Physician Assistant Proposal Essay
*** A GOOD PROPOSAL MUST HAVE ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS***** (the formatting didn 't come through on this upload. You should center and bold title all the sections (i.e. Introduction.... Background.... Scope...etc, etc)
106 Celia Ave
Albertville, AL 35951
25 September 2013
Mrs. Diane Singer
English Department
University of Alabama in Huntsville
Huntsville, AL 35899
SUBJECT: Proposal for 1-Document Project on How to Become a Physician’s Assistant
Dear Mrs. Singer,
I am writing to request your approval to begin my EH301 technical writing project. I will be working alone to produce a single document report on how to become a physician’s assistant. The pre-health advisor, Dana Parcher, has commissioned me with the task of developing a …show more content…
student friendly presentation on the path towards licensure as a physician’s assistant for the Intro to Health Professions class. This class is for students who are interested in health related fields. The class itself offers insight into the many avenues a student can take to pursue a career in health care and utilizes informative presentations and guest speakers to clarify some of the hurtles that must be overcome for successful acceptance into professional schools that specialize in a variety of health related fields. I am confident that my report will meet the technical requirements of this project. I anticipate no troubles in achieving the appropriate length of report, depth of subject matter, and technical matter required for this project.
Background
I am part of a growing class of individuals who have found that their current career paths were not fulfilling in the ways that one would hope for and have returned to school with the intent of finding a career path that will be successful for years to come. I would like to pursue a career in medicine. Of course, a graduate degree of some kind is required to practice any form of medicine, whether as a nurse practitioner, a medical doctor, a physician’s assistant, or even as a veterinarian. I am exploring two career options that are of great interest to me: medical school and physician’s assistant graduate programs. As someone who does not have experience in a health related field or who does not family or family friends to advise me, I have been surprised more than once by the many requirements a student must meet to be competitive and have any hope of acceptance into these graduate study programs. There are many things an undergraduate student must accomplish in order to be accepted. It is not enough to have a bachelor’s degree. During my investigations, I have found that there are many resources for what is needed to apply to these programs, but these resources are not always student friendly and they are not comprehensive enough on their own. I have found that lots of research and personal interviews with advisors, faculty, and professionals in the field is required to gain an understanding of the process. If a student is not actively preparing from the start of their sophomore year, they may fall hopelessly behind other applicants and not be competitive enough when the time for application comes.
Purpose and Audience
The primary purpose of my report is to provide an in depth look at the process of applying to the physician’s assistant programs for students who are interested in this field. Mrs. Parcher will be able to use the work from this project to provide valuable information to the Intro to Health Professions class as well as the many other students whom she advises who are unable to take the pre-health course. Specifically, my report will provide a step by step guide for undergraduate students to make themselves competitive candidates. I will provide more than the general requirements for application. I will provide the current statistics of the education merits of the most recently accepted applicants, resources for where to find this information for future classes, as well as valuable insight into the non-education requirements all physician’s assistant graduate programs have. For example, volunteerism is strongly recommended. One of the questions I will seek to answer is: How strongly is it recommended? What sort of volunteerism is best? How do I document my volunteerism on my application? I intend to take a very practical approach to this subject and provide information in a more practical way than many of the resources I have found thus far. The secondary purpose of my report is to facilitate the due diligence I must complete on my own before graduation if I would like to be accepted into one of the physician’s assistants programs. In my own career pursuits, I am interested in this field and have found that I know very little about the process itself. This report would serve my personal goal of investigating this career path and having a complete understanding of what is required and what my chances of success are.
SCOPE
This report will be a ‘How To’ guide for Mrs. Parcher’s students that can be delivered in both presentation format or as a document to be read individually. I will first present information on the field itself by describing the actual work a physician assistant does. I anticipate that this section will rely heavily on first-hand interviews with practicing professionals. The second portion of the report will delve into the graduate school application requirements. Finally, I will conclude with specifics related to the graduate programs offered in the state of Alabama. Again, this document will be satisfactory in length, material, content, and resource requirements. I am confident that I will meet the November 13, 2013 deadline.
I will use the following questions as a guide to the flow of this document:
Introduction: What is a Physician’s Assistant?
In this section, I will provide the national, accredited definition of the job description. I will cover the scope of responsibility of a physician’s assistant, what the license in this field allows and individual to do, and what the restrictions are. The information for this section will come from a variety of sources: the publications from the national accreditation organization, the state of Alabama’s policies and restrictions for this field, and first-hand interviews with active professionals. Content: How Do I Become a Physician’s Assistant?
In this section, I will provide information on how to become employed as a physician’s assistant. I will cover such items as whether or not you must have a license, how to obtain the license, and who is the governing body overseeing the practice of physician’s assistants. I will also touch on the education requirements to apply for licensure.
Content: What Are the Graduate School Requirements for the PA Program?
The bulk of the report will be spent in this section. I will discuss the standards and undergraduate student must meet to in order to apply for graduate school. I will provide very practical information on each of the criteria that graduate schools look at in a candidate’s application. Wherever possible, I will provide the latest information available on the most currently accepted class. In particular, I will attempt to provide some statistical information on the undergraduate GPA’s, entrance exam grades, majors, and non-education activities of the most currently accepted class.
I will also briefly discuss any specific requirements from the programs offered in the state of Alabama.
Content: When Do I Need to Start Preparing for a Career in this Field?
In this section, I will discuss the application process in more detail. This section will not focus as greatly on the list of requirements, but will focus on the timing and order of the application process. I will provide insight for when each of the major milestones must be completed in advance of receiving an acceptance letter and starting classes.
Conclusion: Where Is the Field of Physician’s Assistant’s Going?
In this section, I will discuss the future of this field as is currently predicted by the experts. I will cover the job outlook and the income trends for this field.
APPROACH
Completing this project will require interviews, literary research, and writing. The end result will be a how to report on the topic listed and a presentation to the EH301 class. I have enclosed a time and task schedule outlining the phases needed to complete this project.
SOURCES
Sources for this project will be both primary and secondary. Primary sources will come from interviews with current, active professionals in this field as well as members of the acceptance committee’s at local graduate study programs. I will also consider any advice offered by teachers, instructors, and advisors as primary research. To date, I have ten secondary resources that I have begun to evaluate. The most informative so far have been the governmental websites documenting the career outlooks for this field. I have enclosed an initial bibliography also.
QUALIFICATIONS
I have an extensive background as a working professional whose many job tasks include investigating, researching, and writing ‘How To’ style documents. In my most recent position as Purchasing Administrator for an automotive manufacturing company, I have made many successful proposals to my supervisors and have been successful in influencing many business decisions of the company I worked for through the extensiveness and thoroughness of my research as well as the sound way in which the information was presented to a diverse audience. In addition, it was part of my job requirements to write policies and procedures for our department. Therefore, I am full capable of investigating this topic appropriately and gathering the information together in a way that will make sense to a diverse audience.
CONCLUSION
As students, we all face the daunting task of trying to settle on a career field after graduation. We all hope that we are making this decision in the most well informed and best way possible and that we will find both happiness and success in our chosen profession. There are many students who are interested in the field of medicine. Prior to meeting with my pre-health advisor, Dana Parcher, I thought that the only two avenues into practicing medicine were through nursing school or through medical school. These schools are not a good fit for everyone, as evidenced by the application versus acceptance rates for these programs. I hope to offer insight into another medical field option that may be a good fit for pre-health students.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration in this matter. At this time, I would like to ask for your approval to continue this project. If you have any questions or concerns, I may be reached by email at **** or by phone at *****
Sincerely,
Stephanie Davis
Enclosures:
Time and Task Schedule
Preliminary Bibliography Enclosure 2: Preliminary Bibliography
Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.
(2006). Accreditation Standards for Physician Assistant Education (3rd ed.). Duluth, GA: Author. Retrieved September 14, 2011, from http://www.arcpa.org/General/standards/newStandards3.31.05.pdf
"Becoming a PA." AAPA. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
Biology. Ed. Richard Robinson. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. [iv]. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Physician Assistants, retrieved September 25, 2013. http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physician-assistants.htm
"Health Care Changes Spur Need For More Medical Specialists." WOSU Public Media. N.p., 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. Hooker, Roderick S.; Cawley, James F.; Asprey, David P. Physician Assistants : Policy and Practice 3rd ed. Philadelphia: F.A.Davis Co 2010. Ebook.
"How to Become a Physician Assistant." All Allied Health Schools. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
Rodican, Andrew J. The Ultimate Guide to Getting into Physician Assistant School. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical, 2011.
Print.
Getting into the Physician Assistant School of Your Choice. 2nd Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical, 2011. Print.
Sacks, Terence J. Opportunities in Physician Assistant Careers. Chicago: VGM Career Books. 2002. Ebook.
106 Celia Ave
Albertville, AL 35951
25 September 2013
Mrs. Diane Singer
English Department
University of Alabama in Huntsville
Huntsville, AL 35899
SUBJECT: Proposal for 1-Document Project on How to Become a Physician’s Assistant
Dear Mrs. Singer,
I am writing to request your approval to begin my EH301 technical writing project. I will be working alone to produce a single document report on how to become a physician’s assistant. The pre-health advisor, Dana Parcher, has commissioned me with the task of developing a …show more content…
student friendly presentation on the path towards licensure as a physician’s assistant for the Intro to Health Professions class. This class is for students who are interested in health related fields. The class itself offers insight into the many avenues a student can take to pursue a career in health care and utilizes informative presentations and guest speakers to clarify some of the hurtles that must be overcome for successful acceptance into professional schools that specialize in a variety of health related fields. I am confident that my report will meet the technical requirements of this project. I anticipate no troubles in achieving the appropriate length of report, depth of subject matter, and technical matter required for this project.
Background
I am part of a growing class of individuals who have found that their current career paths were not fulfilling in the ways that one would hope for and have returned to school with the intent of finding a career path that will be successful for years to come. I would like to pursue a career in medicine. Of course, a graduate degree of some kind is required to practice any form of medicine, whether as a nurse practitioner, a medical doctor, a physician’s assistant, or even as a veterinarian. I am exploring two career options that are of great interest to me: medical school and physician’s assistant graduate programs. As someone who does not have experience in a health related field or who does not family or family friends to advise me, I have been surprised more than once by the many requirements a student must meet to be competitive and have any hope of acceptance into these graduate study programs. There are many things an undergraduate student must accomplish in order to be accepted. It is not enough to have a bachelor’s degree. During my investigations, I have found that there are many resources for what is needed to apply to these programs, but these resources are not always student friendly and they are not comprehensive enough on their own. I have found that lots of research and personal interviews with advisors, faculty, and professionals in the field is required to gain an understanding of the process. If a student is not actively preparing from the start of their sophomore year, they may fall hopelessly behind other applicants and not be competitive enough when the time for application comes.
Purpose and Audience
The primary purpose of my report is to provide an in depth look at the process of applying to the physician’s assistant programs for students who are interested in this field. Mrs. Parcher will be able to use the work from this project to provide valuable information to the Intro to Health Professions class as well as the many other students whom she advises who are unable to take the pre-health course. Specifically, my report will provide a step by step guide for undergraduate students to make themselves competitive candidates. I will provide more than the general requirements for application. I will provide the current statistics of the education merits of the most recently accepted applicants, resources for where to find this information for future classes, as well as valuable insight into the non-education requirements all physician’s assistant graduate programs have. For example, volunteerism is strongly recommended. One of the questions I will seek to answer is: How strongly is it recommended? What sort of volunteerism is best? How do I document my volunteerism on my application? I intend to take a very practical approach to this subject and provide information in a more practical way than many of the resources I have found thus far. The secondary purpose of my report is to facilitate the due diligence I must complete on my own before graduation if I would like to be accepted into one of the physician’s assistants programs. In my own career pursuits, I am interested in this field and have found that I know very little about the process itself. This report would serve my personal goal of investigating this career path and having a complete understanding of what is required and what my chances of success are.
SCOPE
This report will be a ‘How To’ guide for Mrs. Parcher’s students that can be delivered in both presentation format or as a document to be read individually. I will first present information on the field itself by describing the actual work a physician assistant does. I anticipate that this section will rely heavily on first-hand interviews with practicing professionals. The second portion of the report will delve into the graduate school application requirements. Finally, I will conclude with specifics related to the graduate programs offered in the state of Alabama. Again, this document will be satisfactory in length, material, content, and resource requirements. I am confident that I will meet the November 13, 2013 deadline.
I will use the following questions as a guide to the flow of this document:
Introduction: What is a Physician’s Assistant?
In this section, I will provide the national, accredited definition of the job description. I will cover the scope of responsibility of a physician’s assistant, what the license in this field allows and individual to do, and what the restrictions are. The information for this section will come from a variety of sources: the publications from the national accreditation organization, the state of Alabama’s policies and restrictions for this field, and first-hand interviews with active professionals. Content: How Do I Become a Physician’s Assistant?
In this section, I will provide information on how to become employed as a physician’s assistant. I will cover such items as whether or not you must have a license, how to obtain the license, and who is the governing body overseeing the practice of physician’s assistants. I will also touch on the education requirements to apply for licensure.
Content: What Are the Graduate School Requirements for the PA Program?
The bulk of the report will be spent in this section. I will discuss the standards and undergraduate student must meet to in order to apply for graduate school. I will provide very practical information on each of the criteria that graduate schools look at in a candidate’s application. Wherever possible, I will provide the latest information available on the most currently accepted class. In particular, I will attempt to provide some statistical information on the undergraduate GPA’s, entrance exam grades, majors, and non-education activities of the most currently accepted class.
I will also briefly discuss any specific requirements from the programs offered in the state of Alabama.
Content: When Do I Need to Start Preparing for a Career in this Field?
In this section, I will discuss the application process in more detail. This section will not focus as greatly on the list of requirements, but will focus on the timing and order of the application process. I will provide insight for when each of the major milestones must be completed in advance of receiving an acceptance letter and starting classes.
Conclusion: Where Is the Field of Physician’s Assistant’s Going?
In this section, I will discuss the future of this field as is currently predicted by the experts. I will cover the job outlook and the income trends for this field.
APPROACH
Completing this project will require interviews, literary research, and writing. The end result will be a how to report on the topic listed and a presentation to the EH301 class. I have enclosed a time and task schedule outlining the phases needed to complete this project.
SOURCES
Sources for this project will be both primary and secondary. Primary sources will come from interviews with current, active professionals in this field as well as members of the acceptance committee’s at local graduate study programs. I will also consider any advice offered by teachers, instructors, and advisors as primary research. To date, I have ten secondary resources that I have begun to evaluate. The most informative so far have been the governmental websites documenting the career outlooks for this field. I have enclosed an initial bibliography also.
QUALIFICATIONS
I have an extensive background as a working professional whose many job tasks include investigating, researching, and writing ‘How To’ style documents. In my most recent position as Purchasing Administrator for an automotive manufacturing company, I have made many successful proposals to my supervisors and have been successful in influencing many business decisions of the company I worked for through the extensiveness and thoroughness of my research as well as the sound way in which the information was presented to a diverse audience. In addition, it was part of my job requirements to write policies and procedures for our department. Therefore, I am full capable of investigating this topic appropriately and gathering the information together in a way that will make sense to a diverse audience.
CONCLUSION
As students, we all face the daunting task of trying to settle on a career field after graduation. We all hope that we are making this decision in the most well informed and best way possible and that we will find both happiness and success in our chosen profession. There are many students who are interested in the field of medicine. Prior to meeting with my pre-health advisor, Dana Parcher, I thought that the only two avenues into practicing medicine were through nursing school or through medical school. These schools are not a good fit for everyone, as evidenced by the application versus acceptance rates for these programs. I hope to offer insight into another medical field option that may be a good fit for pre-health students.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration in this matter. At this time, I would like to ask for your approval to continue this project. If you have any questions or concerns, I may be reached by email at **** or by phone at *****
Sincerely,
Stephanie Davis
Enclosures:
Time and Task Schedule
Preliminary Bibliography Enclosure 2: Preliminary Bibliography
Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.
(2006). Accreditation Standards for Physician Assistant Education (3rd ed.). Duluth, GA: Author. Retrieved September 14, 2011, from http://www.arcpa.org/General/standards/newStandards3.31.05.pdf
"Becoming a PA." AAPA. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
Biology. Ed. Richard Robinson. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. [iv]. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Physician Assistants, retrieved September 25, 2013. http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physician-assistants.htm
"Health Care Changes Spur Need For More Medical Specialists." WOSU Public Media. N.p., 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. Hooker, Roderick S.; Cawley, James F.; Asprey, David P. Physician Assistants : Policy and Practice 3rd ed. Philadelphia: F.A.Davis Co 2010. Ebook.
"How to Become a Physician Assistant." All Allied Health Schools. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.
Rodican, Andrew J. The Ultimate Guide to Getting into Physician Assistant School. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical, 2011.
Print.
Getting into the Physician Assistant School of Your Choice. 2nd Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical, 2011. Print.
Sacks, Terence J. Opportunities in Physician Assistant Careers. Chicago: VGM Career Books. 2002. Ebook.