Personal Statement Draft, Please Advise

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“Adondé?” asks a Spanish-Speaking woman with a bulging red left eye, attempting to see the number of fingers held up by the Physician Assistant (PA) I am shadowing. The woman is accompanied to Los Angeles Christian Health Center (LACHC) by a group-home volunteer because of her old age and inability to grasp medical concepts. Unable to see the PA’s hand, she is determined blind in her left eye and sent to the emergency. She is one of many patients that I have interacted with at LACHC that leave me with lasting impressions, fuelling my journey to become a PA.

In the woman’s face, I see the uncertainty I felt during countless doctor visits as a child accompanied by my mother with little medical knowledge. Being a child, I needed my mother to interpret for me as the Spanish-speaking woman needed a volunteer to assist her. Still, I had no concept of medicine, only feelings of discomfort, so I sympathize with the patients that have little understanding of their situations. I have frequented the doctor’s office since my earliest memories of being rushed in an ambulance to the hospital for a febrile seizure, to the yearly asthma checkup and physical. As an immigrant from Vietnam, my mother took advantage of the available health care, making appointments for every little cough or sniffle I had as a child (I even saw several Gastroenterologists for frequent burping) because she was unsure of the severity of every situation. Visiting so many doctors in different settings and specialties, I was the first in my family to pick up an interest in medicine. The more I learned about medicine, the less uncertainty I felt at each doctor’s visit. Some experiences were not necessarily happy (being diagnosed with scoliosis), but some were moments of unhindered gratefulness to the doctors that had helped me (no longer having to wear a brace after multiple second opinions). My medical interests combined with an inclination for biology and volunteering left healthcare as my ideal career choice. As a PA, I would have the knowledge to quell the uncertainty of worried patients, such as myself as a child or the woman at the clinic. I would be able to use my talents and interests to stabilize patients physically and emotionally.

When the old woman heeded the PA’s order to see emergency, I saw in her the trust a patient has with her provider. Working as a physical therapy aide, patients trust me to teach them to perform exercises correctly. Being able to perform the exercises myself is not sufficient in helping others perform. I use my leadership abilities and confidence gained as Flute Section Leader in marching band to effectively communicate the proper technique in understandable terms. Because I know the patient trusts me, I am obligated to provide the best care. One patient struggling with the quadruped maneuver relied on my advice to evenly distribute weight and tighten the gluteus muscles in order to succeed. The delight in his face to feel the proper muscles activating rewarded me beyond words of thanks: to know that my contributions were able to improve his form. My responsibility to patients is motivated by the trust they have in me, just as the woman at the clinic trusts the PAs advice. Working as an aide has taught me confidence and communication when working with patients and to uphold their expectations of excellence for their health.

The woman’s living situation at a shelter reminds me of my experiences volunteering with neighborhoods of poverty. During high school I had my first encounter with Skid Row through a service trip with my church. While passing out sandwiches at a park, I met Ol’ G, a reformed gangster, and some of his friends. One woman I remembered had skin covered in large, scaly, lesions that Ol’ G called leprosy. During college I expanded my service globally on Spring Break trips to Panama and Navajo Nation. In Panama, I helped teach finances to a local village and in Navajo Nation I helped out with local schools. Back in Los Angeles, I continue to volunteer as a tutor for Kid City, a nonprofit afterschool program for local students. Exploring different types of service, healthcare stands out as the greatest visible need amongst all groups: the homeless woman with leprosy, the Panamanian girl with acne, the Navajo man with diabetes, and the students’ parents dealing with alcoholism. Regardless of social status, health problems cause suffering, but through my experience I believe the underserved populations experience an amplified effect. The woman at the clinic reminds me of this effect because lack of immediate medical attention caused her eye infection to escalate to blindness. The PA profession allows me to work with these populations because of its emphasis on treating the medically underserved. I plan to stay in Los Angeles after completing my PA degree in order to heal these underserved populations and help lessen their suffering.

My time at LACHC has cemented my decision to pursue a career as a PA. The PA profession provides the best medium for me to accomplish my goal of improving the well-being of others because of its medical education model, emphasis on patient care, and dedication to underprivileged populations.