Personal Narrative: Biomedical Engineering

The first category, professional support services, is listed on the Career Interests assessment as well as the Skills Confidence assessment. This field has a school counselor and social worker listed as occupations. The third category, mental health and counseling services, also has social worker and school counselor listed, along with a few similar career choices. The last category on the Skills Confidence assessment, family and community services, is extremely similar to the mental health and counseling

With the variety of majors and interests college offers, the decision of choosing a career holds a heavy weight. There are many paths one can go to have a successful, fulfilling job for the rest of their lives; this is where college can explore a person’s likes and dislikes. From taking taking the self-assessment, it resulted careers that revolve around medical and/or as educators to help others. These choices seemed very very accurate and possible that I want to pursue. I have always been passionate of caring for others in some source. The four careers that I decided to further research are: occupational therapist, social and human service assistant, pharmacist, and veterinarian.

Since the beginning of September I have been an Anesthesia Technologist in the OR at Stony Brook Medical Center. I am currently in my first rotation at the ambulatory surgical center, but I will soon return to the main OR for my spine, cardiac, ortho, Peds, ob/GYN rotations. My job as an intern is to assist the anesthesia team with setting up the anesthesia machines, checking and/or troubleshooting the machines prior to each case, setting up IVs, and helping with inbutation and extubation among other things. I am in the OR from around 6 AM until 2:30 PM. When I am not in the OR I work as a home health aide for my great grandmother. My goal is to help restore so motility in her hips since she is recovering from hip surgery after falling while

According to the Live Career inventory my highest score was in Science, which means that I enjoy working with abstract ideas, scientific equipment, and mathematical logic and reasoning to solve practical or abstract problems. (LiveCareer, 2016) I also scored highly on being Assertive, meaning that I highly prefer working in situations in which it is appropriate to assert authority over other and to direct and monitor their work. Also, my high score on the Administration scale means that I like the financial or day-to-day operations of a business or institution, overseeing the activities of others, planning work schedules, and maintaining records. My lowest interest score was in Food Service, although I do enjoy cooking and good food, I was not interested in work that involved selling or serving.

Something I would like to discuss with the admissions committee, that I haven’t explained in my AACOMAS application, is a particular semester where I did poorly. During my fall semester of my junior year I was taking Physics, Organic Chemistry, Calculus, and Organic Chemistry lab. In the midst of this vigorous course load, my great grandmother, grandma, and great uncle all passed away within 3 months of each other. These three people were all present throughout my life. I spent countless summers at my grandma’s house growing up. I was used to seeing my great grandmother and her son my great uncle at least 2-3 times a year as they were always at all of the family functions and my great uncle lived with my other grandma. The loss of my grandma

I sat at the kitchen counter, staring at the green cabinets and bowls of fruit. I wanted to play in tonight’s soccer game, but my mind was still foggy from the drugs I received in the hospital the day before. I didn’t want my teammates to see me like this. My hair was matted from where my head rubbed against the blue hospital pillow, and a wrinkled piece of clear tape secured a nasal feeding tube onto my cheek. I hated what the tube meant: that I was inadequate and that I couldn’t drink by myself. I was someone who insisted on doing everything on my own, and the thin, flexible tube was a physical reminder that I could not. My mom and dad lauded my bravery, but I dismissed them. I didn’t believe bravery was dictated by necessity.

I remember being awaken by the loud commotion going on from the living room, so I decided to go check. I went out calling for my parents, but to my surprise, I only saw my mom on the phone crying from the reflection of a mirror. I wondered where my dad was. I got closer towards the living room and stood by the wall. I witnessed my dad sitting down on the floor having trouble to breath complaining about chest pain while my mom stood next to him. I closed my eyes in fear. I then heard something calling me to open my eyes. It was a siren that got louder and louder each second. I stood up and saw red lights shining through the window. There was a knock at the door and my mom went to open the door. Two men and a woman came through the door in navy

During my 15 years of existence I have had numerous experiences that have expanded my enthusiasm and desire for the endless field of knowledge that is STEM, but two experiences stand out the most. Perhaps the earliest experience I’ve had with STEM was wandering the halls of my parent’s veterinary clinic to come upon an open white room full of surgical tools and machines. It was in this well lit room that I was first brought into the STEM world by my mother doing a splenectomy (as she later explained to me). Pushed back at first by my own intimidation, I slowly walked forward in interest. With the explanation from my mother, my interest for information regarding the veterinary field grew. I constantly asked questions about surgery and what it

Oliver came up to the Department of Radiology for a pre-operative stat echocardiogram. Fairly young and seemingly healthy, he warned me that he was in a lot of pain and could not lay flat for the exam. I propped him up so that he was comfortable, and we began. A third of the way through the exam, Oliver exclaimed “I can’t take it anymore, I have to let my legs dangle.” Initially confused, I quickly became aware of this patient’s affliction when he pulled the sheet off of himself, exposed his legs and displayed an extremity that quickly transformed from vibrant pink skin to ischemic blackish blue. Staring at the floor with a distressed look upon his face, he revealed, “I am having my foot removed today.” Horror washed over me thinking about

A few months ago at a free clinic for recovering drug addicts, a 19-year old female came seeking treatment for her active heroin addiction, and reported her addiction had progressed over the previous six months, paralleling her boyfriend’s, moving quickly from use of oral opioid painkillers to intravenously injecting heroin. The day she came to clinic, make-up barely concealed an injection site on her neck, which she reported, was where her boyfriend injected her with heroin, as she did not know how to inject herself and the veins in her arms had collapsed. The addiction specialist I shadow decided to treat her in the clinic and asked her to return in one week to monitor her transition from heroin to buprenorphine. This patient struck me, as she was so young and overwhelmingly consumed by her disease. However, I was not able to follow up with her case as I began my current position at UCLA. As a shadow, the inability to follow patient’s care as much as I desired, along with knowing I did not have enough experience or knowledge to care for the patients, was incredibly scary and frustrating, although it was simultaneously

Having lived in three different countries in my childhood, it was a challenge for me to I wade through the unspoken rules of each culture. My Chinese heritage, reminded by my mother’s cooking, complements my penchant for Japanese snacks and trinkets. At the same time, I proudly represent Seattle where I grew up. My friends were often confused by my habits or certain beliefs and my family often did not comprehend what I was learning and struggling with at school. These obstacles were not solved overnight; I slowly learned to understand, taking the advice of many helpful teachers and mentors. I had to learn how to ask for help and advocate for myself. In my pursuit of medicine, I recognize healthcare transcends this cultural barrier, but the

The sharp scent of chlorine fills my nostrils as I crane over the microadjuster, determining whether my Platinum/Iridium wire tip is done reacting. Waving away the fumes, I observe the bubbles fizzling out, turn the voltage off, and twist the tip out of the machine. At 163 nanometers wide, it’s the sharpest tip I’ve etched this summer.

Medicine is challenging. Medicine is rewarding. Completing a challenge grants the rewarding feeling that so many people experience throughout their lives, whether it’s completing a marathon, getting a job with a highly competitive field, or overcoming a cancer diagnosis. The challenges I have faced in the past have been rewarded with joy, happiness, and triumph. Growing up on a dairy farm, my family was faced with the challenge of bankruptcy. As a four-year member of the Tarleton State University Men’s Basketball team, I faced challenges as an individual and as a team. As a student coming from a small town, I faced challenges finding a job to gain medical experience. All the challenges I have faced in my life have been driven by the motivation of the reward I would achieve when successful. As I continue my life, I want to face the ultimate challenge: becoming a doctor by pursuing a career in medicine, being motivated by the reward of the best feeling in the world; improving the lives of my patients.

When I interact with someone or the environment I am using the science of biology. The meat I eat was likely given GMO food and that is biology at work to try and feed the world. When ever I look at a banana I remember that it’s basically a man made plant and through the science of biology we were able to create it. Lastly medicine, with out biology I might have died for the onslaught of illnesses that I contracted as a baby. In the future I know medicine will advance and get better but biology’s biggest obstacle will be dealing with a second Spanish Flu and food in stores will be modified to be better and I might one day eat lab grown meat.