Public Health Personal Statement

Throughout my life I have always strived to support and care for individuals in the best possible way and my aim now is to pursue a career in a profession in which this quality is fundamental. I believe that studying a degree in Health and Social Care will allow me to gain a thorough understanding of the knowledge and skills needed in this area and of the mental and physical needs of different individuals. Studying this subject at A-level has hugely increased my enthusiasm towards caring and safeguarding individuals through a profession and has also encouraged me to continue my studies into higher education. The A-level courses I study have enabled me to attain vast amounts of information that would be useful on this course.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community has never received as much attention as they are right now. Much of this attention is stemming from this population struggling to obtain the same rights given to the remainder of the population. The LGBT community faces many challenges in their personal system, social environment, and then in the public system. In working with the LGBT population, the social worker needs to examine how the individual views themselves, not only through sexual identity, but as an individual. We need to look at the prejudices and condemnation they have encountered which may have led to further uncertainty or confusion.

According to the United States Census Bureau’s estimate (2015), over 3.18 million people currently reside within the United States and under 3% self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (CDC, 2014). Though this accounts for a relatively small portion of the population, the community is not homogenous and the percentage of self-identification it is not inclusive of all as some may identify based behavior or desire which are not synonymous (Fenway Institute, 2012). Similar to other minorities within the United States, the LGBT community confronts challenges with regards to health care, including stigma and discrimination from health providers, when seeking medical attention

Health science classes have greatly impacted my high school experience, as well as my life. As a freshman, not knowing what my life would hold, I chose the health science pathway. Upon entering the Introduction To Health Sciences classroom, my interest began to blossom, becoming more of a passion. I learned the basics, such as how one small mistake on the part of the health professional could be fatal to a patient. I proceeded to Diagnostic Medicine, where I learned about specific specialties. There, I dove deeper, receiving hands-on experience with the dissection of a cow eyeball to better understand the anatomy of an eye. This was a fascinating experience to me, being able to visually and physically explore the science of anatomy. Most recently,

When my medical ethics professor first discussed whether or not health care was a “special” resource, my initial reaction was yes but I wasn’t truly aware of what that meant. From living in a community with a surplus of doctors and clinics, I was sure that health care was important and necessary but had never truly seen the power that its absence can have and the significant role that a physician can have in a person’s life. When I spent a month last summer in Peru as a Summer International Health Fellow, I experienced how special health care is and how much of a privilege it is to have the opportunity to participate in it.

Medicine is about the captivating combination of altruism, intellectual challenges and the fact that I can be the one to make a genuine difference in people’s lives. Once someone is my patient, his or her quality of life is something I will be able to change for the better.

I always wanted to serve the community in terms of health care. Admission to this program has aided in strengthening my determination and given new meaning to my life and the ones around me. Every day in the program has made my dream come to life. I was lost before I came to know about the program, and now as each day goes by it feels like the destination could be seen at the horizon.

15% of students in Merchant’s, Jongco’s, and Artemio’s study were found not to disclose their sexuality during admission interviews to medical school because they felt that they would not be admitted if they did (786). Another 17% of students did not disclose their sexuality because they felt uncomfortable in the interview environment (Merchant, Jongco, Artemio, 786). Based on this evidence, one can extrapolate that a medical school which openly advertises LGBT support and education would essentially disintegrate these problems of interview admission, and also help bridge the apparent “not at all comfortable” gap between physicians and LGBT patients (Eliason et al., 1363). In the bigger picture, a student’s sexuality is of no concern to any admission advisor of any school; students are not admitted, or should have their admission affected by their sexuality or gender identification. Additionally, from an objective point of view, if a medical school were to publicly advertise their openness and accepting nature of LGBT students, they would have more students apply and thus gain popularity, as LGBT students will seek out education in environments in which they are accepted and respected. This is evident in Merchant’s, Jongco’s, and

As a research participant fellow of an Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education, I have a great opportunity to conduct research on various public health issues at Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). My exciting journey started in 2012 in the Health Services Research and Evaluation branch in the Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Prevention (STD). This has led to ample opportunities, allowing me to grow and develop expertise in the area of epidemiologic research. This fellowship has grant me a great honor and privilege to work among exceptional professionals such as medical epidemiologists, economists, health scientists who are extremely talented, dedicated and take the mission of CDC and their role very seriously. As a fellow, I can obtain on job training to improve skills and knowledge to strengthen the foundation acquired in academic setting but also gain invaluable hands on experience in researching prominent issues such as STD disparity, screening for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, contraception use, syphilis associated stillbirths, and chlamydia associated infertility.

In November 2015, my world was changed because my daughter was born. As a new mom, I had a hard time getting through baby blues due to sleep deprivation, breast engorgement, worrying about insufficient breastmilk and being a good mom. I felt isolated and lack of social support since I was the first one being a mom among my friends, as a racial minority in the U.S. and an international student. At the one-month checkup, I did a survey from the pediatrician about postpartum depression, and I got 7 points out of 10. I decided to go out and looked for new mom groups and talked to them; I realized that I was not alone. The experience inspired me to find solutions to benefit new moms and this community and to explore the role of technology in personal

There’s my father, two paternal uncles, two maternal uncles, five cousins, and two cousin’s husbands. I really meant it when I say I come from a family of physicians. Not to mention myself, three other cousins who are in medical school and my sister who started premed recently at FSU. However, I am proud to say that my choice of wanting to be a family medicine physician was based on my own experiences and did not actually occur to me until my last year of medical school.

I have earned a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration in a school of public health which has equipped me with the knowledge of major health factors including the most important which are the determinants of health such as social factors. My degree has allowed me the capability of analyzing all health and safety hazards for people to live in a safe, healthy environment. Poor health outcomes are a result of interactions between individuals and their social and physical environment when exposure to crime, violence, and social disorder are high. By knowing this and other risk factors, I am have the skills to deal with the demands of protective services and the benefits that come with this work environment. Such job related skills including,

Working for the Human Rights Campaign and promoting the Equality Bill in Congress, I realized the widening disparities and inequities faced by my communities, especially by my trans brothers and sisters, in a health care setting. Despite some progressive moves in the right direction, we constantly face prejudice and ignorance regarding our unique medical needs, sexual health in particular. The amount of times I have to bluntly ask my personal physician for specific tests is surprisingly high; I can only imagine the trans experience at an Emergency Room. There are two main causes for such neglect: on one hand there is a lack of representation of the LGBT community in the workforce; on the other hand, our own preferences for LGBT professionals limits the exposure to the broader medical

12-year old Sanjay led an extraordinary life. He lived in a crumbling, dystopian world, garbage bins of restaurants being his source of nourishment and derelict buildings his shelter. Burdened with HIV since birth, I had the privilege to provide for him at our HIV centre, often sharing my lunch with him during his visits. After 7 months and 25 days as my patient, he said goodbye and never returned.

Health is the most precious asset in the possession of human beings. From my classroom experience and through interaction with literature texts, I have come to the conclusion that people can be responsible for their health. As a student of public health, it is important to maintain good personal health in order to address the public health problems in the future. To be responsible for my personal health, I have taken the initiative to implement a personal health behavior changing plan to test whether a positive reinforcement of rewarding myself to watch one episode of my favorite TV show each night is an effective method to change my eating habit in a short period of time.