Essay On Radiology

It was a warm summer afternoon of August, 1999, at a friend’s house when I was introduced to rheumatoid arthritis. It was a casual and startling encounter. His aunt greeted me at the door to take me to the guest room. She seemed to be in her mid-40’s, had a round face with thin reddish skin, painful looking hand deformities and a slow, limping gait; most strikingly, an aura of pain was visible all around her. I asked my friend, concernedly, why she looked so different. He somberly replied that she had rheumatoid arthritis. He opened to tell me how, despite the available treatment, she was unable to complete her education or have a job because she could not walk in the evenings and had severe pains all night every night since her teenage and that she was never married and was dependent on her parents. For a 15 years old me, it was distressing. This experience exposed me to the reality of human suffering. It’s not just the disease, the pain, there is also a taboo which one must endure.

Ralph Emerson once said, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful … to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” I chose the profession of occupational therapy to embrace this rationale of life; to encourage others to help themselves and discover the resilience and strength they have to successfully re-integrate with their community. At Hunter College I majored in psychology and I wanted to continue to apply this knowledge through a health care career. Occupational Therapy effectively concentrates on the psychological, emotional, and physical well-being of the patient, while facilitating those individuals with illnesses or injuries to re-learn everyday tasks.

There is more to being a Radiologic technician that we never thought about. When we visit the health care office for one of these exams we might not have ever thought about the schooling and experience they have had to go threw to be helping you with what they are helping you with today. We might not have even know who the people are called that give you your x-ray exam , MRI, or your CT scan, but now you do and have background knowledge on who they

My interest in technology and curiosity of the human anatomy perfectly binds together in Radiography, especially in the treatment aspect, which is what really caught my attention about this course. I was highly fascinated by the scientific aspect of the course, and look forward to studying the technological approach to medicine – learning to use advance imaging techniques, such as X-rays and MRI Scans. Inspired by my parent’s hard work in healthcare, I was determined to develop an empathetic approach towards other people and eventually gained the desire to be at the heart of modern medicine, by wielding the latest imaging technology to cater to the needs of others.

Through my studies of human expression and its reflection of how people deal with world events in different ways, I developed sensitivity to other worldviews that continues to prove useful through my daily interactions with people of different backgrounds. I have learned that just like art, medicine involves pattern recognition and derives insight from experiences. Similarly, what I especially enjoy about being a medical assistant is interacting with patients on a daily basis and getting to be a part of their medical experiences, even if it is just by lending an ear.

My career goal is to become a diagnostic medical sonographer, or an ultrasound technician. Each day as an ultrasound technician will bring new surprises. In the morning a sonographer could be conducting an OB/GYN ultrasound, helping an excited first-time mom see her fetus developing in her belly. Then, then in the next procedure your trying to calm an old woman as she waits to see if her tumors have grown. The days of a medical sonographer are never dull but are challenging, fast-paced, and rewarding. As a sonographer you have the opportunity to help all kinds of different people, from all walks of life, with all kinds of different problems.

Participation in the MD Anderson 1st Year Medical Student Program would provide a research based experience that would catalyze my goals for the future. Investigations with results that could prove practical towards my patients at the bedside are of great interest to me. This has sparked my attention towards translational medicine as a promising area of investigation. I believe the field of radiomics in particular has tremendous potential for clinical applications in direct patient care, especially in the field of oncology. Radiomics lies at the juncture of what I believe to be extremely exciting science in the coming future of personalized medicine. This is what prompted me to approach Dr. Rivka Colen (desired mentor), of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, to conduct research in her lab. An interplay between research and clinical treatment such as the way Dr. Colen implements will be one of the grounds that I intend to structure my own practice around. The MD Anderson 1st Year Medical Student Program would help me achieve the first steps towards conducting research in my career as a physician-scientist. After this research experience, I hope to have a better understanding of my place in the world of

I began my undergraduate education at Colorado State University in 2004. I declared my major as Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. At this point in my life, I had no clue what I wanted to do for my career and thought this would be the best option and give me the most diversity of career options. Going into my sophomore year, I began a job in the emergency department at the hospital located in the college town. During my first day, I got to see a variety of emergent and non-emergent medical procedures. The level of care that the varying healthcare professionals provided to these patients was fascinating and became intrigued to a career path in the medical field. Over the next couple of years, I narrowed the possibility

In the past 18 months, I have continued to shadow various physicians across a variety of specialties that serve different communities. Each time, I am amazed at their ability to heal patients with various ailments. This sense of wonder leaves me wanting to learn more and motivates me to eventually become a physician that has the ability to heal all of these patients as well. In addition, I have shadowed physicians for their full twelve-hour shifts, so I have seen all of the aspects of the career. Though there may be some less desirable aspects, such as the required time spent completing charts, I realize the importance of it. Through these shadowing experiences, I can be assured that I am making an informed decision and pursuing a career that

Since a child I was always held responsible for attending doctor 's appointments with my parents due to their language barrier. Surprisingly, I never felt that responsibility as a burden because hospitals intrigued me. The polar emotions of safety and fear simultaneously, fascinated me. With this awareness when I began taking science courses at North Shore Community College, I found that the subject also fascinated me. The components of liking the hospital and material, had led me to the realization that I had a calling for the medical field.

As I entered the operating room, I couldn’t believe my ears: the surgeons were playing salsa music and talking about the upcoming elections. This was just the first program I attended this summer, a shadowing program at the Hospital de Manatí. While I was driving to the hospital the first day, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Once I got there, they sorted us to the different specialties. The program director called out my name followed by general surgery with Dr. Jimenez. SURGERY. I couldn’t believe it. This wasn’t just like watching a medical drama on tv and being amazed at what the actors in a tv-show did. This was the real deal. I realized that I live for moments like this, that are almost indescribable but include a mix of utter fascination,

3 Learning goals: These are the goals I have set as a Radiologic Technologist and my future goal of becoming a Physician Assistant in providing quality patient care to all people regardless of race, gender, sex, creed, religion, or socio-economic status.

My experiences shadowing with several physicians have given me an insight to the difficult but yet rewarding career medicine has to offer. One of my shadowing experiences that stood out the most to me was when I shadowed at Emory University Hospital. As undergraduate student, I had the opportunity to shadow for a team of neuropathologist led by Dr. Brat. While shadowing for Dr. Brat, we received a patients tissue and the team of pathologist (including myself) determined that this patient had glioblastoma. We had so many patient cases to sign out that I didn’t think too much about the diagnosis.

The healthcare field has many different growing opportunities for people of all ages. Whether your interest is general nursing, pediatric intensive care, or radiology there are many resources and schools available to enhance your knowledge and further or start your education. An interest in a fast paced, detail-specific, diagnostic based career will lead you to the exciting world of radiology. Radiology is the medical specialty devoted to imaging the inside of the human body without intrusion.

Curiosity has always driven me towards positive new experiences, from leaving the comforts of home to obtain a degree in veterinary medicine in a third world country to now attempting to further my knowledge in the field of radiology. Now I am excited to be applying for a residency program where I can indulge my curiosity and further build on my passion in the study of radiology.