“For he who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything”- The powerful words by Owen Arthur resonated in my head as I held my hand up high to take the Hippocrates Oath. My motto since the day I decided to live my childhood dream of becoming a doctor. Today was the day I would get to walk out and start making a difference in the lives of my patients and make the world a better, healthier place to live in.
It wasn’t until my first day of internship in Bungoma District Hospital, a small town in Western Kenya did the harsh realities of life sink in. I slowly began to become aware of the obstacles that a health care professional in Kenya faces on a daily basis while trying to tackle how to work efficiently in a resource constrained setting to deliver effective patient care - Exorbitant patient volume, poor hygiene and
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I participated in data collection and community health based surveys in the rural parts of Nairobi, travelling from house to house talking to people about health education, hygiene and sanitation, importance of vaccinations and benefits of seeking early treatment. I also reached out by volunteering at various medical camps in rural underserved areas, attended seminars and met with public health leaders at various events. My interpersonal skills allowed me to become an effective communicator and taught me how to foster lasting physician patient relationships. These experiences have allowed me to work with patients from diverse backgrounds and helped me appreciate the severity and complexity of healthcare issues, confirming my growing interest in preventive medicine and primary care, hence laying the groundwork for my career in public health. I wish to utilize evidence gained through research and quantitative skills attained from epidemiology and biostatistics to develop and implement effective public health policies that benefit the underprivileged and deserving
I am interested in pursuing the Physician Assistant (PA) degree because of my experiences both within the medical field and as a patient. These experiences have led me to believe that a team approach to patient-centered medicine provides the best and most comprehensive care possible. Further, the PA profession offers me the opportunity to continue my lifelong passion of helping others, giving back to my community, and provides me with further opportunities to teach.
Many people rush through their daily life without contemplating their actions, thereby missing vast opportunities for achievement. They waste valuable time engaging in frivolous matters instead of putting their energies towards more productive and meaningful purposes. In the words of the Dalai Lama: “Life is not about acquiring money and other facilities; it is about dedicating your life to helping others as much as you can.” The immeasurable value of helping others has been engrained in me since childhood. As a result of my own difficult family circumstances, I have become more sensitive, kind and mindful towards others and their own situations. I have developed a passion for helping others, which, in combination with a proclivity towards medicine has lead to my descion to become a Physician Assistant. I want to live a life where I can provide healthcare and aid to anyone who needs.
I grew up in a research and development campus where my father is a scientist. Research and curiosity were constantly encouraged and this prompted me to take up medicine as a career, a field that offers tremendous prospects for research and discoveries. Throughout medical school I tried to be involved in research and attempts at trying out new ideas, be it in the lab or working with human subjects. I carried this through my residency and now my fellowship. The idea of studying a topic or issue that has so far not been treaded upon seems to be extremely exciting and challenging.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done”. This quote from Nelson Mandela comes to mind when describing why I aspire to become a Physician Assistant. It has always been a great motivation and inspired me not to get discouraged with failure; rather look forward for your goals. Frequently, it takes many trials and lack of success as well as achievements, for one to truthfully discover him/herself. I instinctively progressed through the motions of life. Many options were available and choosing a career as I grew up kept altering, until one day when I saw how helping other people is my sole purpose of life. Getting to know more of physician assistant drove me into the thoughts of pursuing it as a career.
Doctors should possess the skills necessary to assess what the patient actually needs contrary to what he/she believes they require. An illness obviously impacts one’s life regardless of how minuscule. A doctor plays a vital role in both the physical condition and the, often over-looked, emotional well-being of his/her patients. I firmly believe that through my experiences in two separate, but fairly similar branches of medicine I have developed the ability to care for those in a compassionate yet professional manner along with the ability comprehend the information necessary that being a health care provider
our outlook of Medicine in our lives. We have come to understand the value of
The topic of this paper is Physician Assistants, and what it would take to become one. I will be giving an overview of what a PA does, there educational requirements. What credentials or certifications that are required. The personality traits and skills required to be a PA, a goal summary for my career, how Kaplan University is helping me to achieve my goals, and where I will be in 5 years.
Growing up my parents would always tell me that they knew I will become someone in life, and that they will always support me throughout any decision I made. Ever since I was a young girl, I had always been tremendously interested in the medical field. Everything about it really intrigued me. I would always see myself being someone working with patients and helping them out, to the best of my ability. One of the main reasons that I want to work in the medical field, is to help others because that brings the greatest joy to me.
I first considered a public health career when I interned at the Ghana Health Service Family Health Department as an undergraduate student. Participating in national meetings focused on strategies to reduce maternal mortality in Ghana, I recognized that, in order to create sustainable advances, it is crucial to address the underlying social inequalities that exacerbate adverse health outcomes. To advance this goal, I am seeking admission into the Global Health and Population Doctoral Program at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Access to health care in Ethiopia has left many people without proper health care and eventual death. Millions of people living in Ethiopia die because of the lack of access to the health care system; improving the access to the healthcare system in Ethiopia can prevent many of the deaths that occur, but doing so will pose a grueling and challenging task. According to Chaya (2012), poor health coverage is of particular concern in rural Ethiopia, where access to any type of modern health institution is limited at best (p. 1). If citizen of Ethiopia had more accessibility of the healthcare system more individuals could be taught how to practice safe health practices. In Ethiopia where HIV, and maternal and infant mortality rates are sky high, more education on the importance of using the healthcare system and makin...
Prior to departure, I was audaciously confident about everything — my ability to pick up a new language as quickly as I learned English 12 years prior, my ability to adjust to a new culture, and how “experienced” I was as an international volunteer. It didn’t take long for me to fall off the self-hoisted pedestal. The fall hurt; my ego bruised. Challenges rose and my prior knowledge did not transfer into easy solution. Knowing how to use a latrine is not the same as building one, and knowing how to build one on paper is not the same as implementing a project for latrine building. The longer I was in Ghana, the clearer it became: I have much to learn to because an expert. It was a harsh truth to face and accept, but it was humbling and necessary in directing me to my next steps — learning the correct skills through proper public health
About 75% of health infrastructure, medical professionals and other health resources are localised in urban areas where 27% of the population live. The poor penetration and the basic nature of rural health is also attributed to lack of health litera...
Doctors are the humanitarians in our society. Doctors are looked to bridge the gap between science and humankind. We look to doctors as important change agents to explain scientific understanding. The Hippocratic Oath is a required pledge taken by doctors to uphold specific ethical standards. The Hippocratic Oath: Modern Version states, “I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism” (Lasagna, 1964). Patients feel at ease knowing that their care providers are being held to a high moral and ethical standard. Taking a formal oath in public carries a symbolic importance for mutually the individual doctor and the greater public (Catto & Graeme, 2014).
Even though I initially started my journey in public health after graduating from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, I acknowledged my interest and enthusiasm when I was working on my research thesis during the final year of my college. I conducted a research study to evaluate the effectiveness of planned teaching program to control hypertension among adults residing in selected rural areas of Bangalore in India. It happened to be my first exposure to the field of public health where I had an opportunity to interact with Bangalore’s slum-dwellers and witness their lifestyle, their access to the basic needs such as water, sanitation, and essential nutrients which raised a serious concern on my mind. Upon completion of the research,
At an early stage in my medical school in Iraq, I realized the great positive impact of public health on the community in health education orientation, disease prevention and health well-being as a general and what affirmed it later, my clinical practice as a physician in Iraq first then Dubai later. Public health was a major integral block in my clinical practice to educate the people towards a healthier lifestyle and implementing the preventative screening measures necessary to get a healthy, well protected community. After moving to the United States, I took the initiative to familiarize myself with the US healthcare system by doing many clinical rotations in different family practices and pediatric clinics in Houston, TX. After these rotations, I was enamored with the delivery of public health measures in each clinic, according to the US public health standards. My fondness for public health drove me to get an opportunity to be a health educator