Hoping I can get some feedback? I am a graduating undergrad student, currently applying for Fall admission to Public Health graduate programs across the country.
Thank you, any constructive criticism is appreciated!
Two months into my senior year of high school, my mother, brother and I packed our bags and drove across country from Florida to California. We moved in with my grandmother to care for her as she suffered from memory loss and diminunable ability to care for herself. With my grandfather deceased and no other family, we had a responsibility to be there for her.
Within the first few months, I witnessed doctors and lawyers often undervaluing both my mother's and my thoughts and concerns about my grandmother's health and well-being. As my grandmother exhibited signs of dementia, people outside of the family did not witness her negligent and sometimes violent behaviors. Doctors initially refused to give psychological evaluations because she behaved "normally" on routine visits. However, soon enough, on a non-routine visit for bronchial treatment, nurses became aware of my grandmother's unstable state, immediately restrained her, and admitted her into the psych ward for evaluation.
While this was an unfortunate event, it was in truth a blessing. For months we had been trying to explain to doctors and nurses that such an evaluation was necessary. Observing my mother's tireless and frustrating battles, I began to think about the challenges of being a health professional. Ultimately, in our case doctors and nurses had to balance the information my mother and I were providing with their responsibility to my grandmother, their patient. While I felt that some professionals marginalized opinions and concerns from those living with the patient, they were also considering their own observations of and information from the patient, herself. Conveying their experienced, educated and professional analysis and rationale in the midst of managing their many cases must have added to the complexity of their responsibility.
A couple years later, I enrolled in a Medicine and Health Humanities class at my university. Dr. Ladson Hinton, nationally recognized for his expertise on the cultural aspects of geriatric mental health, spoke to our class as a guest speaker. He captured my attention as he discussed the need for provider, patient, and family cohesion in geriatric treatment. As he shared his philosophy of integrating various perspectives, I found myself wanting to explore this area further.
Recently interning at California Department of Public Health, Director, Dr. Ron Chapman, sparked a highlighting interest in the rising concept of Health Equity. He emphasized an overall direction of health to focus on living and working conditions, rather than healthcare, because "healthcare is limited in its effects on the population as a whole." This planted yet a further challenge to my thoughts of complexities within patient/provider relationships.
With the resources to understand how public health can be utilized to strengthen such relationships, I hope to learn effective methods that will eliminate the eminent/obvious bridge here. My ability to hold an open-mind and strategic creativity should allow me to find and optimize arising options/ideas/paradigms.
Thank you, any constructive criticism is appreciated!
Two months into my senior year of high school, my mother, brother and I packed our bags and drove across country from Florida to California. We moved in with my grandmother to care for her as she suffered from memory loss and diminunable ability to care for herself. With my grandfather deceased and no other family, we had a responsibility to be there for her.
Within the first few months, I witnessed doctors and lawyers often undervaluing both my mother's and my thoughts and concerns about my grandmother's health and well-being. As my grandmother exhibited signs of dementia, people outside of the family did not witness her negligent and sometimes violent behaviors. Doctors initially refused to give psychological evaluations because she behaved "normally" on routine visits. However, soon enough, on a non-routine visit for bronchial treatment, nurses became aware of my grandmother's unstable state, immediately restrained her, and admitted her into the psych ward for evaluation.
While this was an unfortunate event, it was in truth a blessing. For months we had been trying to explain to doctors and nurses that such an evaluation was necessary. Observing my mother's tireless and frustrating battles, I began to think about the challenges of being a health professional. Ultimately, in our case doctors and nurses had to balance the information my mother and I were providing with their responsibility to my grandmother, their patient. While I felt that some professionals marginalized opinions and concerns from those living with the patient, they were also considering their own observations of and information from the patient, herself. Conveying their experienced, educated and professional analysis and rationale in the midst of managing their many cases must have added to the complexity of their responsibility.
A couple years later, I enrolled in a Medicine and Health Humanities class at my university. Dr. Ladson Hinton, nationally recognized for his expertise on the cultural aspects of geriatric mental health, spoke to our class as a guest speaker. He captured my attention as he discussed the need for provider, patient, and family cohesion in geriatric treatment. As he shared his philosophy of integrating various perspectives, I found myself wanting to explore this area further.
Recently interning at California Department of Public Health, Director, Dr. Ron Chapman, sparked a highlighting interest in the rising concept of Health Equity. He emphasized an overall direction of health to focus on living and working conditions, rather than healthcare, because "healthcare is limited in its effects on the population as a whole." This planted yet a further challenge to my thoughts of complexities within patient/provider relationships.
With the resources to understand how public health can be utilized to strengthen such relationships, I hope to learn effective methods that will eliminate the eminent/obvious bridge here. My ability to hold an open-mind and strategic creativity should allow me to find and optimize arising options/ideas/paradigms.
