A Future of Care by Monica

A Future of Care by Monica - June 2023 Scholarship Essay

The future is something that at times feels quite daunting to think about. At seven years old I decided I wanted to be a doctor. Easier said than done.

Twelve years later, at nineteen years old, I realized that seven-year-old me was onto something. I didn’t just choose a random career and stuck with it. Over the years, medicine and healthcare drew me in. I want to be a part of that world and improve it.

In ten years I see myself as a physician's assistant, advocating for my patient's needs and an overall more nurturing healthcare system.

One of the most influential people in my life has been my grandmother. My grandma is a three-time stroke survivor and has dementia. I grew up with my grandma, and hospital visits were no stranger to me. It would be untrue to say that the healthcare system is equitable. Many disparities in medicine show that those that are unable to advocate for themselves receive less quality care. In the times when someone needs help the most, they are not provided it if they are unable to speak up for themselves. It sounds harsh, but the reality is that if no one is there to slow down and actually personalize their medical care toward the patient, it won’t be done.

As my grandma’s dementia became more evident, so did the importance of having a family member there to defend her and offer a kind hand. I saw how medicine in practice is more about solving a problem than providing empathy. And that is where my concern lies. When we forget about the patients and their humanity, we overlook a big part of helping someone: making them feel that their pain is seen and taken seriously. It is not enough to just provide a cure, patients want to feel represented in their healthcare.

Currently, I am an undergraduate student majoring in Biology and minoring in Psychology. First semester I took an Intro to Health Services class, where we learned about the history and regulations of emergency health services (i.e. paramedics, firefighters, emergency room workers, etc.). My professor, who was a paramedic himself, filled an entire lecture talking about how emergency services are not just to help save a life, but to provide to the community. He has attended plenty of calls from the elderly who needed a hand or were in distress. He emphasized that while he was trained to be able to detect when a medical emergency was in play, he would not be doing his job if he dismissed times when others thought it was an emergency. My education in college is a stepping stone to getting into PA school. I will learn the fundamentals of biology and chemistry to then build upon after undergrad. But the class I take in between, and the professors I interact with, give me a real insight into what it’s like working in the healthcare field.

Education isn’t only in the classroom, and what I have learned living with my grandma has given heart to my passion for medicine. I have felt that relief when there is a doctor patient enough to listen to my grandma’s concerns and explain a procedure clearly. I have seen the impact nurses that speak Spanish have on calming my grandma during her hospital stays. And all that, all those hospital visits and check-ups, have taught me something valuable. Being cared for means more than being treated, it means being seen.