I wish I could say more about the PA profession and why I want to be one. I was thinking I should cut down the story about my sister, and possible add somewhere a patient relationship story but I don't know what to cut out or add! Any help would be appreciated!
The greatest challenges in life offer the best opportunities for growth and maturity. Whether it be my first or last high school swim meet, working three jobs at one time, or taking a 400 level physiology course. This concept continues to hold true in my life. However, one event in particular has impacted my outlook on life and medicine above all the others, my sister's illness. In 2006, what was thought to be a simple case of appendicitis, turned out to be something much more. It would impact her for the rest of her life. My sister was diagnosed with Crohn's disease.Until this point my sister had always seemed to be a healthy, young girl enjoying life. To the surprise of our family, her condition was diagnosed as being extreme. After enduring a few difficult months, she underwent a small bowel resection surgery. With hopes for a strong recovery, it was unfortunately not hard for my family to see that my sister was no longer herself. She would sleep all night and throughout the day. The only time she would wake was when she had a fever raging out of control, or when her chills were so bad that she was unable to talk. After expressing great concern of these symptoms to the medical professionals, she kept getting the same answer. It was normal because of what she was going through and the symptoms would pass. After seeking out second and third opinions, each one only brought about continued frustration, disappointment, and no encouraging prognosis.
After my sister's original bowel surgery in 2007, her doctor had kept her on some strong medications to prevent any further development of her Crohn's disease. It was an entire year before a physician assistant finally suggested that one of her medications could have been causing all of the debilitating symptoms. Could it have been the drug adalimumab, more commonly known as Humira, that was causing every one of her symptoms? Sure enough, only a month after skipping her last dose of Humira, my sister's fatigue, fever, and chills were diminishing. I finally saw a smile on my sister's face again. Although my sister has recovered and her Crohn's disease is in remission, my family continues to wonder what took so long for my sister to be taken off of Humira when these were all commonly known side effects of the drug. Since witnessing the difficulties that my sister experienced, I have always had a strong interest in the medical field. I want the opportunity to spend extra time with my patients, listening closely to their concerns, and building a personal relationship. I want to do my best to ensure that there will no longer be situations like what my sister had to endure, and I strongly feel the physician assistant profession will give me these opportunities.
My mother is a registered nurse and she has always been very supportive of my desire to work in the medical field. She was the one who first brought my attention to the physician assistant profession. Two years ago when I started working in a hospital, I jumped at my first opportunity to shadow physician assistants in the area where I was working, and I fell in love with the role. I have had the privilege to shadow physician assistants of many different specialties, ranging from emergency medicine to interventional radiology to family practice, and each and every one of them share the same vital qualities. I've noticed that physician assistants are very competent in their knowledge and abilities. They communicate effectively, show honesty and integrity, and treat their patients with respect and dignity. Most importantly, physician assistants genuinely seem interested in their patients and what they have to say. The physician assistant profession seems perfect to me as it would satisfy my desire to work both in medicine and with people. It is no surprise to me that there are many demands and challenges that come along with the physician assistant program and profession, but I am willing to work to my utmost abilities with the intentions of growing, learning, and achieving success.
The greatest challenges in life offer the best opportunities for growth and maturity. Whether it be my first or last high school swim meet, working three jobs at one time, or taking a 400 level physiology course. This concept continues to hold true in my life. However, one event in particular has impacted my outlook on life and medicine above all the others, my sister's illness. In 2006, what was thought to be a simple case of appendicitis, turned out to be something much more. It would impact her for the rest of her life. My sister was diagnosed with Crohn's disease.Until this point my sister had always seemed to be a healthy, young girl enjoying life. To the surprise of our family, her condition was diagnosed as being extreme. After enduring a few difficult months, she underwent a small bowel resection surgery. With hopes for a strong recovery, it was unfortunately not hard for my family to see that my sister was no longer herself. She would sleep all night and throughout the day. The only time she would wake was when she had a fever raging out of control, or when her chills were so bad that she was unable to talk. After expressing great concern of these symptoms to the medical professionals, she kept getting the same answer. It was normal because of what she was going through and the symptoms would pass. After seeking out second and third opinions, each one only brought about continued frustration, disappointment, and no encouraging prognosis.
After my sister's original bowel surgery in 2007, her doctor had kept her on some strong medications to prevent any further development of her Crohn's disease. It was an entire year before a physician assistant finally suggested that one of her medications could have been causing all of the debilitating symptoms. Could it have been the drug adalimumab, more commonly known as Humira, that was causing every one of her symptoms? Sure enough, only a month after skipping her last dose of Humira, my sister's fatigue, fever, and chills were diminishing. I finally saw a smile on my sister's face again. Although my sister has recovered and her Crohn's disease is in remission, my family continues to wonder what took so long for my sister to be taken off of Humira when these were all commonly known side effects of the drug. Since witnessing the difficulties that my sister experienced, I have always had a strong interest in the medical field. I want the opportunity to spend extra time with my patients, listening closely to their concerns, and building a personal relationship. I want to do my best to ensure that there will no longer be situations like what my sister had to endure, and I strongly feel the physician assistant profession will give me these opportunities.
My mother is a registered nurse and she has always been very supportive of my desire to work in the medical field. She was the one who first brought my attention to the physician assistant profession. Two years ago when I started working in a hospital, I jumped at my first opportunity to shadow physician assistants in the area where I was working, and I fell in love with the role. I have had the privilege to shadow physician assistants of many different specialties, ranging from emergency medicine to interventional radiology to family practice, and each and every one of them share the same vital qualities. I've noticed that physician assistants are very competent in their knowledge and abilities. They communicate effectively, show honesty and integrity, and treat their patients with respect and dignity. Most importantly, physician assistants genuinely seem interested in their patients and what they have to say. The physician assistant profession seems perfect to me as it would satisfy my desire to work both in medicine and with people. It is no surprise to me that there are many demands and challenges that come along with the physician assistant program and profession, but I am willing to work to my utmost abilities with the intentions of growing, learning, and achieving success.
