Physician

I read a story in the newspaper a few months back that said that a woman died because she could not make it to the hospital. She lived 50 miles from the nearest hospital so no one could get her there in time — she was having a heart attack.
It seems to me that here are more emergencies in rural settings and not enough doctors and skilled medical care for everyone to get the medical assistance they need. I have been actively involved in medical research in the last several years and I am an active Paramedic. I have seen many things that made me understand the depth of patient care that could be given under the right circumstances. I have seen people turned away because they lacked insurance which meant they had to go to a different hospital that took the ” indigent.” This was difficult for me to see because I know that hospitals and doctors have to make money but I think that everyone should have healthcare when they need it.
My experience in work has taken me to many areas of the global world. One of my most interesting experiences was as a Medical Officer and Cook aboard the Freedom Schooner Amistad. My medical responsibilities were to the crew and the passengers but I was also teaching history. I was to teach about the very important court case that helped the African people gain their freedom from slavery. They won a historic court case and through this experience and others like it I came to understand diversity and the fact that people are different in some ways but that we all are equal when it comes to pain and suffering.
Although I have spent much of my time in the area of medical research it is the interaction with patients that continues to draw me to the medical profession. As an example, I worked in Detroit as a Physician’s Assistant in the emergency room. I was able to see first hand what people do to each other and how to fix it after it happens. I assisted with major surgeries, helped to immobilized patients or emergency situations where needed and I saw a lot of man’s inhumanity to man. This seemed to bring out my need to help and nurture as I saw children and adults pass through.
I see medicine as a compilation of many issues for individuals. I understand that a doctor must have a holistic approach when they are working with patients. As an example, some patients will need an understanding of how the drugs they take work with natural or home remedies that they take. Others will need an understanding of mental health issues and as a doctor I will need to understand when the individual will be more helped through the interaction of a mental health professional.
I feel that I will make a very good doctor because of my experiences within this profession to date. My experiences have made me look at myself in a different way and find the truth of who I am. I have found that I am someone who enjoys helping people medically and that it is important for me to work to help people prevent disease while helping those who have contracted chronic diseases live a fuller life.
In conclusion, I am not looking towards a large hospital for my practice because I think that the objective in that situation is to get patients in and out of the hospital quickly and this is not my style. My intention is to work as in a rural setting as a physician in an emergency room. I believe that this is where I will be needed most and I have always been more motivated by interesting experiences than with the money I will receive.