In this particular situation, your interviewer is looking for a mentor in the same career field. If your crazy best friend is who you look up to, you may want to censor and save those stories for another time. The interviewer wants to know who you get your professional direction and advice from. Did a professor take you under their wing and guide you? Perhaps a family member has overcome challenges in life and has pushed you to become the person you are today.
Example #1
"When it comes to my career as a physicians assistant, the physician I currently work under has been my professional mentor for the past six years. She has taught me a lot of skills and given me knowledge far beyond a basic PA."
Example #2
"My professional mentor is my former pharmacology professor. I excelled in his class which prompted a great relationship between the two of us. He offered me more advanced work and helped me find an excellent practicum placement. Even though I have graduated, we still meet once per month to discuss changes in the healthcare industry."
Example #3
"My mentor is an anesthesiologist that I have worked with for the past eight years. I asked her to be my mentor because she is a strong woman in the healthcare industry who holds her own, has a great reputation, and a positive disposition. I wanted to learn from someone like her. Someone I admire and trust."
Anonymous Answer
"I had the opportunity to have a PA as a mentor in my senior year of college. She worked as a family medicine PA at a small clinic in an urban suburb of Minneapolis. She very much inspired me to want to go into primary care, and help provide healthcare to populations that do not have adequate access. She made a difference in people of all ages and backgrounds lives, from children's physicals to older adults with hypertension, she impacted the health outcomes of individuals."
It sounds like you had an excellent mentor which is an experience that can offer up a significant advantage as you grow in your own PA career.
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