Reflection Essay

When I first got accepted into Stuyvesant High School, I heard countless of rumors stating: “Oh the workload is terrible”, “The competition is so fierce” or “Out of schoolwork, extracurriculars, or sleep: you can only pick two.” I found it hard to let it faze me, since I graduated from one of the most prestigious middle schools. However, the rumors transformed into reality when I stepped into Mr. Nieves’ Freshman Composition Class. The workload at the beginning of the year was brutal, coupled with assignments from other core classes that seem unaware of the workload of other teachers. Reading assignments were a regular, and there were journal entries and occasional quizzes to keep us in line. What made it bearable was the friends I made in that class; everyone had their own opinion about the topic we were talking about, and listening to other perspectives really broadened my horizon and enriched my learning experience in Stuy. Another thing that this class has taught me is the importance of time management, a skill that I will carry on for the rest of my high school career and life. When I choose to sign up for Mr. Nieves’ AP American Literature class in my Junior Year, I was hoping to relive the discussion-based lesson plans and meet more outstanding peers. I was not disappointed, to say the least, reflecting through all the experiences at the end of the course. The lesson plans he laid out for us were an interesting mix between small lectures and class output, and what I

I am drawn to the PAs ability to not only treat and diagnose independently but to work in a team environment. I relish the idea of working alongside nurses and physicians in choosing the best path of treatment for my patients. I am also attracted to the flexibility of the PA program, which will allow me to change specialties if I desire. Being a team player and having a passion for medicine, I have concluded that a career in the health care field, and more specifically as a physician assistant, is the right path for

A medical professional essential role always boils down to serving other people faithfully. For me, I have always found great joy in serving the community in any capacity, but found a special joy in health care. I have found my desire to serve is what continually motivates me to become a Physician Assistant. This drive has help me maintain a 3.80 GPA, while leading my college soccer team as a captain for the past three seasons. All while establishing myself as a chemistry lab assistant and tutor. The balance between the three is great preparation for the future as I prepare to face the challenges ahead. I am aware of the value of education and gaining as much knowledge as possible, however I equally value establishing relationships with people.

It is still so surreal to reflect back on my first semester as an incoming college student in the ENC1101 course, analyzing at my progression as a reader and writer in literacy. Since the first day of class I set in stone my goals for this class: receive a 4.0 GPA, develop my connecting theories skills in writing, and become more aware of objectives for each Unit throughout the course. All of these goals became achievements that not only make others proud but most importantly give me self pride. In order to earn the grades and achieve these goals, I went after every opportunity that I was given as an incoming college student, such as office hours and extra credit. By taking this course I have gained confidence with the utilization of literacy, and made an addition to my group of impactful literacy sponsors. Once students are finished with high school they assume that there is nothing else to learn beyond the stereotypical five paragraph essay, but they are so wrong. I was able to obtain so much knowledge about numerous course concepts from Writing about Writing, articles, and my professor. These concepts will carry on with me throughout a bright future of writing courses, job interviews, and any other skills that require literacy. The four outcomes listed below will help illuminate how I improved as a writer, by being a driven college student and going out of the way to earn my achievements in this course. In the first outcome I improved comprehending scholar texts,

Many years ago I chose my studies to begin a career in the medical field. My original goal was to become a Pediatrician. However, at the end of my bachelor’s degree and after many hours spent volunteering at Miami Children’s Hospital, I decided that I wanted a career that would give me more patient provider interaction. I spoke with several doctors, nurses, and other health care providers and decided the best career for me was a Nurse Practitioner. I still have not decided on a specialty but I feel that path will come naturally with

Although science has been my favorite subject in school for as long as I can remember, my passion for medicine started in fourth grade, after I spent three weeks in the hospital. The doctors and nurses were so good at explaining what was going on inside my body, and I learned so much about medicine and myself. It really improved my healing process knowing what was happening and how I could make myself feel better. From that moment on, I knew that I wanted a career helping others feel the same way. So, I met with my father’s friend, who was an anesthesiologist, to discuss all the options that are available in the medical field. After he listened to some of my interests and dreams for my future, he said that he thought

Defining a moment in life that determines a career pathway is often a difficult task. Though sometimes inspiration from a particular person or event directly impacts that decision. The goal of becoming a Physician Assistant became clear for me in 2013 when I spent many months dealing with health professionals before and after the death of my infant daughter. This was a life changing moment and I knew then that the passion for working with people and being able to help solve some of the medical mysteries with diagnostic components would be where I wanted to make my career. Choosing the Physician Assistant role allows more of a social aspect with direct patient care in comparison to a Physician, yet they are more equipped to tailor a plan

As most kids grow up, their dream job changes all the time. One week they want to fly to the moon as an astronaut while the next week they want to rule the world as president. However, I’ve always wanted to help people by being a doctor. I would sit in front of the television mesmerized for hours by various trauma shows. I preformed surgery on my stuffed animals and diagnosed my friends and family with different fake illnesses. As I continued to grow up, I realized there is many types of jobs in the medical field that preform a variety of different services. After researching the different options, I fell in love with the idea of being a physician assistant (PA). A PA, supervised by a doctor, has the freedom to interpret tests, record progress, and diagnose patients. In order to become a PA, it takes a lot of schooling, but it is a rewarding job that I would be very good at. Ten years from now, I will be a great physician assistant due to the characteristics I already posses and the education that I will be receiving in the future.

The health care system is flawed, and I believe every individual who pursues a career in the health field has the ability to help fix it. During college, I was still exploring and researching potential career paths. The decision to pursue a career as a physician assistant (PA) came from a thirst to help others and to improve quality of life of individuals.

If I were to say that there was one defining moment that led me to becoming a Physician Assistant (PA) or that I have always known that I wanted to become a PA; that would be dishonest of me. However, it did not take long for me to realize that becoming a PA was exactly what I wanted to do. When shadowing various healthcare professionals I got to see how much of a gratifying profession that PAs have. For example, when I shadowed at an internal medicine office, I was able to see the PA examine, diagnose, and treat patients with various illnesses. The PA also allowed the patients to speak their minds and confide in her about personal experiences and struggles. The PA provided both medical advice as well as a listening ear for many patients. At that moment it was clear to me that being a PA was more than just about the patient's “signs” and “symptoms,” but about treating the “whole person.” I then thought to myself, “I want to be apart of this and be able to provide my own patients with my own medical knowledge and

While the idea of being a physician assistant or a physical therapist isn’t a bad one at all, I always felt that somehow, something was always missing. I was missing an objective. I was missing what I really wanted to do as a physician assistant. The practice of curing and assisting people without exposing how to prevent future outcomes of illnesses and the spread of diseases to them didn’t really sit well with me at all. I began to doubt my potential future career choice as a physician assistant in general. They say variety is the spice of life; although I knew and loved the knowledge of assisting a medical physician, it was the serious lack of variety within that specific field and the limited options of growth that gave me heavy thoughts day in and day out. I wanted a career that would enable me to help a large amount of people, help place a heavy emphasis on prevention and care, and also challenge me continually to motivate and improve myself. Seeing that I no longer had an interest in being a physician assistant as I initially intended, my thoughts and passion quickly gravitated towards the area of public health, particularly

Pursuing careers blindly based only on financial gains was a major mistake that only brought unhappiness and felt hollow and unreal to me until I discovered the existence of a physician assistant (PA) profession. Various reasons led me to a career path of a PA, but the reasons that stand out the most are a patient I encountered while volunteering at a hospital, summer I shadowed and assisted PAs, and the PA students that I met.

Rather than becoming a Physician or Nurse Practitioner, I knew that becoming a PA would be the best fit in my life. I want to become a PA because of the many advantages I would gain, that earning an MD or DO would not give me. One of these advantages, is the flexibility in potential specialties. I may, eventually, like to change specialties since there are many areas of medicine that I am interested in. I always look to learn, grow, and try different experiences. I also have a mostly altruistic mindset. I genuinely enjoy interacting with people and helping them. I enjoy working with a team to help patients and to find ways to decrease the cost of healthcare, while increasing the provider to patient

This change was the start of my opportunity to establish myself, hoping to give back to my country someday. The summer before I attended college I participated in mentorship program with Tufts University of Medicine. During the program I was given the opportunity to be mentored by First Year students and Rehabilitation Medicine Physician who all encouraged me to purse a field in healthcare. Upon entering college I was then able to participate in classes and expositions that provided information on different careers in healthcare. It was through those expos that I learned of Physician Assistants and their role in medicine. As a junior I landed a job as a scribe working with PAs and other physicians in an emergency room and an Urgent Care. After becoming familiar with physicians I began shadowing some of the PAs, who further enriched my appreciation of their roles in the lives of people with medical needs. A few weeks leading to the end of my undergraduate career I also landed another job as a nursing assistant on a Medical Surgical Unit where I was able to become more involved in patient care. Being able to bring a smile on a patient's face and assisting them when they were in need fueled my aspirations some more. I later then began shadowing a physician who work with various PAs during their clinical. Throughout this shadowing experience I was

I have chosen the Physician Assistant career as my profession. I have always been fascinated by healthcare and grew up with several different types of medical professionals in my family. The Physician Assistant (PA) field is a fairly new career, when in comparison to nursing or practicing physicians. This program was created in 1965, and its first graduate class was in 1967 from Duke University (American Academy of PAs). The Physician Assistant degree is a two year Master’s degree, offered multitude of colleges across the nation. (American Academy of PAs) This field was created, as there was a gap in the physician shortage in the healthcare system. (American Academy of PAs). This gap has now been filled by PA’s. A physician assistant can do everything a physician can do, under the management of a doctor. Currently, many primary care facilities are being run by one sole physician and several physician assistants all working together as medical providers. I chose this profession, because I want to be a high level provider. The idea of going to medical school is cost and time prohibitive for me now, and after much research and shadowing I feel this is the right path for me.