Rough Draft! My underdog story

[FuturePA-C_Richardd]

Hey you guys, I hope you like it! Give me all ya got! I really need it :) Thank you so much for taking time to even read this. Seriously. 

 

 

 

 

On a hot humid morning, I stood in the courtroom ready to hear my sentence as the judge was reading over my case. I was charged with a Misdemeanor for petty theft. My sister and I were hungry and homeless. For us to eat, we’d gather empty grocery bags from the market, grab food, head to an isolated isle, put the food in the bags and walk out promptly without paying. This strategy has worked many times, but on this occasion, we were caught! There was a police officer waiting for us at the parking lot who knew of our scheme. I was taken to the station.

The judge was reading my record. I dropped out of high school, had a history of being abused from family members, lived in cars and the Salvation Army with my sister, but she saw that I had no prior convictions. She demanded that I change my ways by giving back to society and signing me up for community service in exchange of my petty theft record being expunged. In order to satisfy my court requirements, I had to do 100 hours of helping out the Boca Raton hospital staff.

 

I was assigned to the BRMC as a caregiver for the orthopedic floor. As I stepped in the hall, I was exposed to the health care world for first time! I have never been to a hospital and this captured my heart right away. This floor had patients who were post-op and had limited mobility, but they came from many different walks of life and circumstances. The vulnerability of these patients who had difficulty moving is something I take serious. The patient’s insecurity and fear turned into confidence and admiration whenever I was demonstrating any sort of strength. I could pick them up and transfer them safely with ease. These patients don’t know who I am or what I’ve done to be here, but they trusted me with their lives. To be held to such high accountability with these beautiful was an honor! Patient Care had become a passion.

 

After demonstrating my willingness to learn, being punctual on time and getting along with the workers, the charge nurse released me from my court requirements and offered me a position as a CNA. She was willing to have me use my first 2 paychecks as reimbursement for the certification classes. I didn’t think twice about it! I’ve been a CNA ever since.

 

While working on different floors, I was exposed to the different level of health care providers. I can always tell who the PA was. Sandra had this confidence and joy that was not replicated by anyone else. She worked hard and loved it. I did not know much about PA profession, but I was eager to learn. I asked Sandra if I could shadow her. She smiled warmly and said “yes!” We spent over 150 hours together in the ICU and I lost count after that. This was the first time I was exposed to medicine. There was a whole new language that I didn’t know about like Pharmacology terms. Sandra made patients feel like they were celebrities. I loved it! I’ve shadowed NP’s and MD’s after shadowing PA’s. They had an appealing career too, but found myself drawn back to the PA’s. I loved the job and the chaos of the environment around us at ICU. Sandra was diagnosing illnesses, torn ACL’s, and denying a patient of drugs medication in a way that was graceful and elegant, yet charming and bold.  This was it. I want this. This was beyond infatuation. This was my calling in life! PA? Sign me up!

 

I started on my goal hastily. The first objective was losing 200 lbs. I weighed 425 lbs. and in order to help others with their health, I needed to be healthy. I lost 230 lbs. in less than 8 months. The 2^nd step was to get my GED. I took the test in 4 weeks and passed convincingly. The 3^rd step is the step that I am on now. I am in college pursuing an education. My grades have suffered due to my poor educational foundation and working full time at the hospital for the last 10 years. I have never learned how to balance working 48 hours a week and taking 12-15 hours of classes. I have had a catastrophic event in my first apartment, financial and family complications that have tested me spiritually and physically, but I’m here and I refuse to give up, not because of my own actions, but because my relationship with God and my drive to be a PA. That being said, this is no excuse for a poor GPA. If I could have changed anything, I would have reduced my work load and take out more student loans. I have learned a tremendous amount of material from each class, although my grades don’t reflect it.

 

No one in my family has ever graduated or got a job in health care. My dream of pursuing a career as a PA is pushing me to a greater glory that I couldn’t have done on my own. I love my job as a CNA, but I pray that this was just a stepping stone to my dream job. Being a PA will the biggest underdog fight of my life, but it’s one that’s worth fighting for. I came a long way since I stepped foot in that courtroom.  But I plan on taking many more steps if it means that a life will be saved in the future because my name has the letters “PA-C” in front of it!

[Rosslyn]

On a hot, humid morning, I stood in the courtroom ready to hear my sentence as the judge was reading over my case. I was being charged with a misdemeanor for petty theft.

 

My sister and I were hungry and homeless. For us to eat, we’d gather empty grocery bags from the market, grab food, head to an isolated aisle, put the food in the bags and walk out promptly without paying. This strategy has had worked many times, but on this occasion, we were caught! There was a police officer waiting for us at the parking lot who knew of our scheme. I was taken to the station.

 

The judge was reading my record: I had dropped out of high school, had a history of being abused from by family members, lived in cars, and the Salvation Army with my sister, but she saw that I had no prior convictions. She demanded that I change my ways by giving back to society and signing me up for community service and in exchange of my petty theft record would being expunged. In order to satisfy my court requirements, I had to do 100 hours of helping out the Boca Raton hospital staff.

 

I was assigned to the BRMC as a caregiver for the orthopedic floor. As I stepped into the hall, I was exposed to the health care world for first time! I have never been to a hospital and this captured my heart right away. This floor had patients who were post-op and had limited mobility, but they came from many different walks of life and circumstances. The vulnerability of these patients who had difficulty moving is something I take seriously. The patient’s insecurity and fear turned into confidence and admiration whenever I was demonstrating any sort of strength. I could pick them up and transfer them safely with ease. These patients don’t know who I am or what I’ve done to be here, but they trusted me with their lives. To be held to such high accountability with these beautiful people was an honor! Patient Care had become a passion.

 

After demonstrating my willingness to learn, being punctual, on time and getting along with the workers, the charge nurse released me from my court requirements and offered me a position as a CNA. She was willing to have me use my first 2 paychecks as reimbursement for the certification classes. I didn’t think twice about it! I’ve been a CNA ever since.

 

While working on different floors, I was exposed to the different levels of health care providers. I can always tell who the PA was. One of the first PA's I worked with, Sandra, had this confidence and joy that was not replicated by anyone else. She worked hard and loved it. I did not know much about PA profession, but I was eager to learn. I asked Sandra if I could shadow her. She smiled warmly and said “yes!” We spent over 150 hours together in the ICU and I lost count after that. This was the first time I was exposed to medicine. There was a whole new language that I didn’t know about, like pharmacology terms. Sandra made patients feel like they were celebrities. I loved it! I’ve shadowed NP’s and MD’s after shadowing PA’s. They had an appealing career too, but I found myself drawn back to the PA’s. I loved the job and the chaos of the environment around us at in the ICU. Sandra was diagnosing illnesses, torn ACL’s, and denying an addicted patient of drugs medication in a way that was graceful and elegant, yet charming and bold.  This was it. I want this. This was beyond infatuation. This was my calling in life! PA? Sign me up!

 

I started on my goal hastily. The first objective was losing 200 lbs. I weighed 425 lbs. and in order to help others with their health, I needed to be healthy. I lost 230 lbs. in less than 8 months. The 2^nd second step was to get my GED. I took the test in 4 weeks and passed convincingly on the first try. The 3^rd third step is the step that where I am on now. I am in college pursuing an education. My grades have suffered due to my poor educational foundation and working full time at the hospital for the last 10 years. I have never learned how to balance working 48 hours a week and taking 12-15 hours of classes. I have had a catastrophic event in my first apartment, financial and family complications that have tested me spiritually and physically, but I’m here and I refuse to give up, not because of my own actions, but because my relationship with God and my drive to be a PA. That being said, this is no excuse for a poor GPA. If I could have changed anything, I would have reduced my work load and take out more student loans. I have learned a tremendous amount of material from each class, although my grades don’t reflect it. [Honestly this last part is probably not going to inspire anyone to let you into their school. You need to turn your grades around. This doesn't show me that you're capable of getting through the rigors of PA school, which will involve being in class all day and studying every night. Give me a reason to admit you and not the single mom who worked and did 15 credits a semester. They're out there and that's your competition.]

 

No one in my family has ever graduated or got a job in health care. My dream of pursuing a career as a PA is pushing me to a greater glory [Health care should NOT be about glory] that I couldn’t have done on my own. I love my job as a CNA, but I pray that this was just a stepping stone to my dream job. Being a PA will the biggest underdog fight of my life, but it’s one that’s worth fighting for. I came a long way since I stepped foot in that courtroom.  But I plan on taking many more steps if it means that a life will be saved in the future because my name has the letters “PA-C” in front of next to it!

[FuturePA-C_Richardd]

WOW! Thank you so much! When I was a freshman, I GPA was a 1.7. Now its almost a 3.0 with my sGPA being slightly above a 3.0 I've made the Deans List twice. My trends are great. How would I be able to word that in, you think?

[paproof]

Very nice, Rosslyn.