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I have been a “physician assistant” for a decade now. In 2004, my husband of seventeen years graduated from medical school. I do not mean this play-on-words to be derogatory of the Physician Assistant profession or the professionals themselves in any way. I merely seek to highlight my understanding of the dedication, sacrifice, efforts, tribulations, and triumphs involved in becoming a medical professional. It is through this lens that I have focused my aspirations and know with conviction that I truly want to be a physician assistant.
My journey to this point has been circuitous. I’ve always been interested in medicine, sciences, and the human body, and knew from a young age that I wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Life has a funny way of getting in the way of plans though. Instead of following the more traditional route of most hopeful physician assistant applicants, I chose a different path. I focused on my young family. I put my career aspirations on the back-burner and instead concentrated on raising my two children and supporting my husband throughout his application to medical school, matriculation, studies, graduation, internship, residency, and fellowship.
During high school, I was diagnosed with severe endometriosis that required multiple laparoscopic surgeries as well as hormone therapy. These treatments continued into college. After getting married early in my college career, and knowing my fertility was in jeopardy, my husband and I decided to start our family. We made the decision to put my career aspirations on hold. After a difficult pregnancy which included bed rest and several visits to the emergency room for severe dehydration caused by my hyperemesis gravidarum, basal cell carcinoma, and a subchorionic hemorrhage, I had a baby boy in January of 1998. I cared for our newborn son while I hurriedly finished my bachelor’s degree in psychology. Due to these outside factors and my laissez-faire attitude about school at the time, my grades suffered tremendously. Now, I am a dedicated and driven individual with a passion for learning. I am excited to delve into a career that blends my love of learning, science, and compassion for people. My family is fully supportive, and I am prepared to work diligently and tirelessly at this endeavor.
While he was in medical school, I can recall countless nights helping my husband study. I would quiz him on chemotherapy pharmacology using flash cards, genetic disorders from a thick and unruly textbook, and ask him hundreds of questions from online question banks while we were driving. I would allow him to hone his skills with an otoscope and ophthalmoscope on my ears and eyes. In residency, I would help him prepare for conferences and in-service exams. I bought bananas and oranges for him to practice suturing techniques on. I have listened and been there for him after thirty-six-hour on-call shifts, losing a treasured patient, or just when he is trying to plan for a difficult surgical case. Inevitably, I have learned a bit of medicine just by being around it and attentive to it for as long as I have. However, I have mostly learned how much I do not know, have left to learn, and what it truly takes to be a medical professional.
For the past four years, I have been a medical assistant, co-owner, and practice manager in my husband’s orthopaedic surgery practice. I understand, intimately, the enormous variety of what goes on in a clinical practice. From taking a patient’s medical history, obtaining and recording vital signs, drawing up steroid injections, and assisting in sterile procedures to credentialing a provider for Medicare, coding an office visit or surgery with appropriate modifiers, and purchasing malpractice coverage, I have a unique breadth of experience and perspective on medical care. All of this experience and my life experience propels me to practice clinical medicine. I want to be a clinical provider. I want to be a part of a healthcare team. I want to evaluate histories, signs and symptoms of illness. I want to formulate treatment plans and help to implement care. I want to collaborate with physician assistants, physicians, and nurse practitioners. I want to be a physician assistant.
I have been a “physician assistant” for a decade now. In 2004, my husband of seventeen years graduated from medical school. I do not mean this play-on-words to be derogatory of the Physician Assistant profession or the professionals themselves in any way. I merely seek to highlight my understanding of the dedication, sacrifice, efforts, tribulations, and triumphs involved in becoming a medical professional. It is through this lens that I have focused my aspirations and know with conviction that I truly want to be a physician assistant.
My journey to this point has been circuitous. I’ve always been interested in medicine, sciences, and the human body, and knew from a young age that I wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Life has a funny way of getting in the way of plans though. Instead of following the more traditional route of most hopeful physician assistant applicants, I chose a different path. I focused on my young family. I put my career aspirations on the back-burner and instead concentrated on raising my two children and supporting my husband throughout his application to medical school, matriculation, studies, graduation, internship, residency, and fellowship.
During high school, I was diagnosed with severe endometriosis that required multiple laparoscopic surgeries as well as hormone therapy. These treatments continued into college. After getting married early in my college career, and knowing my fertility was in jeopardy, my husband and I decided to start our family. We made the decision to put my career aspirations on hold. After a difficult pregnancy which included bed rest and several visits to the emergency room for severe dehydration caused by my hyperemesis gravidarum, basal cell carcinoma, and a subchorionic hemorrhage, I had a baby boy in January of 1998. I cared for our newborn son while I hurriedly finished my bachelor’s degree in psychology. Due to these outside factors and my laissez-faire attitude about school at the time, my grades suffered tremendously. Now, I am a dedicated and driven individual with a passion for learning. I am excited to delve into a career that blends my love of learning, science, and compassion for people. My family is fully supportive, and I am prepared to work diligently and tirelessly at this endeavor.
While he was in medical school, I can recall countless nights helping my husband study. I would quiz him on chemotherapy pharmacology using flash cards, genetic disorders from a thick and unruly textbook, and ask him hundreds of questions from online question banks while we were driving. I would allow him to hone his skills with an otoscope and ophthalmoscope on my ears and eyes. In residency, I would help him prepare for conferences and in-service exams. I bought bananas and oranges for him to practice suturing techniques on. I have listened and been there for him after thirty-six-hour on-call shifts, losing a treasured patient, or just when he is trying to plan for a difficult surgical case. Inevitably, I have learned a bit of medicine just by being around it and attentive to it for as long as I have. However, I have mostly learned how much I do not know, have left to learn, and what it truly takes to be a medical professional.
For the past four years, I have been a medical assistant, co-owner, and practice manager in my husband’s orthopaedic surgery practice. I understand, intimately, the enormous variety of what goes on in a clinical practice. From taking a patient’s medical history, obtaining and recording vital signs, drawing up steroid injections, and assisting in sterile procedures to credentialing a provider for Medicare, coding an office visit or surgery with appropriate modifiers, and purchasing malpractice coverage, I have a unique breadth of experience and perspective on medical care. All of this experience and my life experience propels me to practice clinical medicine. I want to be a clinical provider. I want to be a part of a healthcare team. I want to evaluate histories, signs and symptoms of illness. I want to formulate treatment plans and help to implement care. I want to collaborate with physician assistants, physicians, and nurse practitioners. I want to be a physician assistant.
it was just my opinion and doesn't mean I'm right.
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