An Eastern European Applicant -1st rough draft :)

[elenakal]

Personal Statement .pdf

[elenakal]

Beforehand, I want to warn everyone that English is not my native language(I started learning it at 17). However, since personal statement is so important part of CASPA application, I was forced to come up with some writing. If anyone could read over and give me a general advise, I would highly highly appreciate it!!! I do have sources to help me with grammar and spelling, but what I need to figure out here is a gist of a paragraph. Does it make sense, is it clear/good/bad/irrelevant/??? Again I would appreciate any effort to help me to write a decent personal statement, of course, to my abilities :)

 

 

“Quality healthcare is for rich only”, happen to be my deepest and saddest discovery in healthcare field that nobody prepares you for in the college. After getting involved in a direct care of underserved population of               area, where an average patient has not even completed a middle school, turned out to be more challenging experience than one could expect. Working in the primary care clinic for about 9 months now, I got to see all kinds of patients including those with a long history of drug abuse, HIV + homeless individuals, teens with aborted pregnancies, suicidal personalities who all shared one trait in common, which is neglect and mistreatment by their society.

 

During weekly educational presentations for our patients, not only I have gained confidence in public speaking that used to be my biggest fear, but I also have become a necessary link between high-tech medical field and down-to-earth human problems. I have presented topics on “Natural Way of Controlling Type 2 Diabetes ”, “New Diagnostic Testing for Gastric Esophageal Reflux Disorder”, “Preventing and Treating Morbid Obesity” and couple more. Educational Health Campaign gained a high level of success among general public primarily because clinical material was explained using simple 6-grade English level with enough time left to answer each individual question. Communication style is a key component on a way of becoming respectful healthcare provider. The one, who makes a change in patient’s life not by prescribing a high dose of narcotics such as Norco for treating chronic pain, but by spending extra time to educate his patients so that they can make an informed decision about their wellbeing.

 

Further experience as patient transporter in              , has given me an insight into importance between the style of healthcare delivery and its therapeutic success. While transferring patients within and between medical facilities, I often heard a magnificent piano music playing from the lobby that melodically spread throughout the building reaching every single corner from the pediatric chemotherapy unit all the way to the lobotomy department. Was this art therapy any better at treating insidious cancer rather than medication alone? Probably not, but this charming music has provided patients and their loved ones with a necessary peace of mind in a face of a deadly disease.

 

Shadowing a talented cardiologist in                 , was both fascinating and also tragic, since it was my first time seeing death in so immediate proximity without yielding warning signs. Taking vitals of congestive heart failure patients and their past medical history was probably one of the most memorable moments of my life because it had taken away any doubts regarding a key connection between one’s psychological and physical wellbeing. Patients who had organic heart problem also had developed psychological disorders latter in a course of a disease progression; conditions of depression and suicidal ideation were among top three of them. Similarly, those with mental disorders such as anxiety were as twice as likely to develop stomach ulcers, generalized weakness and apathy, and chronic pain, making their medication list to cover nearly two pages long in length.

 

Growing up in late nighties in a closed military town of              , remotely located seventy kilometers north of , where basic medical needs were left unmet, I grew a strong sense to give back to those who lack it the most. At 17, after learning about incompetence of medical training available in my country, I made a decision to move abroad to pursue my life goals. Primary care, cardiology, and oncology, represent only a few of specialties that I got a chance to learn about outside the college classroom. Each by itself has captured my heart and provided me with a closer insight into vital link between human body and mind.

 

Therefore, the opportunity to become a Physician Assistant that is capable to work in a variety of medical fields without undergoing prolonged mandatory residency training deem to be the best option for me. Coming to this realization was only possible after working in different clinical environments with interdisciplinary team of medical providers. And although my healthcare experience does not necessary include direct shadowing of Physician Assistant, through my hard work back-to-back with a couple of highly experienced physicians around the globe, I got a strong sense for what it takes to become their assistant one day.