Personal Narrative: A Career As A Student Assistant

On a more personal level, the Leadership Program has taught me the value of time management, organization, and confidence. Each of these characteristics was developed through the personal service project that I designed. My personal project was focused on my area of interest, dietetics. I chose to work with pediatric obesity patients at the University Children's Hospital. Lori Hardford, a local dietician, and myself will be holding a five week seminar with these children. During these five weeks we will work to teach the children the importance of good nutrition through hands on activities. The main emphasis will be to teach the obese children the four food groups, balanced meals, portion sizes, and healthy snack options. Then during the fifth week, the group will meet to play a game (similar to trivial pursuit) that reflects on what they have learned the previous four sessions. By planning my individual project, time management was essential. I had to balance my class load with planning the project and meeting with Lori Hardford. It was very difficult to find time when both Lori and I were available to talk.

The career I became interested in is a Physician’s Assistant, or a few people call them PAs. I became interested in this job in my sophomore year of high school. It all started when I attended the STEM fair after school one day. STEM fair is only offered to students who are in either the biomedical Stem academy or the engineer academy. At this fair, students tour around to different classrooms to acquire information on different careers. I attended the Physician’s Assistant one, where there was an actual PA to give information on what PAs achieve. For example, PAs examine patients for diseases, injuries and illnesses.

I have always known I love change, but from this class, I learned change is the hallmark of a leader. As John C. Maxwell says in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, “Growth = Change.”The leadership assessments allowed me to understand myself in a new way. Because I am a curious green thinker, I need explanations and answers to understand my world. I tend to see the big picture of a project and my mind motivates me toward something new or improved. I am curious about new opportunities because I easily become bored with routine. Learning I have these characteristics has increased my confidence to pursue future leadership roles in a small to a mid-sized position.

Throughout this entire course we have learned many concepts and strategies to synthesize and use leadership as a means of working in a group setting. These concepts allowed us to learn not only how to lead other

In the Fall of 2014 I became an RA, Resident Assistant, a position longed for since I entered as a student at Landmark College, a college for students with learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. I went into the job aspiring to help other students and build upon the close knit and friendly community that was already in place. My job was to ensure the safety and security of all residents, refer students to appropriate services on campus, and run and plan programs alongside two other RA’s and a Resident Dean.

Choosing my career was not an easy choice but becoming a Medical Assistant would be my “foot in the door” to becoming a nurse. I started Alaska Career College in fall 2014 to become a Phlebotomist. I thought that with my experience as a medical receptionist, I can further my career as a medical assistant rather than a phlebotomist. I love to draw blood but because of my personality, I thought that maybe it would be more beneficial to become a medical assistant instead. As a young Hmong child, I loved helping people especially the older folks who did not speak English well. It is my goal to help others who are in need of help and because of that, I chose to become a Medical Assistant. I do hope that one day

Volunteer work has always been a prominent activity that occurred within my life. Growing up with a father that was involved in the community so much that it felt like it was his job, I was always surrounded by community service and helping others. At the young age of six years old, I decided to do my part as well, feeding the homeless in a local church in New Bedford, Massachusetts. From that year on, I believe a majority of my most valuable characteristics derived directly from my volunteer work. Now, almost thirteen years later, I am involved in over 100 hours of community service per year and am ready to apply it into a new field- as a Resident Assistant.

Hello class I am Brandon Jackson I’m currently living in beautiful Jacksonville, FL but I’m originally from

During the course of my college years, I have considered alternate career options. I have contemplated becoming a physician’s assistant, a dentist, or a podiatrist. Physician’s assistants and doctors play similar roles in clinics; I would still be able to see patients and enjoy the interpersonal aspect of delivering healthcare. Additionally, I would still be able to play an important role in primary care and do my utmost for the sake of my patients, which is hugely appealing.

When it came time to consider reapplying for the Resident Assistant position, there wasn’t a question in my mind. My experience as a first year RA has been phenomenal, albeit challenging. The aspects of this job that I initially thought would be my weaknesses are some of my strongest assets. I recognize that there are many opportunities for improvement in the way that I approach this position, but with the foundation I have built as a first year RA, I believe I can become the model returner. My first semester has been a whirlwind with balancing 17 credit hours, leadership positions on campus, and the RA role all the while having my best academic semester so far. But also, developing stronger relationships with both my residents and team mates

During my last clinical rotation of my adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner graduate program, I worked closely with an orthopedic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. He frequently became exasperated when residents would present new consults and focus solely on imaging. He wanted to know what the history and physical revealed. One morning on rounds, he grabbed my hands and exclaimed, “Always look at your patient! Touch them!”

Today was tedious. I was assigned two patients to do a chart review of. I did not write down some key diagnosis because I thought it was not important. The most difficult part of this task for me was figuring out which information is important for the evaluation. We went to see our patients for the day. The highlight of my day was seeing a patient who already knew what occupational therapist does. She was the first patient who knew what occupational therapist does, and she gave a short and straight to the point definition. I was truly impressed. I wrote four evaluations today and I forgot some information that I could not remember or put into words. Goal writing is easier in this setting as oppose to in class. All of the goals were occupation

Having been a certified nursing assistant for just about six years I have had many experiences and come into contact with countless people who have touched my life and inspired me to become greater; to become a nurse. Co-workers, patients, patient family members and my own friends and family have always told me to pursue a career as a registered nurse. A very special co-worker of mine, Kathy a registered nurse, inspired me every day I came into work. She always had a smile on her face, she was always the first nurse to rush to help, she would listen to the patients and take the time to talk to them, and she treated every patient that came on our unit with care. Kathy would also take the time to answer questions that any of the CNAs had and

The blood pooled around and decorated the pavement. My left leg pinned in the kneeling position, as my right leg laid twisted and mangled. I yelled once, and then regained my composure. The sounds of the woman that hit me echoed through the country landscape that surrounded us, and I gazed off into the field in front of me. I remember thinking “This is how I die”. With seconds feeling like minutes, I quickly decided, “My story is not over”. I immediately fell into meditation, practicing deep breath. I followed through a list of coping skills I frequently taught at my job in a mental health hospital. I reflected on lessons of crisis intervention and therapy techniques searching for a way to fight through this tragic event. I tried not to talk to anyone, wanting to conserve my energy, but I could not help but fight the pain with sarcasm and humor. As the EMT arrived I kindly asked for morphine and surprised everyone that I was joking and smiling, despite the

Currently, I am working as a graduate assistant to Dr Melody Eaton, associate director of the graduate program. Dr Eaton is an inspiring woman and provided me many interesting projects to complete. In addition to graduate assistantship, I am doing my practicum at the family practice and pediatric office. This semester I had an opportunity to work with MD and nurse practitioner (NP). This was the first time I had MD as my preceptor. This was definitely an eye opener to me because I noticed a difference in the approach of MDs and NPs. For instance, MD preceptor focused more on diagnosis and treatment while NP on connecting with their patient. Also, I noticed NPs were better able to convince the patient and MDs had deeper understanding of pathophysiology