A step-by-step guide to help you get into your dream physician assistant or med school program

With the applications for Physician Assistant and Med school just around the corner, writing your clinical experience into your personal statement to impress and make you stand out may seem overwhelming.  

Don’t worry—HealthCareer CERTS has got you! The good news: through the clinical experiences you’ve gained in our certificate programs, you’ve already filled the hands-on experiences PA and med school admissions teams need. Your clinical experience allows them to be able to trust that’s you’re able to meet the demands of medical practice.

Here, we share tips on how to write about those clinical experiences, whether they are an emergency, such as dealing quickly with an ER patient, or psychological, such as working long hours, or the need to have difficult conversations with patients and their families.

Here are 7 tips on how to write your clinical experience descriptions to make your PA or Med School application standout:

1. Details, details. Detail is especially important for your clinical experience to give a clear picture of the depth of your experience.
2. Just the facts. When writing each description, your style should be factual, since you don’t have much space and you need to make sure that the admissions committees know what you actually did in each activity.
3. 1. Show, don’t tell. You can assert that you’re a great fit medical or PA school. But if you can cite a real-life example of an experience that makes that case for you it’s going to go much further. Try to use that story to convey your goals, desires, skills and passion for a career in medicine. This is the place to share your reflections, experiences and goals that will convince admissions reviewers why you want to be a physician or PA. Consider these questions for reflection:
   • What did you learn from the experience?
   • How did you change as a result of the experience?
   • What insight did you gain?
4. Tell a story. At the core of any patient encounter, there is a story. As future medical professionals you need to be primed to listen to stories, so a good story is key when a physician reads a medical school application or evaluates answers during the interview, according to The American Association of Medical Colleges. Like most medical and PA school applicants, you most likely have enough volunteer, work, shadowing, and research experiences to fill every space in your application.
5. Be passionate. For a compelling essay, prospective medical school students should share their passions beyond medicine, according to U.S, News & World Report.
6. Get personal. Give your essay a personal touch by sharing something outside of your passion for medicine to make sure your essay stands out.
7. Seek professional help.  Our tailored personal statement editing service for pre-health students is designed to polish and refine their narratives, ensuring their unique experiences and aspirations shine through. Our team of seasoned editors, well-versed in the intricacies of the medical application process, provide comprehensive feedback and guidance to help students craft compelling and authentic personal statements. By meticulously reviewing content, structure, and tone, we aim to elevate each student’s story, enabling them to present a powerful and cohesive representation of their journey into the healthcare profession.”

Additional Resources

Healthcareer CERTS partner, MyPABox.com offers a tailored personal statement editing service for pre-health students that helps you highlight your experiences and personality. You also can receive a critique of your content style and grammar and flow to craft the best personal statement possible.