This is for the Medically Underserved by Nicole

This is for the Medically Underserved by Nicole - June 2020 Scholarship Essay

As the daughter of immigrant parents, I am fortunate that they sacrificed their personal dreams so I could pursue my own. Forced to help their own parents run a convenience store growing up, my parents' only wish was that I find a career I could truly enjoy. Four years ago, in an emergency department (ED) scribe shift, I first encountered that career. A 2-month-old baby presented a cough that deteriorated into a weak cry. The ED physician assistant (PA) quickly recognized that the baby would not have the strength to breathe on his own. I watched in admiration as the PA effectively intubated and stabilized the patient. It was in this experience that I realized doctors are not the only providers with the power to save lives. I desire to become a PA because I seek the comprehensive training and autonomy to effectively work within healthcare teams to treat a wide range of patients and positively impact their health.

One of the key problems in US healthcare today is lack of access to care, especially preventative primary care. I experienced this with patients I saw while performing diabetes education as an intern with the American Diabetes Association before going to respiratory therapy school. Even though patients were coming in and telling me that they had diabetes, they truly didn’t understand what that meant or how to manage it with medication and lifestyle changes. I realized then that primary providers could better work on explaining to patients what their diagnoses are. I realized here that I could be the primary care practitioner to better educate our community and focus on preventative care, which is why I went on to become a PA. Many of these patients do not have the education or access to physicians to prevent diabetes from starting, and then they feel the repercussions over the rest of their lifetimes as their symptoms slowly worsen.

During my respiratory training, I was one of five students to be chosen for the opportunity to do a clinical rotation in an underserved area. I rotated at Christus Southeast Texas- St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont, TX, which is the largest hospital between Houston and Baton Rouge. These patients were often poorly educated about healthcare and lacked access to adequate medical and preventative care. This clinical rotation opened my eyes to the medically underserved population and opened up questions to how we may better serve them.

To follow up this experience, I chose to complete my capstone respiratory internship and later work at Parkland County Hospital in Dallas, where I treated mostly medically underserved patients with a wide range of health issues. I find that I derive more meaning from my days when working with these populations, and thus, I plan to make a career out of working in healthcare systems for medically disadvantaged populations. Coming from this medical background, I aim to start my career as a primary care practitioner in an underserved area to give better access to that preventative care that this population lacks. Medically educating my patients and teaching healthy habits will be an important aspect of this work.

My journey has been long and arduous, but not without significant personal growth. My continued work in various fields of medicine and my academic achievements show my determination. The patients I have encountered thus far have left me not drained, but grateful for my experience and the reflection that I was able to help their quality of life, even if just by making a small difference in the quality of their day. I know by having a career in the PA profession, I will be able to affect many others in a positive way through healthcare. I strive to find that meaningful career I can truly enjoy that my parents were unable to have, and I believe I have found that in the PA profession.