an example, my grandfather suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and lived with my family for months before his passing. This was very difficult for my family, especially when he was not able to recognize us as his family. We dealt with it because we loved him and we did not want him in a nursing home where people did not know him. During this time I became very aware of, and interested in, the challenges that aging present and am aware that society will need to consider these matters much more closely in the near future as the proportion of the elderly rapidly increases in the population. Working with diverse populations has also been an intention of mine. I am aware of the special need for cultural sensitivity in the provision of healthcare. I have travelled widely in Europe and spent three months in Greece observing their hospital and pharmacy programs. I have happily studied and worked with people of many cultural and social backgrounds and look forward to extending this experience further in the program. What I found was that when I go into a new culture, I sit back and wait to be invited in. I do not barge my way into the situation and attempt to take charge. Many Americans seem to have this type of behavior as though they think that the other culture needs to be controlled. I do not think this is the best way to work with people who are different. I have learned that working with people of diverse cultures takes patience. Sometimes people may come into a clinic and need an interpreter. It is important for a facility to have interpreters for language as well as for Deaf or hard of hearing clients that read sign language. My approach to different patients is to listen to their concerns and what they need. I attempt to actively listen so that the patient knows that I care about them and want the best for them. I talk with them, touch them appropriately when they are stressed or when I feel they need human kindness and I make sure that I keep eye contact with cultures that want people to look them in the eye. I also think it is important to be respectful. I approach each patient as if they are a good friend because I feel that patients need to feel that they have connected with someone in the healthcare area that will hear them and take steps to help them. One of my main attributes is a genuine and passionately held determination to provide excellent healthcare services, hopefully to members of a medically underserved rural community. This means to me that I will have a variety of people coming into the clinic and I want to make sure that each one is taken care of to the best of my ability. (537 words) Read More