Is God Bless You?

It took three seconds for the physician assistant to ask me a question that I had heard hundreds of times throughout my life. Unlike numerous people who had asked me before, the physician assistant had the knowledge and the ability to bring me relief from the redness that had plagued me for most of my life. I hope to become a physician assistant because I want to positively impact people’s lives – whether that be by giving them relief from an insecurity they have had for

I came to America from Vietnam when I was just three years old. I spent a majority of my life with my grandma, who has always taught me the importance of helping others. She always told me to have; you must give, and if you have nothing to give, you can always give your time. This phase has been a huge guide in my life, and it has truly shaped me into who I am. At a young age, I always felt that my purpose in life was to help people. After attending many doctor visits with my grandma for her health check-ups, I was confident my future occupation would be in the medical field. During these frequent doctor visits, I had the chance to watch the interactions and cooperation among different healthcare professionals in different settings. Being in this inspiring environment, I hoped one day I could mirror them and make a difference in people’s lives and the community. Although I have always wanted to help those in need, I was uncertain of what specific career role would allow me to fulfill my passion for helping others.

I look forward to the annual USC Health Fair where I can provide health information as well as assist in screening for diabetes, osteoporosis, and body fat composition and immunization to the underserved population. I can utilize my volunteer experience that I have obtained at

I first realized my passion for health promotion and disease prevention the summer following my first year of college. I had the privilege of attending the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP), which introduced me to numerous healthcare professionals. During the program, many of the professionals shared their stories about why they choose the profession, and with each story, I began to reflect deeply on my own background and what drew me to medicine. It was not until an emergency medicine physician spoke about his experiences, that allowed me to fully understand connecting my background to my future. The physician mentioned growing up in D.C., which brought to mind my family in D.C. It had been almost a year since my grandmother

On the day of April 1st, I volunteered in the Proviso East HS Health Fair. I was paired up with a Nurse Practitioner, a graduate student, named Carrie Bach. Our topic was “Oral Health,” and we had a poster and other visuals on our booth to educate the high school students during the Health fair.

I began volunteering at the Hope Line Resource Center to assist those in the community. This way I could assist with helping people become healthier to avoid facing the same situation my mother was in. Furthermore, I volunteer in health fairs to spread awareness of the ways people can put their body in a healthier state with Urban Health Plan. I wanted to do this to increase the community’s knowledge of how they can take control of their health. I eventually became an intern in the clinic with Urban Health Plan to have a chance to get involved in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) department and to collaborate with pediatricians to further understand the healthcare field. What happened to my mother motivated me to get involved, which eventually taught me that we all have the ability to take care of

Bringing this beneficial fair to promote, motivate and maintain wellness, the local organization is happy to provide the life changing services and information needed to residents that will help detect chronic conditions, prevent diseases and provide tips on ways to stay

The process to become a doctor is one of the longest professional journeys. However, my experience at M. D. Anderson showed me how important and rewarding it will be in the end. I have a more in depth understanding of the purpose of being a doctor. It is not a flashy title nor a path for a secure job; being a physician is a key way to benefit another person’s life. Ultimately, my life goal is to help those around me and make a positive difference in their lives. Through biological sciences, I know I can impact the lives of current and future generations to

I further supported my studies in biology and my interest of assisting the needy by volunteering at my hometown’s emergency room. While I did find that working at the emergency room constantly catered to my passion for knowledge about medicine, it was my trustworthy and compassionate nature that allowed me a heightened ability to interact with patients in a reliable and effective manner. I continued my desire by shadowing physicians in the many different departments of the hospital. However, since the marvels of the heart always left me in wonder, I found myself drawn into the life of a cardiologist. While shadowing him in his private practice, I had the chance to appreciate the responsibilities, commitment, and satisfaction of a career in

Learning obtained from this project, how to organize an event and coordinate to provide a community event with other health care providers and present to the community. Effective leadership and effective communication skills. The health fair broaden the understanding of disparity and understanding of culture. Learn community resources available to assist with the lack of access to health care. Team building skills working with the organization. Learn what it’s like from the perspective of the person with a chronic conditions and barriers to access. The knowledge of the community about health. It will assist me in future roles to determine health disparities in the community and different way to educate on disease prevention, promoting a healthy

To this day, my mother, a CNA at a local hospital where she’s been for the past 24 year, fears going to hospitals herself; let that sink in. This is common in the community in which I was raised and I’m sure in many other underserved communities across this nation as well. Many do not trust in our healthcare system and I want to work towards changing their perspective. I want to educate those in underserved communities on the importance of taking care of themselves and seeking treatment when necessary. Having been raised in an underserved community myself, I believe that I am in a unique position to truly make a difference. My other hope is that I can inspire the children of these communities to follow their dreams. Maybe, just maybe, they will be able to use our similarities as a starting point as they embark on the lifelong journey of self-identification and self-discovery. Having the opportunity to pursue my dream of becoming a physician, coupled with the potential impact that I can have on communities that are often neglected is the reason that I want to be a healthcare professional.

Growing up, being a physician was never a part of my plan. Coming from a first generation immigrant family, I was encouraged to simply do what I could with what I had. There was never an emphasis to do anything beyond living day by day. I saw this not only in myself, but also in those around me. Yet, the exception to this came from my mother.

Over the past year I have gained experience working with disadvantaged populations. My most meaningful and influential experience has been working as a Spanish intern at Will Grundy Medical Clinic. A significant portion of my time was spent as a healthy lifestyle coach. After referral from the physicians, the patients would come see us biweekly for basic information about common chronic illness. On one such occasion, after I gave a general overview about diabetes in Spanish, the patient was smiling because she was finally able to understand and explain it to her other family members. Some of my other responsibilities as an intern include assisting with community activities, one of which was the healthy wellness fair. From this fair, my fellow interns and I picked one chronic illness, researched content that would be pertinent to the patients and made posters for short

Even before this assignment was introduced, I was fully aware that this class was to be mainly focused on community health promotions and the importance of it. I was aware that we were going to learn about the fundamentals of health promotion and how it was done in different parts of the world. But what I wasn’t aware of was that the entire class was to partake in promoting good health in our own community via the Health Fair! When the assignment was first introduced, my initial thinking was that working in groups was something I personally never really favored in the past. Then there was the actual interaction with the community, specifically those who are at the flea market. I have been to the flea market before and I was

Today, my group and I attended a Health Fair at the Heskett Center gymnasium on campus. Every spring the Camus Recreation Organization at Wichita State host a Health Fair. The event, with over 60 vendor booths, offered demonstrations, wellness tips, and screenings from WSU departments and community members.Health Fairs, such as this, is an excellent opportunity for students to provide under privileged communities with education and resources, and gain the experience needed to compete in the ever expanding health care field. According to the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Undeserved, "Universities are in an excellent position to train, supervise, and organize volunteer health corps in order to engage students in reducing health disparities