Health Care Experience Essay

My only non-embarrassing memory from middle school was set, of all places, in my eighth grade Health class. Presumably for the sexual wellness unit, we were watching a video about pregnancy. Beginning from conception, the film depicted detailed photos and videos of fetal development. While many were freaked out by the “alien babies” on the screen, I was enthralled. I tried not to sniffle as I cried from the beauty of it all and decided that I had found my life’s work. The field of obstetrics was not as marvelous to my peers as it was to me. I received disgusted and confused looks, so I kept quiet but held on to my embryonic dream.
I was only fourteen, so my experience of healthcare providers was pretty much doctors and nurses. People around …show more content…
The highs have been many: seeing a client rehabilitate from a stroke, being thanked by them or their children, and hearing a client say they wish you could take care of them all the time. During one particular low, I seriously questioned my decision to take care of people for a living. I was asked to train an aide to care for a client at the end of my shift, so that this aide could work the third shift. The aide was unable to lift my client, and no replacement could be found at such short notice. I agreed to take on the shift, although it would lengthen my 8 hour day to an 18 hour day and night. In the middle of the night, my cancer-ridden patient, in her pain and exhaustion, snapped at me. I thought, how could she be so cruel after I had made such a sacrifice for her? I held in my indignation and adjusted her blanket and rubbed her neuropathic feet for what felt like the thousandth time that night. That night, I learned that my work will go unappreciated. The effort that I give as a healthcare worker is not for applause but for the wellbeing of patients, and that is enough for