Scholarship / Guatemala Experience as a Health Specialist; NHSC Scholarship-Why Primary HealthCare? [2]

Please discuss your commitment to pursue a career in primary health care. 1,500 characters or less (Currently 1,570)
Once again, thank you in advance for any suggestions you may have!

Working as a preventive health specialist in Guatemala for the past two years, I have realized the importance of preventive medicine in the overall scheme of primary care. I hope that once I start practicing in primary care I will be able to take much of my preventive health experience including health education and transfer it to the situations at hand. By using both preventive and curative medicine, I hope to achieve the most success with my patients as possible. Furthermore, I look forward to attending to primary care's large array of demographics. The idea of constantly having a diversity of patients and cases is a very appealing aspect that draws me to primary care.

Furthermore, I recognize my yearning to work in primary care every time I work in the regional hospital's pediatric ward. Each week I witness situations and hear stories that could tug at anyone's emotions. When I hold a three year old child whose bones I can feel through his hospital gown and who has not yet learned to walk, I am overwhelmed with the desire to provide education and a remedy for the family. Working with patients whose illnesses need to be acknowledged and cared for has created a burgeoning pain in my heart that has augmented my zeal to work in primary care with this population. Each patient, family member, and visit to the villages continues to kindle the fire that has continuously been growing to work with the underserved. For me, these are the patients, population, and area of health that I look forward to surrounding myself with each and every day of work.

Scholarship / "Life is calling. How far will you go?"; NHSC Scholarship-Underserved population [5]

What experiences have you had or activities have you participated in that have prepared you to work with underserved populations? 1,500 characters (currently 1,650)
(Underserved means those who do not have great access to health care, this typically tends to be in more rural areas but there are numerous sites in urban areas as well) Thank you in advance for any suggestions you may have!

"Life is calling. How far will you go?" When I read this sign upon my return from a medical mission trip in Costa Rica, I knew I had a hunger for more "life". After attending an information session about the Peace Corps, I knew devoting two years to an underserved population while broadening my cultural awareness and learning a new language was exactly what I was looking for.

Now, two years later at the completion of my service I am confident that my experience has not only prepared me for working with the underserved but has also been a significant motivator as well. I work in the Western Highlands of Guatemala as a rural preventive health specialist. Every morning I begin my day in the health center and later go out to the villages to teach preventive health through the use of health promoter groups, HIV/AIDS prevention workshops, and home visits. I am in constant interaction with medically underserved families, teaching them as much as I possibly so they can lead healthier lifestyles.

My neighbors, coworkers, and friends have taught me invaluable lessons about their culture and how to work with them to achieve our goals. During my service I read "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" by Anne Fadiman. It is a powerful story about the relationship between health care providers and a Hmong refugee family trying to find a cure for their epileptic daughter despite a constant battle of contradicting culture beliefs. Coupled with my experience working with the underserved abroad, I realized I could be the advocate for patients like these while practicing the best of both my worlds - medicine and working with the underserved.

Graduate / 'Guatemala' - Peace Corps experience; serving others, working as a team [4]

This is a personal statement for Northeastern's Physician Assistant program. Any suggestions/edits would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance!

Personal Statement
Please type a statement explaining what you have learned about yourself, serving others, and working as part of team based upon your hands-on patient care experience with patients and/or community service activities.

From my community service in the Peace Corps working as a health educator in rural Guatemala I have not only enhanced my knowledge of what it means to serve others and how to successfully work as team; but also throughout it all, a little more about myself as well.

"Life is calling. How far will you go?" When I read this on a Peace Corps flyer, something in me stirred. The idea of devoting two years to serving others while obtaining cultural awareness and learning a new language just seemed like an obvious step to take. During my service I have learned that to serve others is a gift. Not only to those served but also to those who are serving. The smiles on the women's faces after learning how to make homemade Gatorade for their sick children, or watching them speak in front of a crowd for the first time in their lives gives me such pride to serve here. After each meeting I feel a new sense of rejuvenation that results from the accomplishments of the group.

Another important aspect I have learned about serving is to show I am not much different from them. It seems there is a stigma associated with those served and those who are serving. Those who are being served often feel they are inferior. However, those being served should realize they have just as much potential as the rest. The results can be extremely rewarding watching someone who once felt inferior to sprout confidence and begin taking on higher responsibility within their community solely because someone once told them they had the power to do it. The influence of serving should not be under estimated in any community.

Working in Guatemala has helped me realize how to successfully work as a team. Sometimes, this work can involve a trilingual team where communication is not exactly as clear as water. In this environment I have learned communication is the key aspect in obtaining success. If everyone communicates effectively the team is more likely to meet the goal; even if it means repeating the same thing multiple times and in several languages. Another important aspect of teamwork is delegation. If everyone thinks someone else is going to do it then no one will do it and the work will not get done. Lastly, the benefits of teamwork mean there are more resources to draw from. Each individual has something to bring to the table that can be used to advance the project. With clear communication, delegation, and the use of multiple resources, working as a team can be beneficial for the success of the community or the project.

Somewhere between hand washing my clothes for hours on end and walking miles to the villages, I have had plenty of time to self reflect. One important aspect I have learned is that I am dependent on work. The lowest points in my service have been when work was slow. I became restless, anxious, and almost depressed. The days I am the happiest are when my day begins at 8am and does not finish until 7pm when transportation stops, the sun goes down, and stores begin to close. Therefore, I am constantly working on more than one project in order to stay busy. Furthermore, I love to take on tasks that are not exactly my expertise. For example, I have learned how to garden, make liquid soap, and say hello and goodbye in five different languages. One of my favorite comments I have received from a fellow volunteer was, "Chelsea, you know what I like about you? You do. You always just do." I believe this comment is a good summary of a key component I have discovered about myself while serving.

I am so grateful for the time I have spent in Guatemala for teaching me about the value of serving, how to work in a team, and a little more about myself. I look forward to the next year of my service where these aspects will be able to flourish even more than they already have.

Graduate / "Medically under served populations" physician assistant CASPA personal statement [3]

"Please describe your motivation towards becoming a physician assistant" 5000 character max.
Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you in advance!!

When I was eight years old sitting in Boston Children's Hospital, I said to my mother, "Mom, I want to work in the medical field because I know how it feels to be sick and want to feel better." This mindset has always stayed with me. After researching different positions in the medical field growing up, I finally decided in college that being a physician assistant (PA) would be the perfect fit for me. My demanding schedule throughout college, service as a Peace Corps volunteer, and firsthand experience of the health care field in a third world country, have all served as motivators to enter the PA profession. These steps cultivated the path I needed to endeavor in order to become a successful physician assistant one day.

During college, my time was occupied with cross country practices twice a day, traveling to competitions on the weekends, working up to three jobs at a time, shadowing an orthopedic PA, and maintaining a 3.96 GPA all while graduating a semester early. I possessed the skills I thought I needed to become a PA - excelling in academics, the drive to work long hours, and having the sedulity towards achieving my goals. I was encased in a bubble of solely academics, my running career, and work. However, a key component I was missing - real life experiences - was found in Guatemala.

Four months after graduating college, I boarded the plane, ready to begin my two year service in Guatemala as a Peace Corps volunteer. My initial partisanship of being a PA rather than any other medical profession was espoused with the idea of mobility of specialties, serving as a key contributor to the overall productivity of the clinic, and freeing the physician to attend to more complex cases. However, during my Peace Corps service I have realized being a PA is so much more than these rudimentary descriptions. When passion is rooted from experience the PA can serve as a liaison between the underserved populations and the medical attention they deserve.

The past year I have been working in rural villages in the Western Highlands of Guatemala as a preventative health technician. Every morning I begin my day in the health center and later go out to the villages to teach preventative health through the use of Health Promoter groups, HIV workshops, and home visits. I am in constant interaction with medically underserved families, teaching them as much as I possibly can so that they can improve their lifestyles. However, as important as the preventative health aspect is, I continue to lack skill and knowledge to cure.

I recognize my yearning for knowledge every time I work in the regional hospital's pediatric orthopedic and malnourished wards. Each week I witness situations and hear stories that could tug at anyone's emotions. However, the most I can do right now is continue teaching preventative health and giving emotional support to these children and their families. When I hold a three year old child whose bones I can feel through his gurney and who has not learned to walk yet, the only thing I can offer is strong words of encouragement. The inability to provide more care has created a burgeoning pain in my heart that has augmented my zeal to become a PA. I hope that as a PA I will be able to provide the complete basic care to such families including both the preventative and curative forms. Each patient, family member, and visit to the villages continues to kindle the fire that has continuously been growing in my heart to make my dream of becoming a PA a reality.

Often times I feel as though I have gained more from this Peace Corps experience than I have given. The situations in which my neighbors and friends undergo daily as part of their ordinary lives constantly give me the motivation to address the medically underserved population and the care they deserve. After all, the physician assistant occupation was founded on this principal: to serve the medically underserved. The experiences I have accrued throughout college and during my Peace Corps service have been not only motivators to enter the PA profession but have also contributed to the attributes I believe will one day allow me to become an extraordinary PA.