Self Discovery

I came to America from Vietnam when I was just three years old. I spent a majority of my life with my grandma, who has always taught me the importance of helping others. She always told me to have; you must give, and if you have nothing to give, you can always give your time. This phase has been a huge guide in my life, and it has truly shaped me into who I am. At a young age, I always felt that my purpose in life was to help people. After attending many doctor visits with my grandma for her health check-ups, I was confident my future occupation would be in the medical field. During these frequent doctor visits, I had the chance to watch the interactions and cooperation among different healthcare professionals in different settings. Being in this inspiring environment, I hoped one day I could mirror them and make a difference in people’s lives and the community. Although I have always wanted to help those in need, I was uncertain of what specific career role would allow me to fulfill my passion for helping others.

My senior year of high school, I enrolled myself in a Health Occupation Students of America course. Knowing by this time that I wanted to be somewhere in the medical field, I hoped to get some guidance on which profession was more “for me”. In walks my instructor, a spunky 5’4 foot woman with shoulder length brown hair. She introduced herself to the class and revealed to us that she was a registered nurse at our local hospital. I was mesmerized by her personality, captivated by her vivacious spirit. Intrigued by

My passion to help others and my interest in the healthcare arena have been evident since I was a child. I felt as though I had won the lottery every time I helped someone as a child. It was rewarding for me to see a smile on someone’s face from an action that I had completed. I carried out nice deeds without the agenda of receiving something in return, but with the mentality that it was a deed that needed to be done by someone. Whenever the famous, what do you want to be when you grow up game was played, I would faithfully name occupations that pertained to the healthcare field, such as a pediatrician, dentist, or a nurse.

I am able to show my passion of service above self through many different activities I have been involved in within my four years as a Eureka High School student. With being involved in National Honors Society and Key Club I have chosen two clubs that requires community service to be apart of. By taking leadership roles in both organizations it has helped me build my character and see that community service is not just for hours, for a club, or for looking

In hindsight, although becoming a physician was always my plan, I was not quite ready to commit. However, my time away from school has allotted me clarity in many areas. Much of this clarity came from becoming independent, not only financially, but more importantly in own my beliefs. I no longer constantly look to others to validate the decisions I make. Working side by side with physicians has given me a better understanding of the interdependence of business, clinical work, and the politics that come with working in a large hospital. Not only has my desire to enter the healthcare field become personal, but more importantly I now understand what it means to be a caretaker. The most essential realizations have been recognizing the amount of sacrifice and humility that coincide with being a caregiver, and appreciating that someone entrusts you to care for them. Maintaining this trust while remembering to be empathetic are two great responsibilities, and I cannot think of a more noble reward than having your community’s trust bestowed upon you. It is an honor to be granted the ability to improve peoples’ lives through

In my time volunteering at the hospital, I hope to gain many different experiences. However, there are a few main ones: adaptation through enrichment and dependability. First of all, I want to get to know and adapt to the environment of the hospital and learn how different processes work. This is a crucial part of being in the atmosphere of a clinic. Also, the experiences that I will have at the hospital will help me to understand the routines and entailments of the career I would like to pursue. I hope to become a Physician’s Assistant in the future and this will be the best way to know if it is the right position for me. This enrichment of my understanding will help guide my passion for this career path and hopefully strengthen it.

Through the many trips that my family has taken to the hospital due to various reasons, I have become fond of the hospital and its many wonders. After all the things that the medical field has done for me and my family, I decided to contribute to my local hospital to volunteer and help out those who pay visits to the hospital. Through my exposure to various clinical populations, I want to improve my ability to serve others in this capacity that can guide me towards the medical profession in the future.

The experience taught me to work hard to achieve my goal of becoming a doctor and helping as many people as I can. It taught me not to waste my time. All of my dedication has pushed me to be the best person I can be so in the future I can feel confident about all of my choices. Volunteering at Children’s Hospital offered me an experience that pushed me to strive for no less than excellence. By volunteering, I watched my dreams and ambitions get closer, and although the process is a slow and difficult one, every second of it was worth it because I was able to watch everything I value become

From day one my mom taught me that you will get more satisfaction giving to and helping others than you ever will by just doing things for yourself. I truly believe this. Volunteering to teach swimming lessons, organizing recycled items, and visiting the nursing home are all things I have been involved in and doing each of those I have learned more and more about how important service is. Just recently my classmates and I helped an elderly woman move all of her belongings out of her home and into the 4H building for an auction. The 4H building is on the fairgrounds where I have volunteered to clean up every spring for the last 3 years. Service is very important but also very rewarding. I look toward to doing more service projects in the

The sheer joy, attitude, and bluntness of children turned even the most ordinary tasks into a smile. Working with multiple groups of active and engaged little minds over the years, I witnessed several amusing moments that never failed to brighten my day. I found myself working with children for a good portion of my life, beginning with babysitting to becoming an instructor for various volunteer opportunities including Camp Mosaic and Early Childhood Development Center. This was my comfort zone for a long time and pursuing a career as a teacher seemed like an obvious choice. However, little did I realize that an unexpected turn in my life would lead me into the world of healthcare and to the profession of physician assistants (PAs).

I began volunteering at the Hospital for Special Surgery, to get an overview of what is is like to work at a hospital. Volunteering at a hospital was an eye opening experience, because I got to encounter how physicians, and medical staff communicate, and listen to their patients. These two skills are essential to understand patient needs, and therefore make the right decisions in diagnosing diseases. My role at the hospital was to provide snacks, beverages, and aid kits to patients, families, and medical staff. I have witnessed families that stayed up long nights, because they had loved ones undergo surgery. Any person that has a loved one undergo surgery becomes worried and scared, because of the uncertainty that lies ahead. However, the imperative skills that I have learned and exceeded on was my communication skills. Communicating with these families, and patients was exceedingly important, because you have to place yourself in their shoes to understand the situation they are in. I met young patients, as young as 5 years old, that were in the hospital for days recovering from surgery, or undergoing

My decision to volunteer at Gloucester-Mathews Free Clinic was primarily motivated by curiosity. There are seven medical professionals in my family, and I wanted to explore the possibility of pursuing a similar career path. The experience provided an opportunity to learn that I do not want to go into medicine, but more importantly, it made me reevaluate the way I think of healthcare.

As I approached my senior year of high school, I was lucky enough to be accepted in the Teen Volunteer program at Upstate Medical University. During this four week long program, I was able to shadow medical professionals and broaden my understanding of the medical field. I was given the unique ability to experience the field that I want to go into before entering secondary education. Before this opportunity, I had always known that I wanted to help people in my future career; however, volunteering at this hospital solidified my desire to make a difference in the world through my future in medicine.

As a student aspiring to pursue a medical career, I knew it was imperative to attain a firsthand experience in a medical setting. Therefore, my experience volunteering at the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic, or VHC, was profoundly significant as it allowed me to learn how the profession was in practice, which strengthen my desire to become a doctor. This experience, engaging with patients and physicians, exposed me to a different side of medicine through which I learned the crucial role of interpersonal communication; and, it also led me to discover a new aspect of medicine that captured my interest and motivated me to seek a profession within this field of study.

Hospitals are a great way for a medical student to serve the community as well as gain valuable experience in their future field. For this reason, I have spent around forty hours from the end of the summer up until now volunteering at HonorHealth hospital. I volunteered as a transporter, what this means is that I move equipment, medical documents and lab samples around the hospital. I also help discharge patients by pushing them in a wheelchair to their car. Through this experience I was able to make life easier on people who were vulnerable and trying to recover as well as the busy staff member who treated them. I had many interactions with people and by from this I have a better understanding of impact my service had. I will be discussing: How psychology can explain social interaction, how outside factors can influence a person 's sense of self, how behaviors and situations can help you understand a person, the importance of communication as well as focus, and the environment shapes the organization.