Personal Statement : Health Care

For as long as I could remember my ultimate goal in life has always had to deal with health care; I want to help as many people as I can in a variety of different aspects. Regardless if it is nursing or a physician assistant this is a career choice I’ve always saw myself pursuing. I could easily see myself waking up everyday and surrounding myself in a hospital setting; I’m not sure what it is but I enjoy that fast pace environment the hospital has and the variety of different environments I could put myself in while I take care of my patients. I hope to have personal, one on one relationships with patients because I find establishing close relationships with any patient you have helps in regards to their own comfort. I’m mildly content with being managed, I do not necessary want to manage others; I find I enjoy having a structure and someone to tell me what I am doing right or wrong appose to it being myself correcting my own actions without any guidance.

In my life, I have experienced the incredible work healthcare professionals can provide and how lack of access to care can lead to dire consequences. Growing up in my village in Bangladesh, I was first hand witness to this lack of adequate healthcare. I had to watch my sisters deliver babies without training, I had to witness an aunt suffer in an agony due to the lack of adequate healthcare facility, but my most vivid experience of this lack of healthcare came when I was the victim of an acid attack and had to wait three days to receive medical attention. Due to this attack, I have third degree burn on approximately ninety percent of my body, and left me blind in one eye. Due to the lack of adequate health care in Bangladesh, two organizations, “Healing the Children” and “Naripokkho”, decided to provide me with medical care in the United States. It was there, that I was eventually exposed to all the wonderful work that could be done by doctors and other healthcare professionals. I have had approximately thirty reconstructive surgeries to repair my nose, eyelids and part of my forehead that was perforated through my skull. These experiences have inspired me to want to become a doctor, with the hope of giving back to my local community in Bangladesh, United States and globally.

The reason I wanted to be involved in the health field is because I wanted to pursue a career that gives back to other people the blessings that I received when I first entered this world. I was born prematurely and my mother often reminds me that it was the dedicated hard work of the physicians, nurses, and other health-care workers who saved my life when I was born. Throughout my life, this has always been an inspiration and motivation for me to help others. Having a profession in the health field should not be treated as just a career to earn a salary or a paycheck, but as a career where you will be helping to make the world a little healthier and better.

As a social worker, one could aim to connect health care facilities in Zambia, where 1 in 5 children are dying from malaria, to Doctors without Borders, a resource sharing the privileges of modern medicine with participating countries (Harrison, et al., 2005). The doctors participating could provide the local doctors with new information on healthcare and possible prevention methods for contracting malaria including updated vaccinations and treatment. This would connect those without access to such resources to good healthcare and promote social justice by potentially decreasing the child mortality rate of children with

Constantly striving to maintain optimal health is the key to prolonging ones wholesome lifestyle. Although the multi-dimensions of health seem fairly general, they are must be observed in great detail to truly rationalize whether one are at their highest level of wellness. In my initial review of my own wellness, I could easily establish that my psychological health was in the most need of beneficial changes, while other concepts like physical and occupational health seemed to be in better standings. Little did I know, that while I was consciously working on my weakest points of health, I was overlooking many paramount details associated with the aspects on my health I believed to be my strongest. It was brought to light through the Dr. Oz Real Age Test that my constant forgetfulness of what some consider the most important meal of the day, breakfast, could cause me to age prematurely. After researching the benefits of not skipping this morning meal, I knew I had to alter this horrible habit.

I am accomplished self-motivated, bilingual, and ready to expand my knowledge. I meet all the elements required for the opportunity of an internship program at Health Career Connection (HCC) in the field of Health Care Management. I am confident that through HCC’s professional developmental approaches; in combination with my interpersonal skills, and the high standards of education at Tennessee State University (TSU) that will invaluably empower me to proudly represent HCC’s mission. Through HCC’s program I will be exposed to real world experiences, mentoring, and broad networking connections. I am also confident that my experience in retail as beauty consultant, as caregiver for the elderly, and Census collector for the government will improve the likelihood to be chosen for the HCC’s program.

I am disturbed that not all lives are valued equally. I cannot accept the fact that children die from preventable diseases, simply because they are born in countries with less wealth and stability. In America, we are curing cancer with a mutated poliovirus strain, but we haven’t eradicated polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We come together in crises, highly publicized earthquakes and tsunamis, but we haven’t come together to solve the problem of basic human health, a right for every person on earth. Ensuring our health is complicated and daunting and requires the mass coordination of agencies and governments to build sustainable infrastructures with local citizens in charge. I want to be part of the solution and am engaging in public health in every way I can: in the field, in the classroom, and through global health

As a volunteer on a medical mission to Panama, I helped set up clinics and assess patients in tandem with local doctors. I learned how to diagnose and treat common ailments, and used my Spanish speaking skills to educate patients on healthy habits and lifestyles. I came to appreciate the lack of quality health care available in rural

As a high school student in Egypt, I noticed that good healthcare was a privilege that only the upper class could afford. However, I quickly realized that healthcare should be a natural right of all human beings regardless of socio-economic status. It was here that I developed my interest in practicing in underserved communities, because I want to make a positive impact on the health of individuals, families, and communities simultaneously.

When my medical ethics professor discussed whether or not health care is “special,” my initial reaction was of course but I wasn’t truly aware of what that meant. In Peru,

Apart from intrinsically promoting quality healthcare, Cuba has expanded its skills beyond its borders. For many decades, Cuba has sent physicians to other parts of the world. Through these efforts, Cuba has supported countries with much needed help in medicine such as Africa, Asia, and even the United States (Gelder, 2007). When a slum dweller in Port au Prince, the son or daughter of a farmer in Honduras, or an indigenous person from Bolivia decides to become a doctor, they turn to Cuba (Gelder, 2007). Cuba graciously turns them into physicians. Not only does the Cuban government provide an equal opportunity to become a doctor, they also pay for tuition, living expenses, books and medical care. In return, the medical students must agree to return to the under-served communities to practice medicine (Gelder, 2007). Once the students graduate and

Last summer during my International Health Fellowship in Peru, one person who stuck out to me most was the father of a teenage boy with Cerebral Palsy who lived in a village called Quicha Chico, which was a few hours from the closest big town. What amazed me the most was how they navigated the steep paths and uneven terrain, with the dad carrying his son sitting on his shoulders, as had done since the boy was a toddler. Now, as an older man, it was incredible to see the lengths he went to so his son could have a health screening by our team, carrying him on his shoulders from their farm, which was outside the village. Not only did it show the desire for health care people have but it also showcased the other aspects of health and wellbeing that are so much broader than diagnoses and treatments. This young man in this isolated village in the Andes had never had a wheelchair and, even if he did, the terrain in and around his village would have made it impossible for him to use it. Additionally, it was discouraging to imagine what will happen to him once his father died, a fear his father shared with us. For this young man, the isolation caused by the extreme terrain and the lack of support eclipsed the effects of his diagnosis and even that medication or other clinical treatment would have had. It showed how health and well-being are so much more intricate than medicine.

“No one here [in the United States] would allow you to perform medical procedures for which you’re not licensed. And that should not change when you cross international boundaries to developing countries,” states Melissa Melby, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Delaware (Cole 2016). Beginning in the 1980s, Short Term Experiences of Global Health (STEGH) programs have been providing healthcare to developing countries to eliminate health disparities. STEGHs occur for a short duration abroad, with an aim to participate in clinical care, education, research, and public health efforts. However, STEGHs have been plagued with critiques claiming the programs inflict more harm than aid, which has led to ethical violations, cultural insensitivity, and lack of sustainability. Academic and medical communities have been developing principles to eliminate controversy and encourage cultural humility, long-term sustainability, and ethical protocol.

Last summer during a month-long Summer International Health Fellowship in Peru, I saw first hand just how special healthcare is and how much of a

We would drive for a couple of hours on winding dirt roads to villages up the mountains from Huancayo, the city where we were staying. We went on market days and set up stations in their village squares to measure pulse, respiratory rates, glucose levels, blood pressure and other health stats. As one of the few Spanish-speaking members of our group, I was usually responsible for doing intake and taking medical histories from the attendees. What I thought would be a simple process of filling out a few forms quickly became the most impactful part of my trip. It meant so much to them to have someone care enough to simply listen to their problems, which many of them had been dealing with for years. This showed me how influential a physician could be, in ways far beyond just diagnosing conditions or prescribing treatments. Many of them had been working on farms for