Growing up, my heart was set on becoming a doctor, seeing that occupation is widely established and resides in the heart we call society. Throughout the course of years, my mindset constantly changed and so did my career choices. By the time I came to high school, I realized that the field of healthcare would soon become my future and reality.
After four years of constant self-realization, learning, and gratification, I know that my future pathway leads to studying at Sacramento State University and pursuing a career as a registered nurse and physician’s assistant after transfering from a community college. My high school experience has shown that, as the diligent and vigorous millennial I have become, I can achieve my future goals through my growth in communication alongside my strength in adaptability skills.Though I am indecisive, I am absolutely sure that I want my future to revolve around health care. I personally enjoy taking care of children, seniors and anyone who is in need. The idea of helping patients and tending to their medical needs seem like the best job for me.
I have tried to think of other occupation that might interest me, however every time I do, I often find myself comparing it with the medical field. One assessment that has proved that the medical field is the right choice for me was the Kuder Career Interest Assessment. This assessment confirmed my choices and goals by listing “therapeutic and diagnostic services” as the most top rated and applicable careers (Kuder Navigator).
Determining my future occupation is not the only worry I have. With the given occupation, the job outlook has to also correspond well with my choices. In the 21st century, the job outlook for health care is necessary and highly demanded.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics claimed that the number of jobs in 2016 totaled up to be about 3 million. Not only that, the job outlook for the future is projected to be about 16%, which is much “faster than the average” (“Summary”). The total number of jobs available in the U.S is approximately 2,960,000 which is good for me because the more jobs that are available, the easier it would be for me to transition into a different workforce. If I didn’t happen to like the environment I am working in, then I can just change jobs or location without worrying about the lack of job opportunity and experiences.
Also, after I become a registered nurse, my plan is to study further and transition to a Physician’s Assistant. Though that’s not the only transition I’m going to make: after gaining some clinical hours and enhancing my abilities, I plan to work in an office instead of a hospital. The reason why I decided to work in a closed working environment is because I learned that this way, PA’s tend to grow closer with their patients and develop a trusting relationship. Not only that, after volunteering in hospitals, I observed that the working environment is often extremely noisy and hectic.
As hectic as my scholastic and personal life has been, my primary goals are set in progress. As I transition out of high school and into college, my future goal is to become a Registered Nurse. From there, I want to study further and become a Physician’s Assistant, which is two steps ahead of an RN. As stated before, I like to assist people who are in need and work directly with them one-on-one. With therapeutic and diagnostic services showing up as top rated in the Kuder Career assessment, I am sure that I am a person who likes to work “deal directly with patients to provide whatever kind of medical care or treatment they need” (Kuder). Nurses face urgent, life-or-death situations almost daily, therefore it is essential to function and respond quickly when it comes to emergencies. Also, giving care and staying calm under stressful circumstances requires great patience. Throughout the last four years, I had many major projects and speeches to prepare in a limited time.
Being calm in a stressful situation has helped me strengthen my persona and develop my communication skills along with my adaptability skills. Being active in school and outside activities has also contributed to building my character and mindset. Getting involved in small activities in and out of school has made me realize how much I enjoy being a leader.
Though registered nurses are considered a leader and an independent medical workers, they are constantly “supervised by Doctors, Physicians…” and anyone who works above them, such as “…
Nurse manager, Nurse practitioner, Nurse administrator…”(Neese). These past four years at Pleasant Grove have taught me two important life skills: being independent and an influential leader. From doing small presentations to major projects, I have learned how to work independently and professionally. Not only that, volunteering has helped me strengthen my backbone and understand the basic fundamentals of nursing. For example, I learned that though doctors have a PhD and more clinical hours, registered nurses tend to have far more responsibilities. Registered nurses are required to tend to whatever the patient needs.
A physician’s assistant does the same thing as a registered nurse, however, one main thing that sets a RN and a PA is that PA’s are required to assist the physician, doctors, and surgeons during surgery or other life/death situations. Even though I love the idea of helping people and attending to their daily needs, one thing that terrifies me the most is seeing a body being cut half open while blood is running down. Though not fully convinced on switching my future goals of becoming a registered nurse to a physician’s assistant, I decided to conduct more research but in a different way. To learn more about my occupation I started to do community services at health care organization. As part of my community service, I volunteered hours at hospitals and do little things that would make the elders and children happy. Making little holiday cards and baking cookies became some of my favorite community service. After putting in about 20 hours in total for hospital and Saint John’s Women Shelter, I learned that starting off as a Registered Nurse and slowly transition to a Physician’s Assistant is a wise decision.
Becoming a Physician’s Assistant after sacrificing a significant amount of time working as a Registered Nurse shows not only my dedication in the work field but also my determination and leadership skills. With acquiring great leadership skills and gritty determination, I need excellent communication skills. Without communications, life can become hectic and stressful, especially if I am going to the medical field. As the years progressed, I started to see changes in my communication skills.
When I started high school, I was a girl who loved nothing more than to blend in with the crowd and swim around my comfort zone. However, life is life, and with it comes prodigious responsibility. Over the course of my high school years, I had to give many speeches and presentations. One presentation that enriched my communication skills was my best work from 12 grade English class. In this presentation, I picked a poet named Elizabeth Bishop and explains the overview her life and what inspired her to write her poems the way she did.
Also I had to memorize ten lines from a poem and analyze it thoroughly. Though it was hectic and I felt extremely nervous presenting in front of my peers and teacher, I knew how to introduce my topic and follow the flow. Being good at communicating is one factor, but having fast adaptability is another. The amount of service I put in the community has helped me reinforce my adaptability skills. At my local temple, Laxmi Narayan Mandir, I would be handed many responsibilities such as teaching young children, taking classes and semi-teaching young adults (my age), along with organizing a specific event. In Hinduism, there are many festivals and events planned out. For the month of January, there are two main festivals: Makar Sankranti/Pongal, which signifies new beginnings and Vasant Panchami, which highlights the coming of spring and the background of how and why the Gods created different reasons. I contributed my part by helping my teacher organize plays for both festivals.
The plays talked about the true meaning of birth and death and how people’s actions and choices reflects on their character. One important lesson I learned from my spiritual teacher is that between b and d there is c. Therefore, between birth and death, there are choices. The only way to reach salvation and the state of nirvana is based on the actions I take. Every action and decision made impacts both the nurses and the patients lives. In the medical workforce, a typical day for registered nurses is usually tending their patients, making sure that everything is recorded and updated along with providing support and explaining important health issues.
In most hospital, nurses need a high degree of adaptability to handle a wide array of patients and care needs. “Patients come in with illnesses and ailments that affect parts of the body from head to toe. They also have different personalities, from friendly, to quiet, sad, angry or distant” (Kokemuller). People don’t just trust anyone when it comes to health issues, they usually want someone who is professional and experienced. Nurses have to understand patient’s and make them feel comfortable in order to tend them. Listening to people’s concerns, answering their questions, explaining information clearly, and making them feel involved in the entire treatment process is crucial.
The patients that come to the ER are frightened and scared of what might happen to them, therefore it is up to the nurses to ensure that patients are well provided for and feel secure. Understanding and playing a role in a patient’s life also affect one’s own. The higher position nurses are in, the more active they are in patients life. Physician’s Assistants are often more engaged with the patients and gets to interact with them in a deeper level.To accomplish a well-rounded relationship and develop trust among my patients, I must work directly with them. The only way for that to happen is if I pursue my career further and study different aspects in the medical field. The medical force is a very impacted field.
On a daily basis, people get hurt and are sent to the ER. No one can stop being sick. While doing community service and volunteering at ST. John’s Women Shelter and Dignity Health, I got to experience the the daily lifestyle of a nurse. Though the workforce can get emotional and stressful, nurses make more connections and make an impact on some of their patients. Take for example, while volunteering, I came across a little girl, about the age of fourteen, who had to undergo a special kind of surgery due to a condition. She explained how emotional and scary the experience was for her, however her nurse helped her get through the surgery.
She took that nurse as her own personal hero and her face would light up when she saw the nurse come in to assist her or even talked to her during one of her breaks. This is the type of relationship I want to establish between my patients. This will not only make it easier for them to trust me, but would also give meaning to my life and job. I want to wake up and be excited for what the day has to offer.
I want to be a hero just like the nurse was to the little girl.Though maintaining a stable and honest relationship among my patients is important for me, I also like to feel accomplished in the end of the day. Shown on the Kuder Work Values Assessment, “accomplishments and prestige” was rated among the top three (Kuder Navigator). At the end of the day, I want to feel that bliss and sense of accomplishment knowing that I played a big role in patient’s lives and that they depend on me to help and support them.
Nurses are responsible for recognizing patients’ “symptoms, taking measures within their scope of practice and providing other measures… and collaborating with other professionals to optimize patients’ comfort and families’ understanding and adaptation” (American Nurses Association). The responsibilities of nurses and even a physician’s assistant are endless and I want to be kept occupied the entire day. At school, there are some days where I stare at the clock, hoping that time could go faster so I can leave as soon as possible.
When I enter my workforce, I don’t want to experience that. There are thousands of people in need of medical and health care, and I want to spend my time wisely assisting them. Doing some hands-on activities has made me realize that I enjoy taking care of people. Years of service to the community proved to be service towards developing my future and strengthening my communication skills. Seeing that I was lacking in communication, tutoring students daily helped me develop a backbone and after a while, I got used to talking to strangers. Being an Avid Tutor this year for incoming freshman students proved to be more exciting than ever before. Offering tutoring magnified my communication skills. Working one-on-one with students, I understand them more clearly and gives me insight on how to approach them.
Studies show that ” Nurses who take the time to understand the unique challenges and concerns of their patients will be better prepared to advocate on their behalf and properly address issues as they arise” (Papathanasiou). People go to the hospital feeling two separate emotions: fear and hope. They fear that something might be wrong with them but they hope that the doctors and nurses could help them and set everything right. Patients usually feel uneasiness and maybe they have difficulty expressing themselves, but nurses reassurance and continue to encourage them to loosen up. This greater focus on communication frequently leads to better patient outcomes. Since I have experience working with students and assisting them through their coursework, I know I can successfully handle communication among my patients. The final steps to actually becoming a Registered Nurse and Physician’s Assistant is studying hard and finding a top rated nursing/physicians assistant program.
Being in an Avid program has made me realize my potential and pathway. When I first started researching about different colleges, I was looking more at UC. I always thought I would attend a four year college after I graduated high school.
However, after discussing with my family members and researching on my own, I figured that I would first head to community college, where I would spend two years getting my G.E.D and some of prerequisites classes done. Benjamin Arnold, High School English Teacher said: “‘While saving some money, I was able to take time to figure out what I really wanted to study and… identify my strengths as a student and improve weaknesses before I started more rigorous coursework at a university…
“‘ (Fortenbury). After I have completed the G.E.D requirements, my goal is to focus more on the special medical programs at Sacramento State University.
I have chosen Sacramento State University because they have the highest acceptance rate for medical programs. According to California Board of Nursing, Sac State has the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) passing rate of 95.1% as of the year 2017 (nursing). The best part of this statistic is that the ratings correspond with students who passed the NCLEX in their first try.
Becoming a Registered Nurse and Physician’s Assistant is the best option for me because the skills and qualities that are required correlate with my personality and I personally know I will enjoy my career. My experience at Pleasant Grove high school has unfortunately came to an end. However, the memories and knowledge I have inherited has made me the person I am today. Looking back at freshman year, I have growth and matured into a diligent and vigorous millennial. I improved and strengthen my communication and adaptability skills. The community service I have done over the past four years has enhanced my skills and confidence level.
Furthermore, due to transferring school, I acquired great adaptability skills which as played into my best works and has helped me growth as a child, student, and friend. Not only that, the kuder assessments has also confirmed that pursuing my career interests in the medical field is the best choice for me seeing that the top rated occupations were therapeutic and diagnostic services. By following my given plan, I am sure that I will accomplish my lifetime goal of becoming a Registered Nurse and Physician’s Assistant.
