Shadowing Patients: A Case Study

Pursuing medicine as a career was never going to be an easy decision, especially with the intricacies of the role of a physician and the responsibilities that go with it. Following my graduation from medical school, I worked as a general practitioner in a small rural town, home to a population of less than 7,000 in Syria for 3 years. As the only medical professional in that town, my role encompassed that of a pharmacist, a physician, and a champion of healthy lifestyle promotion in the community. I immediately realized that my role had transcended from just diagnosing patients and treating their ailments. These formative 3 years of my life gave me my first exposure to family medicine.

I want to be the nurse that changes someone’s day or changes the rest of their lives. However, I didn’t always want to be a nurse, I wanted to be a doctor. This changed because to this day I have a personal relationship with favorite nurse, but I only see my doctor during my yearly checkups. Therefore, I decided I want that personal relationship with my patients. I don’t only want to change their lives with medicine but change their lives with empathy and compassion.

As a fan of medical dramas on television, I know from firsthand experience how much the media can affect a person’s outlook towards the subjects, character roles, and individual cases presented in each show. I personally love the fast-paced medical dramas; the doctors within each episode demonstrating their brilliance in the medial field, heroically saving the lives of their patients, while simultaneously dealing with the apparent drama and troubles that arise due to their hospital settings, and all within the incredible one hour time slot allotted for them on T.V. However, after reading the article “How Nursing’s Image Affects Your Health”, the authors, Sandy and Harry Jacobs Summers, clearly and effectively demonstrated multiple misconceptions

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. My father taught me that medicine that cares, cures, helps, and heals is of greater import than medicine that simply makes a diagnosis and prescribes a medication. I hope that one day, I will become a provider of the type of medicine that treats not only the body, but also the mind and

My first comprehensive exposure to the health care field was six years ago as a senior, during which time I participated in hospital-based schooling. This program allowed me to observe a multitude of different medical disciplines, with rotations in surgery, orthopedics, nutrition, dermatology, gastroenterology, neurology, administrative services, and many more. Three out of the five school days were dedicated solely to shadowing, and the other two were spent in the classroom learning various medical-centric studies.

Seeing my parents sacrifice their time and energy for the sake of others’ health sold me on medicine. I want to be that direct and positive impact in someone’s life in a way that only a doctor can. More specifically, I’m invested in becoming a doctor rather than a nurse, for example due to the added responsibility that comes with an M.D. degree. I’m confident with my decisions and know that, with the right education and training, I could be the one to make difficult and effective diagnostic decisions. Moreover, I am motivated to pursue medicine because I see where I can contribute to the overall advancement of medicine and care in the U.S. For instance, one in five adults in the U.S. suffer from a mental illness, with this having been such a huge population, people often disregard how important mental health is. Psychiatry has been a specialist I am considering because of the holistic approach to the health of a patient and I want a direct impact on patient’s in a field that has been

I said, “I 'm sorry miss, but you have the incurable disease of the giggles,” at least twice a day. Being a doctor was an everyday thing for me when I was younger. I would pretend to dissect playdough as a brain or diagnose my sister with imaginary illnesses. I dreamed of one day being able to save lives, other than my stuffed animals. Now, that I’ve grown, I’ve realized that this career could become a reality. After doing excessive research about the working conditions, education required, salary, and other benefits, I have found that becoming a neurologist would interest me best.

Henrietta Lack was an African American woman born in 1920 who helped science define some of the world’s medical discoveries. Many woman were dying every year from cervical cancer. Little did she know what the future held for her and millions of other people. This situation saddens me as a medical professional because a human was treated as a specimen rather than a person. Even though this was many decades ago, I feel as though there still should have been standard practices in place that prevented this kind of behavior from those who are supposed to be trusted most, health care professionals. The article we had to read in a previous assignment is a wonderful account of Henrietta Lacks life and the impact she made on the world today. It

Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

As an aspiring physician in Emergency Medicine, it is hard to describe typical physician workday activities. Every day is unique and filled with many opportunities to learn and develop clinical, interpersonal communication, leadership and critical thinking skills. Despite this, there are certain routine activities which I had the opportunity to observe through my shadowing experience in the Emergency and Operating rooms at California Hospital Medical Center, Los Angeles. One day, a two year old patient came into the ER after falling and cutting her head. The patient’s mother told the physician that her daughter is nervous and scared. Upon meeting the little girl, I was surprised to see the doctor change his actions and way of communicating.

Beyond Knowing, by Janis Amartuzio connects worlds between the living and the dead. Janis slowly becomes aware of her gift of insight while in medical school. She develops her gift pushing through fear and bravely trusting herself to becoming a solid forensic pathologist. Moreover, through her intuition she has taught many individuals to trust their own awareness, bringing peace to the bereaved. Beyond Knowing enhances our capabilities to trust our gut instinct and not to fear but understand there is more to life than our material world.

In a world where daily stress and difficulty are commonplace, a convenient escape is in demand. To remedy this, people around the world have turned to comedic entertainment. A very popular field of this entertainment is improvisational theatre, often referred to as improv. Here, performers use quick wit, innovative thinking, and rapid response to draw out roaring laughter from the masses. It seems that this branch of comedic performance is only growing in popularity (Love 30). In fact, the long running television program, Saturday Night Live, boasts a cast that mostly all come from a background within improv. A surge in the popularity of improv comedy may also be attributed to the success of Whose Line Is It Anyway, an originally British television

The tiny humans, who advocates for them when they are ill? Who stands up for them when no adult is around to speak for them? A pediatric surgeons job is not only to treat their patient's illness but to advocate for the children who are too small to stand up for themselves. The way to make the world a better place is to begin with yourself. A method in which I will contribute to society and make an impact by becoming a pediatric surgeon.

Doctors can save our life and give us life. Our health is important because it is how we live and stay in the right shape. Doctors keep us safe and healthy because when there is something wrong with our body, they can detect it and prescribe the medication that is needed for us to recover. Years ago, doctors didn’t have the training and test equipment they have today. We should be grateful for all the experienced doctors and medical teams in hospitals. They help bring new babies into the world and work to help people have a healthy and long life. Doctors are the ones that bring us hope when we are seriously ill and help us recover. They truly deserve our thanks and

‘The patient-doctor relationship is a privileged one that depends on the patient’s trust in the doctor’s professionalism’