Amharic Personal Statement

Improved Essays
Recently, I found myself helping someone who only spoke Amharic apply for Medicaid. I don’t speak Amharic, and she didn’t speak English, but she was pregnant and she needed insurance. We made it work using hand signals, nods and a little laughter. This woman’s experience resonated with me because I too have experienced what it feels like to be an outsider and not be understood. After moving from Germany to America at age 7, I couldn’t fathom why kids thought I was strange and didn’t want to be my friend. As I got older however, I made more friends with international backgrounds and began exploring international cultures. In college, I narrowed my focus further. With classes such as Medical Anthropology, Global Health and A History of Medicine, I have found a deep passion for the way culture impacts ideas about healthcare. I am interested in getting my Masters in Public Health because I think my experiences have made me a well-suited candidate to help the underserved. I want to plan and execute programs to help people access the healthcare they need, while simultaneously acknowledging and respecting their language, culture, history and …show more content…
I’ve realized that I am a leader and that I enjoy teaching and helping people understand a complicated system. I love looking at every angle of a problem and discovering the best solution. While the program I planned may not seem like public health in the traditional sense, the project gave my passions a sense of direction. Furthermore, the skills I developed will help me in all of my future public health program planning. These experiences with the Community Alternatives Program have solidified my desire to facilitate access to health care. My ideal job would involve researching, planning and implementing health programs either abroad or here in the United States, for recent immigrants, migrant workers, refugees, or the medically

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Opening Statement Summary and Main Points: (Brooke Edwards) The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down - Lia, a young Hmong girl suffered and grew sicker from epilepsy. Her parents saw this disease not as epilepsy but as a spirit leaving her body. Because of the conflicts in cultures between Lia’s Parents and the doctors, Lia was not properly treated and medicated. If she had been it is possible that she wouldn’t have gotten worse.…

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    She suggested that systems and structures become hidden because of the individual focus and must we look outside of the box to build bridges towards social justice. These bridges are built by investing time and money into health promotion, creating policies for the community, and fighting for the social justice of all. As an Emergency Room Manager, I have experienced this barrier to social justice in a patient centercare health system. The medical director and I had the opportunity to attend an excellent three day seminar in Chicago regarding effective emergency department management.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    1. How will you contribute to the mission of the NURSE Corps Scholarship Program in providing care to underserved communities? Health illiteracy and lack of healthcare access in low income areas are well documented by my studies. This population is also known to have many comorbidities and a shortage of primary care providers. I want to make a difference in low income communities because they are underserved and improvised.…

    • 1235 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I obtained an honors Diploma from Thea Bowman Leadership Academy High School in Gary, Indiana. After graduation, I relocated to Nashville, Tennessee to continue my education at higher institution, Tennessee State University majoring in Health Care Administration and Planning. After undergrad, I plan to continue my education at John Hopkins University in Baltimore Maryland, pursing Masters in Health Administration or Public Health, in addition to a PH.D in crisis management. My inspiration for public health and healthcare was inspired by my aunt who is a successful chief nursing officer at Regency Hospital located in East Chicago, Indiana, where she has been active in the field for 23 years. My youthful days with her bring many great memories and…

    • 750 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Growing up in the little island of Haiti opened my eyes to the complex network of problems faced by individuals living in areas with limited access to healthcare and education. Haiti is a medically backward country stuck in a time capsule where disabilities diseases hunger and death plagues the impoverish people every day. At a young age, due to political turmoil, my parents were forced to send my sisters and I to America. Coming to this live in this country opened up a world of opportunity for me to take charge of developing myself both academically and professionally. Furthermore, living in an unfamiliar environment empowered my sense of curiosity.…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Prior to my experience in the Columbia University Summer Public Health Scholars Program (SPHSP), I simply wanted to “help people”. This broad and shallow reason for my pursuit of a medical degree has since been redefined. My pursuit of a medical degree is greatly strengthened by the Columbia University Summer Public Health Scholars Program (SPHSP). During the SPHSP the program exposed us to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and my eyes were opened to unique way help people.…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    I love the idea of committing to lifelong learning of the body and healthcare. I am also fascinated by the idea that maybe one day, I will have the skills and background needed to heal people in need. My experiences as an immigrant has also inspired me to work in settings where I can help people considered underserved. In Texas, I want to work in a setting where I can serve those from low-income backgrounds. I also want to use my resources to aid people overseas, especially in Vietnam.…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Cultural Competency

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Pages

    As a person who grew up in Mexico, and moved to the United States 6 years ago, I believe my cultural competence has allowed me to develop personal characteristics that will enable me to understand patients from any culture. I appreciate and respect the multiple dimensions of diversity, recognize and embrace perspectives that are different that mine, and have learned to implement these in my daily life. My experience volunteering at a free clinic has allowed me to interact with patients from different underserved communities, but also with other volunteers and medical students from cultures different than mine. From this experience, I have been able to demonstrate I have the attributes to be part of a diverse group. I have developed competencies…

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This paper will evaluation my experience, public health leadership and management self-assessment, as well as Humanmetrics to fully understand what is required in order to be an effective leader and manager. One of the first assignments in the Field Based Experience course, a Public Health self-assessment was assigned in order to identify our strengths and weaknesses in the following categories: Visionary Leadership & Systems Thinking, Basic Public Health Sciences, Management – Program, Financial, Personnel, Risk, and Politics and Public Health Law, and Community. My results have shown that I need to focus my energy and time into becoming more competent in all fields. I was strongest in visionary leadership and systems thinking, but I had a lot of improvement to do in the rest of the categories. In the course of the few weeks of my internship, I saw what are the characteristics for a good leader and manager were.…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I have always wanted to pursue a health profession where I can be of assistance to low-income people, particularly the underrepresented…

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    How did you relate to the readings, videos and forum discussions? I related to the readings about cultural and linguistic competence as a future health care provider. I saw how my knowledge of these topics could affect the care and well being of real people. One hypothetical that struck me was about a nurse practitioner choosing a cheaper and less effective medication for a black patient. The nurse had done this with the well-meaning intention of saving a poor person from the bills that come with a higher level of health care, not realizing that the patient was of a high socioeconomic status (Hall and Fields).…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Vulnerable Populations

    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Improving the health of a community requires efforts to identify high risk groups, such that efforts can be focused on interventions in order to improve outcomes (Riegelman, R., & Kirkwood, B. 2015). Efforts aimed at improving the quality of life for those at greatest risk will ensure benefits…

    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The book The Scalpel and the Silver Bear, describes Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord’s developmental journey as a physician (Alvord & Van Pelt, 2000). Throughout the novel, Dr. Alvord integrates her Navajo beliefs, experiences, values, and behaviors into descriptive interpretations of various life events. Growing up she lived on a Native American reservation, surrounded by people who share the same values, morals, and beliefs. Later, Dr. Alvord attended Dartmouth College and subsequently Stanford University School of Medicine. At both schools, for her, the curriculum was more than academically challenging—it was emotionally and culturally challenging.…

    • 1956 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My Osteopathic Philosophy

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages

    I have volunteer with several minority and underprivileged outreach organizations, where I used my bilingual skills to better assist them medically and non-medically. I have also joined organizations on campus like the Pre-Health Honors Society (Alpha Epsilon Delta), where I was elected for a leadership position of an executive committee officer. Whenever I become a physician I plan to serve the world, but especially the minorities in this country. Also, I plan to contribute in improving the medical education society lacks in order to improve the health of the world’s population in general.…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Career Goals Essay Sample

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages

    My career objective is to gain insight in the field of public health through practical experience. So far, I enjoy studying public health immensely, because the knowledge gained from school is so applicable to real life, which can not only assist me in making wise choices concerning my health, I can become more aware of the current health issues facing the world today. I am motivated towards my objectives because I have a passion for improving health worldwide. So many people are health illiterate and are unaware of the long-term health effects of their life choices, which is unfortunate since health is so vital to well-being and functioning in daily life. I want to empower people to make healthy choices for themselves, so that they can live long and healthy lives without being afflicted with the chronic diseases that are so prevalent in modern society.…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays