From being a child to current day, I served as a translator for my mother whenever we had doctor visits. My mother would strive to search for providers who spoke Spanish; she felt more at ease when discussing her medical issues with a provider who spoke the same language as her. Throughout my medical experience, I have seen this issue arise repeatedly …show more content…
I worked for the Methodist Healthcare System in several medical settings including the emergency room, labor and delivery and surgery units in the admissions department. Working alongside a variety of healthcare professionals such as technicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, Physician Assistants and physicians, we as a group worked together to provide competent healthcare to the diverse population of San Antonio. Thus, I began to learn more about the PA profession and began to understand the vital role they play in treating patients. Working with a diverse population, one learned to educate them and to never judge them. Our job as health care providers is to make them feel better and to help them understand themselves before they can treat themselves. Subsequently, I was employed for an urgent where I worked more closely with physicians and Physician Assistants. Hence, I saw the degree of autonomy Physician Assistants have when treating patients. Additionally, I learned the flexibility this career has in transitioning to other specialties and the satisfaction and rewards this career brings. The conjunction of all these elements convinced me that PA is the profession I want to pursue. I attended numerous Alamo Colleges in San Antonio, Texas, where I focused on my studies. But at the same time, I faced financial challenges. In efforts to earn money to pay my school fees, I worked in the Emergency, taking three 12-hour overnight shifts; this allowed me to attend my classes during the daytime. Working on such a tight schedule helped me improve my time management skills and my flexibility, which I believe will enable me to succeed in the rigorous course load in PA