Personal Narrative: My Health Education Experience

Through my experience with the healthcare field, I have seen that low socioeconomic status, culture, and access are the major contributors to the health disparities today. Whether it is not being able to afford health insurance/medical costs, a culture that’s attitude and beliefs does not put much value on preventative care, or simply not having appropriate transportation to the doctor, all these factors work together against the patient. Medical professions can best tackle these issues by first knowing and understanding the needs of the population in which they practice. Theoretically, if one is aware of specific needs then those needs can be better addressed, whether they are financial or cultural needs. Also, medical professionals can work

Academically, I love explaining and elaborating concepts to my peers, either through casual meetings or through a formal tutoring program, like what Geisel offers. By teaching, I can not only help others, but also learn much better than studying alone. I’m also looking forward to participate in the “Partners in Health Education” program or the “Health Education and Rescue Training (HEART)” program, where I can spread health related knowledge to the

It is still scary to even go to school and outside the community, but with this program has taught me the importance of slowing down the rate of drug use within the school and my community. (I want people to focus more and notice more of our beautiful community and where we live than abuse of drugs and alcohol. (Costilla County Prevention Partners one time) started to offer classes for kids who wanted the help to stop the use of tobacco and drugs. It was a very successful class and some kids even stopped doing what they were doing. Being apart of this coalition and educating people has helped me decided that I would like to go into the medical field. I love when I learn something new and I am able to educate people out in the community who has no idea what is going on in our world. When I educate people it makes me feel like I am doing something good and right to help better our

With the achievements I have accomplished related to health care, I now have learned so much information that I can apply to help others in desperate needs. The first step I had to immediately take was to enroll in health science courses. By taking these courses I was more familiar with the human body and its abilities.

After my first year at UND, I took a CNA class and became employed at a nursing home in Menahga, where I am still working. At this job I was able to experience patient care and begin to see the benefits of helping patients improve their lives. In my time after High School I have also had many other valuable experiences. I have been a Camp Counselor at two, 1 ½ week Confirmation Camps for our church. At these camps it was mine, along with other Counselor’s responsibility to teach the younger teens about how we believe as well as demonstrate how to be respectable adults. These camps allowed me to use and develop my leadership skills and also created memories that I will never forget. I have also shadowed a few different Medical Professionals, in order to better understand the world of medicine. Dr. Dan Smith is a General Surgeon who lives and practices very near to where I live. I was able to shadow Dr. Smith for many hours and built a relationship with him. He showed me some aspects of the medical field that I may not have seen elsewhere. My life has been far from typical, but I do believe that each of my experiences has made me both a better person as well as a be

I continued to gain experience in health care. I worked at the student health center, creating and distributing relevant health related information, on campus and I worked as a home health aid. These college experiences enhanced my insight into the world of health care and provided me with greater excitement about becoming a health care provider.

We as a class were given a variety of health subjects to choose from to undertake a research project that counted as a huge part of our grades. I picked the study of epidemiology to be the area I would focus on extensively for the next three months of that semester. This obviously meant that I had to read and learn a couple of books to get a clear idea of how I was going to present my idea and findings. As I read through some of these books, I really became intrigued. The aspects of global health issues, biostatistics and health policies to name a few really jolted me into considering this area of study as a potential future career choice, as oppose as to just a research project. I was really fascinated as I read and came across the range of issues that public health officials such as epidemiologists had to solve or were in the process of solving in inventive ways. I obtained a crucial but very methodical understanding of the very issues that is being faced in the world of health care today. Ever since this class came and went, I have been highly focused on public health issues through other classes and

I also have an extensive training in working with local agencies. The spring semester of my sophomore year, I began volunteering at the Cedar Valley Hospice for approximately 20 hours a month. I was trained in the following areas: Patient/Family, Grief, and Cedar AIDS Support System (CASS) services. Through my work at the CASS, I was responsible for making contacts with a variety of other agencies on the behalf of my clients, such as the Black Hawk County Health Department, Operation Threshold, and the Cedar Valley NAMES Project. In this capacity, I did office work, I was a buddy to an HIV positive individual, and I did face-to-face education panels in local school and community settings. I was also extensively involved in training future buddies. It was during this time period that I completed the American Red Cross course work for certification as an HIV/AIDS educator. In this capacity, I have been a guest speaker in several elementary school and college courses about HIV/AIDS. The

I browed and build upon what I learned from AHS 391 Educational Methods, AHS 341 Health Science Research Method, and the CPE training in AHS 409 Health Screening. During my co-op, I developed and implemented a weekly educational program for my peers through Motivational Mondays. To do so, I conducted research, developed educational materials and interacted/taught my peers. I reused the educational methodologies and research technique I producing informational boards and interactive activities. I used my CPE training to implement campus programs and behavioral change. I found that teaching health is one of the best ways to learn. I also developed better communication skill by continually interacting and presenting to the general

It was there, I volunteered with the Health Outreach Quality Improvement Program (HOQI). At first, I questioned how an RV bus could serve so many people. After training, I was hooked! My original role as a volunteer transformed and with time I became a Site Leader, overseeing a group of 10 pre- medical students and completing reports of their performance for my 8th avenue clinic in Alachua County. I valued talking with families, most whom came from Central America and were leery about receiving treatment. Because my parents are immigrants from Jamaica, I readily identified with them. I recall my mother often attempted to use natural remedies before visiting a physician, making teas to alleviate ailments. Able to identify with their concerns, I reassured them about the services they were receiving. Later, as a volunteer in a soup kitchen, I was again able to connect with people from diverse backgrounds, especially the homeless population. Preparing meals, I saw that small efforts can have a huge effect on the lives of

The Public Health Associate Program would help me fulfill these goals by providing a unique on-the-job experience and competency development so that I could successfully fill a role in public health, management or community development in the future. In reviewing the program’s curriculum domains and competencies,

During the program I did research and shadowed, but the most memorable part of the program was following their NeighboorhoodHELP program. The program allows for medical students to provide care to households in the Miami community while allowing them to see the harsh realities of their community. Being a part of that experience was very transformative because it gave me first hand experience with the health disparities in underserved communities. The families had limited health literacy, did not have health insurance, or lived in a food desert. Their ability to make healthy choices or receive proper health care was diminished. The underserved population’s level of health literacy is one factor that keeps these health disparities in our communities a constant. A future goal of mine, as a physician, is to educate and communicate well with my patients. Trying to give them a better insight in making healthier lifestyle choices so they can prevent a number of diseases. During my time in Miami I also had the opportunity to participate in cooking classes for diabetes patients and grade school children. Implementing programs that would increase the access and awareness of healthy food options is something that I want to be a part of in

I have worked as a volunteer in a clinic in Miami where we were dealing with HIV prevention.

During high school, I was actively involved in my local AHEC, which offered a program for high school students in the area to learn more about the health field through various camps and programs. One of the programs that I attended was at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the focus of the program was to expose first generation college students to the various allied health programs at UNC. Throughout the program professors and admission representatives from various departments gave a short presentation to the attendees, but the presentation from the Gillings School of Global Public Health was the one that resonated with me the most. That day I was introduced to a

One of the most appealing aspects of becoming a public health professional is the wide range of careers available to choose from. My career goals coincide with the range of opportunities; however, ultimately I want to work with an organization similar to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. I want to focus on the social and medical aspects of disease, and examine the disproportionate rates of disease and disability among minorities. I also want to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS that is rapidly destroying so many countries. My passion to help others around me has sparked a desire to work with clinics around the world in order to promote change in the treatment and prevention of devastating diseases like HIV/AIDS.