Personal Narrative: The Patient-Provider Relationship

It is the indescribable bond between patients and their health care providers that drives me to pursue a career as primary care physician assistant. While all health care providers should strive to connect with and relate to their patients, it is the privilege of primary care providers to form close bonds with their patients that they may treat for the rest of their lives.

I quickly recognized I wanted to practice medicine as part of a team and under supervision. However, I still desired sufficient independence with extensive and in-depth training. With this in mind, I began forming opinions about the various careers in healthcare until I came across the PA profession. By shadowing Araya, a PA, at a clinic, I observed how she provided sensitive and comprehensive care to the patients. She took time to explain to the patients their diagnoses in a warm, personable,and comforting attitude, which were all personality traits that I possess. I was extremely pleased of the lengths the PA went to in order to make the patient feel included and taken care of. Prior to this experience, I knew I wanted to construct strong relationships with my future patients and understand and treat patients as a whole. Not only was this palpable within the care Araya provided to her patients, but I now have the opportunity to build relationships with patients as a healthcare volunteer at Jamati Clinic by listening attentively to their main concerns as well as their outlook on their

I want to empower my patients to take control over their health; the best way for me to accomplish that is to remain in direct and prolonged contact with the same patients over time as their primary care physician. My own life and my teaching experience equip me with the tools and passion to care for patients over a lifetime through primary care.

Since working within the home, I have had the opportunity to work in partnership with healthcare professionals, service users and their relatives.

I hope to gain more hands-on clinical experience by examining and preparing patients before surgery and monitoring them throughout the recovery process. Some of members of my lab are physician-scientists, and I have shadowed them when they see patients at the hospital. Since all of the physicians I previously shadowed were specialists, I have reached out to a family doctor. I will be shadowing him on weekends in the coming months so I can gain a better understanding of what being a primary care provider entails.

Back when I was not sure, I aimed to find out more about what healthcare means for people today by volunteering. It was through this at the Orlando Regional Medical Center that I began to understand. I witnessed firsthand the kindness and empathy medicine requires of its practitioners. Consoling and guiding patients were my primary responsibilities, along with restocking supplies, helping transfer patients, and guiding visitors to their loved ones. I learned to work with people recovering from surgery, terminal patients, and many others only wanting company; I listened to them, wished them a happy birthday, or simply sat with them while they told me about their lives, their struggles, or how they met their spouses. A human connection was essential.

Imagine a connected healthcare interface where your medications are linked to your smartphone, smart pill bottles remind you of when it’s time to take your medications, and prescription medications or surgeries are customized towards your individual genetic and physical needs. This is the future of healthcare - we just have a long way to go before we get there. As you look at startups in the healthtech space - many of them are well on their way to having one piece of the puzzle - AdhereTech with smart wireless pill bottle to TalkSpace with customized online mental health counseling. To create that integrated network I believe the buy-in will need to come from some of the largest healthcare companies currently, such as Johnson & Johnson, Cardinal

My first week went really well! I was definately both nervous and excited on the first day. I was nervous because I wasn't sure how the clinic would run and I quickly learned that it is a very fast paced clinic. My CI sees patients every 15 minutes and he is both the only PT there and the owner of the clinic. I have been learning a lot about PT treatments as well as the buisness side of the PT clinic. He has a lot of PT aides that help with exercises and setting patients up with ice and stim ect. The fast paced clinic was definately something I had to get used to. I was a little overwhelmed when we would just start with a patient and a new patient would walk in the door. However, there is a very good flow in the clinic and everyone is always

I am committed to assisting patients and families in achieving the optimal level of function.  My actions are directed toward preventing disease, arresting disease and dysfunction, assisting with rehabilitation, and assisting patients with a comfortable and positive experience.  All care that I provide is provided in a nonjudgmental, nondiscriminatory, sensitive, and culturally manner.  I create a partnership based on mutual respect and that is my foundation of

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.

Considering my interest in the medical field, I am currently volunteering at Pali Momi Medical Center. Throughout the year, I’ve shadowed health professionals from different departments such as operating room, nursing, food and nutrition, and imaging. I’ve recently switched to imaging where I shadow sonographers and observe various procedures. This opportunity has enabled me to observe and learn from the staff’s expertise of how to perform specific tasks and procedures correctly. By learning about the different careers, I am able to decide which healthcare field best fits me. It is this environment I have grown to love and respect the field of medicine.

One thing that did not go as I expected was maintaining professional boundaries with a patient because one of the patients was using appropriate word and make me uncomfortable during the second weeks of clinical which is I didn’t expect to be happening. The second experience that did not go as expected was unexpected behavioral change during community group discussions

Today in clinical, I offered a male patient to perform a full bed bath. It was my first time performing a full bed bath on a male and the thought of this made me feel a little nervous because I had only practiced this task in the simulation lab and the thought of performing peri-care on the male gender was intimidating. I began to gather my items and throughly think about how I would normally perform a bed bath on a female and the difference of genital areas. As I brought the items into the room, my patient was friendly and helpful in directing his preferences of which areas he wanted to be washed first. His friendly personality made me calm down in a situation where I would normally be on my toes, as I was not thinking about my

On November 30th, 2015, I ventured to the Santa Monica Convalescent Center to spend time with patients in the dementia ward. At first, I thought I would not enjoy spending almost two hours with people who were unable to be cognitively present due to varying degrees of dementia and Alzheimer’s, which impairs their ability to retain memories and sometimes returns them to an almost baby-like mindset. However, I soon formed several bonds with many of the residents there. A woman named Kathy, a volunteer from nearby Presbyterian church, handed out copies of well known Christian hymns and soon everyone was chiming in as best as they could. I then sat down across from a woman named Alice and asked her about her life. She is an elderly African American woman who answered my questions with very opinionated and interesting answers.

Developing long-term relationships with patients is what I’m looking forward to as a Family Physician. Through my experiences as a medical student, intern, hospital volunteer, and observer, my most enjoyable moments are those spent listening to the patient. I have learned that communication, empathy and good listening skills, attributes