Need help with my essay - ive read it too many times!

[ldemm77]

My greatest struggle when I was growing up was being healthy. I resented being reminded to “make the right choices” regarding food and getting enough exercise. As I got older, this problem took a toll on my physical health as I grappled to return to healthy living after years of poor habits. In high school I participated in a few sports, however, I was prone to injuries due to my previous lack of physical activity and increasing weight. After a few months of physical therapy, I decided that it was a path worth pursuing for my future. I was fascinated by the body’s resilience after injury and wanted to heal others the way I had been healed, so I planned to go to physical therapy school. In the last year of college, I volunteered as a program assistant with the National Association for Child Development. My job was to work with an autistic child to improve his neurological functioning, but it became much more than that. During the time I spent with the child, I became close to his mother who desperately needed a fellow team member to help with the care of her son, as well as an ear to listen. I loved working one on one with the child and forming a relationship with his mother that has extended beyond the time I was a program assistant. Because of this volunteer opportunity, I longed for more than just healing muscular impairments and started to question my decision to become a physical therapist. I was encouraged by my new friend to pursue physician assistant school, not only to guide others become healthier because of my own struggles but to also support those who needed more than just a prescription for exercise. While volunteering is part of my moral makeup I also needed to earn money to help pay for school. Serendipitously, I started working at St. Joseph Regional Hospital as a scribe in the emergency room.

I had the privilege to learn from some of the brightest minds as well as learned how to handle the emotions and complications that arose from interacting with people in need. I longed to get to know more about the patients, all the while wanting to devote more time listening to the doctor’s explanations of how to connect the biological dots to create a diagnosis and how all the facets of the body worked together. It was a huge step in providing the clarity in the direction of my future. The period I worked in the emergency room also showed me that obesity is an epidemic issue. I saw how obesity caused a number of other problems, such as infections in diabetics, heart attacks and joint injuries from being too heavy.

Around that time I also started shadowing a physician assistant who specialized in neurosurgery. I watched as she assisted in spinal fusions, laminectomies, and a craniotomy. The surgeries were incredibly interesting, but what really inspired me were the morning rounds to check on the patients. The compassionate way in which the physician assistant engaged with them as she addressed their concerns and assessed their recovery resonated deeply with me.

Taking an active role in helping people whether by being a good listener or by quickly taking action to help a physical ailment is a big part of who I am, which will be useful as a future physician assistant. My goal in the future is to not only fight the surging occurrence of obesity in America but to travel outside of the United States utilizing my bilingual skills to provide health care to those that would otherwise go without.

I am convinced that pursuing a career as a physician assistant is a natural fit for me, so it is essential I explain the inconsistencies in my grades. During my junior year at Texas A&M University, my grades fell. During that time my personal life took an unexpected turn and many of the components of my life that were my foundation suddenly crumbled. My parents divorced without warning at the same time my own engagement broke off. I fell into a cycle of depression and taking poor care of myself, which led to significant weight gain. Eventually, I was able to work through it by reaching out to others and refocusing on my health and wellness. I had people in my life that helped me through it, and I want to be able to do that for someone else. Though this time in my life was very difficult, I gained more passion for health and wellness through the hardship. Since that time I have worked to improve my GPA and to gain more experience in medical care. To that end, I have taken extra classes and I currently work full time with an internist who treats many patients with co-morbidities associated with obesity while I also shadow a physician’s assistant who specializes in orthopedic spine injuries and scoliosis.

I hope that Admissions can see my passion for the field I have chosen and that I would be allowed the opportunity continue to learn about medicine at a higher level so that I can fulfill my desire to help others become healthier by becoming a physician assistant.

 

[Raynet]

Shoot me a message at rsnettles7414 at gmail dot com. I can help.