Career Pathway Reflection

A medical professional essential role always boils down to serving other people faithfully. For me, I have always found great joy in serving the community in any capacity, but found a special joy in health care. I have found my desire to serve is what continually motivates me to become a Physician Assistant. This drive has help me maintain a 3.80 GPA, while leading my college soccer team as a captain for the past three seasons. All while establishing myself as a chemistry lab assistant and tutor. The balance between the three is great preparation for the future as I prepare to face the challenges ahead. I am aware of the value of education and gaining as much knowledge as possible, however I equally value establishing relationships with people.

My PICO question seeks to address what best-practice might be in determining effective outcome monitoring. The most common practice is based on the tradition of careful clinical interview with

You’d never think growing up a very sick dad and worried mom would have a made such a positive impact on my life. But in my case, it is the main reason why I have chosen to become a physician’s assistant (PA). In the beginning stages, I was too young to really understand the importance of the doctors and medical staff that worked countless hours to make this medical miracle happen, but as time went on, I began to comprehend the role of the people who were trying to save my dad’s life so he could watch his girls grow up. Seeing a multidisciplinary team of physicians, social workers, and dieticians work so well together to solve a problem made a lasting impression on me. I watched as they spent countless hours analyzing the numbers and evaluating my dad’s physical condition to solve the problem. Working so tirelessly showed how passionate and dedicated the team was. I can 't accredit a single person in that group of medical specialists that inspired me to be to become a physician assistant because each and every one of them played a tremendous role in my journey. I desire to become a PA so that

The career that I have decided to pursue is a physician assistant because this career seems like the right fit for me. A physician assistant, also known as a PA, practices medicine under a physician. Physicians assistants usually specialize in a certain area of medicine and they either work in private practices or hospitals. They partake in a wide range of jobs ranging from examining patients, ordering diagnostic tests, prescribing medicine, and many similar jobs that physicians do. In rural areas, PAs have the ability to be the primary physician because of the lack of physicians in the area. This career was located in my third top career cluster, health sciences, from the interest assessment and the career, was under the career pathway of therapeutic services. I feel like the I have the skills needed to fulfill this career because I enjoy helping people even though health sciences was not in my top five career clusters from the skills assessment.

‘Listening to how patients feel about their care and treatment is one of my personal priorities. Knowing that patients feel safe and are being given the care and attention they need makes me feel that I am doing what I can each shift to improve their care’ (National Quality Board, p72 2015).

Find, and list, at least 10 different careers from various sectors in the health care industry. Describe the role of each career and explain what makes that profession different from the others. You can include, but are not limited to, factors such as education and experience requirements, services rendered or products offered, licensure, pay, involvement with other health care sectors, and type of work duties.

Defining a moment in life that determines a career pathway is often a difficult task. Though sometimes inspiration from a particular person or event directly impacts that decision. The goal of becoming a Physician Assistant became clear for me in 2013 when I spent many months dealing with health professionals before and after the death of my infant daughter. This was a life changing moment and I knew then that the passion for working with people and being able to help solve some of the medical mysteries with diagnostic components would be where I wanted to make my career. Choosing the Physician Assistant role allows more of a social aspect with direct patient care in comparison to a Physician, yet they are more equipped to tailor a plan

As most kids grow up, their dream job changes all the time. One week they want to fly to the moon as an astronaut while the next week they want to rule the world as president. However, I’ve always wanted to help people by being a doctor. I would sit in front of the television mesmerized for hours by various trauma shows. I preformed surgery on my stuffed animals and diagnosed my friends and family with different fake illnesses. As I continued to grow up, I realized there is many types of jobs in the medical field that preform a variety of different services. After researching the different options, I fell in love with the idea of being a physician assistant (PA). A PA, supervised by a doctor, has the freedom to interpret tests, record progress, and diagnose patients. In order to become a PA, it takes a lot of schooling, but it is a rewarding job that I would be very good at. Ten years from now, I will be a great physician assistant due to the characteristics I already posses and the education that I will be receiving in the future.

The experience I gained at the cardiology clinic and the hours shadowing at the Methodist Hospital emergency room are a pillar for the career of my choice. I want to be able to help those in need in my local community hospital. I feel the urge to give a hand to those that have guided me through the right path, from teaching me right from wrong to encouraging me to strive to be the best in life. At the Methodist hospital, I learned how to obtain patient’s medical history and entered data into Cerner, and I obtained consent from patients before procedures such as diagnostic imaging and casting. I observed physical examinations being performed by the physician assistant and it taught me that it is necessary to have knowledge to be able to diagnose and treat conditions and that interpersonal skills are essential for this career. Currently, I work for the department of health where I triage and register patients, assist physicians and nurse practitioner in the examination of patients, and assist with maintenance of inventory supplies and

Having positive relationships with colleague’s means that, as an organisation, we are able to provide consistent care to each service user.

Over the past century the practice of pharmacy has evolved from a field with few specialties typically focused on compounding and filling prescriptions to modern pharmacy practice which has many different specialties. Due to the many opportunities in the field of pharmacy one assignment I completed was the APhA Career Pathway Evaluation Program to see which specialties I hay have the most interest in based on a series of questions I answered. In the following paper, I will list and discuss these results, point out some of the positive and negative attributes to each career choice, and will make an assessment on which careers may be the best form me and some of the options I disagree with.

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing”- Pelé. When I think about my future, quite frankly, I’m not sure where I’ll end up. I truly believe my future will depend on my personal happiness no matter what career I end up in. However, that’s not how life goes. In a career, it’s not all flowers and daisies; you sacrifice, you endure, you persevere, and sometimes, you suffer but in the end you are rewarded with a life only dreamed by some. I’m not looking at the medical field for money, I’m looking at it for how it fits to my characteristics. The medical field is a group of people willing to suffer, sacrifice, and endure for the well-being

I have given a great deal of thought to the next leg of my academic and career journey. As I reflect on the road I've taken to get this far, I realize that I have not only learned a lot there were many late night papers, team projects and plenty of reading I have also grown a great deal on a personal level. I think that the best part of reaching this juncture is the realization that I set a goal and achieved it. It is a good feeling of personal triumph. I know that once my degree is officially completed and conferred it will be an accomplishment that can never be taken away.

This lesson mainly addressed aspects related to career development. This lesson encourages students to discover their academic and personal strengths, their skillsets, and their interests. Students then take those concepts and apply them to career exploration. They are able to link their strengths, preferences, and abilities to potential future career paths. Some of the specific aspects of career development that I addressed include applying planning and career exploration in setting and obtaining lifelong career goals, applying necessary skills for career readiness and success, and teaching students where and how to obtain information about post-secondary options. In this lesson students are encouraged to apply decision making skills to place different careers into the appropriate career fields. In doing so, they are also encouraged to begin thinking about careers that are of interest to them and what career goals they have for themselves. They will be given resources in order to continue career exploration outside of the classroom. While I do not expect sixth graders to fully decide their career path, it is my firm belief that it is never too early to get students thinking about careers and having them set goals in order to obtain the career and future that they desire. I also believe that this unit touches on social and emotional development as well as academic development. This lesson allows the student to collaborate with one another and work in groups as well as in pairs. This promotes relationship building and teamwork. It also allows students to take an inventory of their personal strengths and skillsets. This could boost self-esteem and promotes a sense of self-awareness. Lastly, this unit also encompasses academic development. Students will understand that good grades and academic success are key elements to obtaining the career that they wish to have. By being academically successful, this will allow them greater options and opportunity post high school graduation.

Finding a specific career path can not only be difficult, but it can also induce bouts of anxiety, anger, and sadness over a crucial part of an individual’s life. Settling on a career can be unnerving when thinking about the fact that this is the career that you spend thousands of dollars on in college, that this is the career you will work in until you retire. With this course, I’ve found that it has been easier to narrow down a goal towards finding a career. Through career assessments, different assignments and discussions, I have realized what my barriers and strengths are. Overcoming these and improving these skills or applying them to an actual career assisted me in narrowing my goal as well. I am now able to clearly see the advantages and disadvantages of my career goal and to think clearer about the next steps that I will take after this course.