Two Steps Ahead by Sarah

Two Steps Ahead by Sarah - June 2020 Scholarship Essay

I hope to make entering the healthcare field easier to navigate and less intimidating for younger students. I never had someone in my life interested in the same career field to be able to conveniently follow in their footsteps. The unknowns about the process left me feeling like I was always two steps behind. Although any job is achievable with the right attitude and determination, I think it would make life a little less stressful to know the ins and outs of entering this profession.

Discouraged was how I felt when I attended the first Pre-PA Club meeting in college. I saw other students my age being able to raise their hands and say they already had patient care experience while I sat there feeling like the odd one out. Even with my grades, leadership positions, volunteering, honor societies, and extracurricular activities from high school, I was still somehow behind schedule. As a freshman in college I was just finding out that I needed to become a CNA, EMT, or phlebotomist to even be able to apply to grad school. While this seems like it would be obvious, I was unfamiliar with the preliminary steps and would not have known without someone pointing it out.

Although there is no concrete timeline to be able to reach the same destination, I know there are other students like me who would be thankful to find certain things out sooner rather than later. Knowing the entire course of action ahead of time can help eliminate some unnecessary stressors and can improve your quality of life. There is no right or wrong path to take on your educational journey to a certain career. With that being said, it is perfectly fine to take your time and change your mind along the way as you discover new information.

I want to be able to reach out to high school students who might benefit from hearing what I’ve experienced and what I might have changed if I knew at their age what I know now. The sharing of advice between college students or healthcare professionals and high school students should become more common in order to create an environment that promotes communication and teamwork early on. By educating and exposing students to what their future may look like before they encounter it on their own, it will facilitate easier transitions into the field of healthcare. I hope to make new generations of students feel like they are two steps ahead instead of two steps behind.