Essay On Becoming A Physician Assistant

My own experience as a five-year-old second-degree burn victim in the Glenwood Springs, Colorado small community hospital’s emergency room never evaporates from my adult decision-making. “You will hurt” was the message my seven-year-old sister relayed to me in our native Spanish language as the staff arduously worked to clean and debride my thigh. No translators were available, and my family circled in shared fear as well as linguistic isolation. Immigrant families who live in camper shells are certainly more at risk for childhood injuries, yet observing the compassionate and diligent efforts of trained medical professionals reacting to my accident sparked my current goal of becoming a Physician Assistant despite the financial and cultural …show more content…
Witnessing my parents’ struggles to find employment and the many sacrifices they experienced over the past twenty years, fueled me to excel in school as my way of contributing to my family’s dream. From my status as a frightened kindergartener with little to no English to excelling in multiple high school A.P. classes and graduating as my high school’s valedictorian, I worked incessantly to become the first person in my family to attend a four-year university and serve my community in a professional career as a University of Colorado Research …show more content…
My current University of Colorado medical research position allows me to build new strengths and skills upon that foundation of technical, professional and direct client/patient care. My current tasks serving obstetrics and gynecology departments while creatively recruiting and developing promotional campaigns to recruit pregnant women into our multiple N.I.H.-funded research studies allowed me to gain a full circle understanding and appreciation for the ground-breaking events that further medicine every day. My drive to be able to recognize patients’ unexpressed needs, to familiarize myself with community resources, and to demonstrate a willingness to become the patient’s advocate allows me to afford better medical care for my patients. Becoming a trusted patient advocate by developing the skills required to recognize their unexpressed needs and equipping myself with an arsenal of knowledge of community resources makes my daily work both a blessing and a personal stepping stone to my next goal of serving as a certified Physician Assistant. Becoming a physician assistant is not merely becoming a healthcare worker, it is a motivation from within that transcends the social and materialistic benefits. It is the difference between a job and a