Personal Narrative: My Shadowing Path

The knowledge, skills, and experiences that I have acquired have laid the foundation to become a successful health care teacher. I have learned in my entire life that compassionate work for patient’s care serve as a foundation to build on, enabling me to become a responsible healthcare worker, leader & teacher. Being a medical professional for me is my passion for work and achieving goals. The medical field is ever changing because it requires constant learning and staying up to date with current issues. I graciously accept this responsibility.

I started my career with the intent to be at the bedside caring for patients.   In the past 4 years I have been learning but not a majority from books or in a laboratory but from human to human contact.   I work for a safety net hospital; truly no one is turned away.   I’ve helped collaborate care in a time of crisis for people that bring with them cultures, beliefs and values from half way around the world.

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. The experiences on my path to a career in medicine have made me want to make a real, tangible difference in the lives of those around me – a difference that leaves my patients in a better condition than they were in before I met them.

An occupation like this is not a routine 9-5 job. It includes continuous amounts of studying, research and teachings. I feel my day-to-day life encourages me to set certain standards for myself and engage in reflective practice. I am constantly given opportunities to teach and learn from others, I feel this fully equips me for my future in medicine. Working at a pharmacy where patient interactions are very heavy, it made me realise while pharmacists among other health care professionals are very helpful in the positive progression of a patient’s health, they are very limited to the extent of care they can give.

After spending months preparing patient education programs and petitioning resources and healthcare professionals, I spent a week working in the underdeveloped, impoverished Darien region of Southern Panama. Those enriching days affirmed my strong intent to serve the Hispanic population domestically or internationally during my career. One of the important factors in selecting OSU’s NP program is the opportunity to provide care to Spanish speaking patients through the ISLL program. Either of my desired specialties provides students this professional

When I contemplate why I want to pursue a career in the medical field, I picture my high school allied health class where my enthusiasm for the field first started and I became a Certified Nursing Assistant. I have been around hospitals and doctor’s growing up, but that class opened my eyes to a new world. To learn extensive amounts about the healthcare field and have the opportunity to gain clinical experience has no comparison, to be able to learn hands on at that age, and know that I wanted to care for patients. To see all those elderly residents, to experience helping them and showing them compassion, it made my day, every day I was there. The fact that I can do two things I love, learning new things and helping people get better excites

Through this program I hope to learn the fundamentals of community based research, how to advocate for health policy, a most importantly how to educate communities on health. I believe that is the most rewarding thing I can get out of this program. Having the ability, the power, to change someone’s life, by just giving him or her basic health care knowledge is so empowering. Knowing that I changed that life, that because of me hopefully their health will better instead of worsen. Through this program I hope to learn from the community, to learn their experiences, which will allow me to be even more conscious of the disparities they are forced to face, hence causing me to ponder “how can this issue be fixed?”, “what policy can be implemented”?.

Among the various skills that I possess, I believe that my passion for serving others will most profoundly impact my shadowing program experience. As a physician, it is one’s foremost duty to care for the needs of others, doing no harm in the process. I firmly believe that the sole way to complete the lengthy journey to becoming a physician is to possess both a strong work ethic and a strong desire for serving others. My parents divorced when I was six years old. Even at such a young age, I remember members of our church filing into our house night after night with meals.

My goal is to become a primary doctor working with underserved communities, especially the Latino community. My work and volunteer experience and my professional goal are committed to provide service to the community with cultural competence, diversity and service orientation. CMSRU humanistic education in the art and science of medicine will complement these life experiences, characteristics, as well as my professional and personal interests and goals. As a medical student at CMSRU I will be able to receive an excellent education in patient care, will feel included in the CMSRU community, will share and strengthen my professionalism, collaborative and and civic responsibility skills. The mission and core values of CMSRU match my interests,

I knew that I wanted to be a doctor since early high school. Experience in a hospital and clinic setting, both personal and professional, have given me many reasons to pursue medicine. Through these viewpoints, I have gained an understanding of patient hardships like financial and travel issues, the grief associated with loss, and the trust that accompanies putting yourself or a loved one into the hands of physicians. These experiences have built empathy and compassion in me that is necessary in medicine.

I admire how much knowledge physician assistants obtain throughout their years of schooling since they learn a great amount about many portions of medicine. I always desired to learn as much about science and medicine as I possibly could; therefore, this profession is perfect for me. I also love caring for people and that is what I get to do as a medical professional. My desire to learn and my passion for volunteering and helping others will allow me to be an essential part of the physician assistant profession. I now desire to work in either Infectious Disease, because of the panel, or Orthopedic Surgery, due to my love for working with injuries like breaks, strains, sprains, and tears.

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.

Throughout high school I have participated in many different activities and programs, but one of the opportunities I was given I will carry with me forever. As a junior at River Valley I participated in the Marion General Teen Volunteer Program. After interviewing and being placed in the physical therapy unit I took the opportunity to branch out into other areas of the hospital. I soon made my way to the labor and delivery floor where everyday a miracle happened. My duties while volunteering included assisting the nurses during hearing checks, changing diapers, and rocking crying infants in special care.

The International Summer Camps are very enlightening because they have allowed me to not only be healthy and take part in physical activity; but to embrace my culture, assist youth in acknowledging the importance of education, take part in team oriented workshops, and listen to key speakers that overcame great adversity. I have learned about the importance of assisting others and placing a grin on another person’s face, which is my primary motive for becoming a family practitioner. I have a desire to major in biology, minor in public health, and declare pre-med and I will continue to place forth my utmost effort as I embark on my

When I was three years old my parents decided to enroll me into Head Start to provide me with an early start to my educational career. Before I attended Head Start my parents were required to take me to get an updated physical, vaccinations, and a dental exam. The required doctors’ visits along with the educational service provided by Head Start are the primary factors that have molded me into the person that I am today. The friendly and compassionate staff at Head Start who recognized physical well-being went hand in hand with a successful educational experience are the reason why I would like to pursue a career in the medical field.