second draft - please help!

[emtstang]

If there is anything I should cut or any advice on transitions, please let me know! Thank you very much in advance!

 

“We found the patient altered and down at his residence. There were pill bottles near him on arrival. His wife is on her way” Stated the paramedics as we transitioned the patient onto one of our booths for critical care. “We were unable to retrieve a blood pressure on his right arm.” I initially found that very curious but carried on with my duties by obtaining an ekg and our own initial vital signs. He was extremely diaphoretic and hypertensive as well as tachypneic. His wife arrived and was allowed to stay in the room as we worked on her dying husband and said, “Earlier this year he was diagnosed with malignant hypertension. Please, we have baby twins at home!” We did everything we could to save him. My path to becoming a physician assistant did not start here. Rather, in the potential final moments of that patients life I couldn’t help but think to myself how I can’t wait to be the pa that fully interprets the ekg and orders the proper medication to stabilize such a critical patient. Pa was definitely a career that I could not escape.

Knowing that my parents entered this country in search of a brighter future for themselves and their children kept me motivated to make them proud. My family taught me at an early age that a strong work ethic and experience was important in order to excel. Even though I wasn’t born into a family of medical professionals or given a medical kit play set, I knew I wanted to make a medical difference and began my medical experiences in high school. As well as volunteering, I was also employed and worked my way through school and college to pay for my education as well as provide for my family. I tested my medical interests at an on campus geriatric practice. It was here where I was given my first taste of patient care and the importance of patient advocacy. I was unable to partake in any serious consults, however, I was able to value the structure as well as the administration game of health care. Soon enough I partook in my school’s Technical Internship Program (TIP) and took full advantage of interning at various specialties such as, Day surgery, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and the Emergency Department. Even though I played basketball my entire life, the teamwork I learned that takes place in a hospital is like no other. At this point in my medical career I was confident in my decision to become a physician. The idea of becoming a pa began on a car ride towards the veteran’s affairs hospital. My mentor, a physician himself, led a research team and invited me to take on a research grant on Barrett’s Esophagus. We spoke of different specialties that one could become and he spoke of pa which intrigued me, but I managed to keep my eyes set on ER physician.

I knew in order to become a physician, I needed to get my bachelors first. Unfortunately being a first generation Mexican American came with challenges. No else in my family had a bachelors, much less knew how to register for classes. My first years of college came with many hurdles. Specifically a meeting with an advisor where I was told to choose a different career path from MD and to rather direct my focus to something “simpler”, such as a medical assistant or a licensed vocational nurse. I had a sinking feeling that I had never felt before in my life. The meeting ended and I walked to my vehicle and sat in my car. Tears ran down my face. After a few minutes I pulled myself together and went to the closest computer I could find. I emailed a trusted professor that I had spoken to many times. She gave me information on the pa profession and contact information of a friend that was enrolled in pa school. I had heard of PAs before and once again I was being reminded of it. We had many conversations on the balance the profession brought between patient responsibilities and raising a family. I immediately fell in love with the idea of balance. The idea of spending two to three years in medical school and being able to make the difference I always wanted while still having time for my family. I decided to leave my current university and obtain more hands-on medical experience by becoming an Emergency Medical Technician.

Once I became a father and husband, I found myself working for a level I trauma county hospital serving an extremely underserved population. Having a family so soon in my career forced me to mature quickly. This allowed me to better understand my patients. It was in this setting that I felt I could use all of my resources such as, EMT, being bilingual, and my schooling. I used these tools to educate patients, apply dressings, and assist various specialties in an array of procedures. I was constantly reminding myself of how much more I could accomplish in a 12 hour shift as a pa. I gained more appreciation as I shadowed a pa. He taught me what it truly means to be a mid level provider and the flexibility of choosing different specialties.

The patient we saw was soon transferred to have surgery for an ascending aortic dissection. It wasn’t until weeks later that I found out he survived and saw his twins. We are all striving to find our niche. Our own place where we feel comfortable and fit in. I found my place a long time ago, even though I had to be reminded of it a few times. It was a career I could not escape. Now I can’t wait for the opportunity to go through the training I need in order to succeed. Only then will I finally be able to make the difference in patients lives that I see others do every day.