Dietitian to PA. Rough draft. I would love any of your feedback! Thanks!!

[TCU2010]

I was never one of those kids that knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. I never dreamed of being an astronaut or a movie star. I went into college willing and open to any ideas on my career path. The only thing I did know, I wanted to be in the health field and as cliché as it is, to help others. Growing up I was a gymnast, worked out 40 hours a week and always had to be very health conscious.  During my freshman year, I remembered when a dietitian came to speak with us at gymnastics discussing how food played such an important part in our workout. I decided then that my background in sports and nutrition would be a great way to start a career in the health field. I completed my undergraduate degree in nutrition, my masters in nutrition and a dietetic internship to become a Registered Dietitian.  I knew I wanted to start my training in dietetics in the clinical setting. That is why I got my first job as an inpatient clinical dietitian at a hospital.

            I have loved being able to work so closely with doctors, physician assistants, nurses, etc. I have learned so much about the health field and how is takes all of the different disciplines working together to help take care of a patient. I take pride in the fact that I am able to help people take a preventative angle on their health and prevent chronic diseases rather than just treat it. To be a dietitian, you have to be compassionate, relatable, and a great listener. You have to use your critical thinking skills to figure out a plan that will work with each individual because no person’s health backgrounds are the same.  When I receive a consult from a doctor or PA requesting my help and expertise, I feel as though what I do matters and can make a different in the patients care. I am able to explain to my patients the effects food and nutrition can have on their overall health. However, by the end of each day, I find myself wishing I could have done more for my patients. My scope of practice prevents me from being able to do more. I want to not only help prevent disease, but I want the knowledge and skills to help treat too. I think becoming a physician assistant would give me that opportunity. I think the skills and knowledge I have attained being a registered dietitian have made me more than capable of handling the role of a PA. Those same skills, knowledge, and desire to help others needed to be a dietitian is exactly what you need to be a physician assistant.  A physician’s assistant is there to assist the doctor in the patients care by being a resource for them to rely on and I am ready to take on that responsibility. 

            Every day I attend multiple disciplinary rounds, which includes several doctors, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, dietitian, etc. I am able to see the role the PA plays in the patients care.  Also, whenever I have question regarding a patient’s plan of care, I usually end up discussing it with the PA first.  Through my shadowing and time working with PA’s in the hospital, I have observed the amazing connection and confidence the doctors have of them and their skills in taking care of their patients.  Working so closely with PA’s everyday, I have become almost jealous that they are able to care of my patients in a way that I am unable to do so. This is why I want to expand my knowledge of health and become a physician assistant.  Combining the preventative knowledge I know now and what I would learn throughout PA school would make me more than capable of working in any field in healthcare especially in a primary care atmosphere.

            I myself went through a major health scare when I was only 22 and know what it is like to be in the patient’s shoes. This is one reason I so much compassion for my patients and invest so much into their care. And though I came out on top, I know that is not always the case.  I continue to have follow-ups not only with doctors yearly, but PA’s as well. It is the combination of care from all of the different health providers that makes our healthcare system so strong. Though what I do now is definitely important, I am ready to take on a bigger role and responsibility. A physician assistant is exactly where I see myself fitting in and being able to make the greatest impact in a persons life.