Statement Of Purpose To Become A Pre-Physician Assistant

Does becoming a P.A make you broke?
“The awe of discovering the human body. The honor of being trusted to give advice. The gratitude for helping someone through a difficult illness. These things never grow old.” - Danielle Ofri, MD (Kelley, 2019). As said directly in the quote, having the opportunity to learn more about the human body, while being trusted to give people who are searching for answers is the best thing about my major. I am majoring in Pre-Physician Assistant. The main question is, “Will I make a comfortable living with this major?” The answer to this question is yes, this major will give me the feeling of being comfortable in the future. The main three points we will dig into today are: the main information on P.A’s from Chadron

After long nights full of thoughts, I finally decided to go to Chadron State College. Chadron State is one of the most well known universities for rural health professionals and that is why I picked them. Chadron gives a brief description on what being a Physician Assistant looks like, “A PA does most of the day-to-day job of a doctor from taking comprehensive medical histories, conducting exams, ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests, prescribing medications, assisting in surgery, etc. They can also work in all medical specialties. It takes the typical student four years to complete a bachelor’s degree containing the pre-requisite courses necessary for admission to professional school. To earn the credentials “Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C), a PA will have to complete a master’s degree in professional school (typically 2-3 years) and obtain licensure according to state laws specific to one’s state.” (College, C.S, n.d) These are the situations and everyday things I should be expecting to see. P.A’s are the assistant to a doctor, so I will be doing everything the doctor does, but without getting paid as much

There is a list of costs and fees that I will have to pay to just even think about becoming a P.A. These include my undergraduate college cost, then the UNMC P.A program cost. The average cost of attendance without help at Chadron State College is $16,439.50 (College, C.S n.d.). With this being said, the four years that I will be attending Chadron State College, I am expected to be $65,758 out of my own pocket. This is a big setback for me, as I also have to pay for all the tuition and fees at UNMC also. You may be wondering to yourself, “how much student debt is this kid going to be in?” Well, the answer is a lot. The average cost of attendance at UNMC’s Physician Assistant program is $129,515 (Program: PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT Year 1, n.d.). This cost includes all of my tuition rates, including housing, books and supplies, and other fees. As you see, these are two very big numbers and if you combine both of the costs to even become a P.A. I am looking at being roughly $195,273 in debt right after I get done with all my schooling. This number is a number that everyone talks about when talking about health professions. A common saying that I’m told is, “you’ll be in school for your entire life, then be paying off loans for the rest of it.” In a way, they are right, six and a half years to become a Physician Assistant is a lot of time, and then you get thrown $195,273 dollars of debt on top of it.