- Joined
- Dec 24, 2020
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Hello,
I was hoping to receive some feedback on ideas I had for the following secondary essays:
Diversity:
Being a globalization studies major who concentrated in african sustainability and development; how my coursework led me to pursue a study abroad program through my university in an African country where I also conducted public health field research on social factors affecting the measles vaccination status of children. I was especially interested in vaccine trust/hesitancy that might affect one's ability to get vaccinated. i got to explore the intersection between public health and environmental conservation by working at my university's research center in the country. i took classes in biodiversity and primatology. i was able to build an understanding of how much trust-building is required to empower local communities to feel the need to participate in conservation practices. I can talk about conversations I had with the people I intereviewed, what I observed in the field as well. my senior capstone project work also focused on the role of foreign actors in controlling the supply chain of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's cobalt mining industry/the unfair labor practices that not only harmed the health of laborers but contributed to environmental decay. these experiences have informed not just my cultural competency but my desire to work as a physician who can try to increase trust with patients who may be hesitant to seek care or are prohibited by structural factors such as economic ability, etc.
Adversity:
-my father's severe sleep apnea and his refusal to seek treatment for it drove a wedge in my family my entire life. i wasn't able to connect with him as much as i would have liked because he would be asleep for most of it. i would have to run household errands and take on extra responsibilities, especially when it came to driving, because he would be unable to stay awake for it. primarily he would fall asleep at the wheel when my whole family was in the car with him. when it came time for me to become licensed, i faced a lot of anxiety/nervousness when it came to driving on highways and it took me many months to get past the mental block of driving on the highways.
-my grandmother moved in with us when she was undergoing cancer treatment and there were 5 of us living in a 2 bedroom apartment. i had to share a room with my high-school aged brother and grandmother and ensure that both of their needs were taken care of. i had to ensure that both of them had their privacy respected and i had to help my brother find ways to focus/manage his time given that he wasn't able to have a quiet place to study at home.
Failure:
-i failed to connect with my grandfather properly before he died because i didn't have any familiarity with my native language and he didn't know any english. i let the language barrier get in the way of learning about him and i didn't try to know him at all. this led me to try to learn my native language and with my other living extended family in my home country i tried to find alternative ways of spending time with them or getting to know them that didn't rely on linguistic abilities. i grew to appreciate multigenerational households.
-
Challenge:
-at my clinical research job, i had to take on a lot of imaging responsibilities despite not having a background in radiology/engineering especially since our research involved using methods that have previously not been studied. i spent significant time pouring over literature/immersing myself in the workflow of the radiologists who would try to teach me things.
-my clinical research job also had me needing to draw blood from patients. venipuncture was a challenge for me and i was nervous about drawing on patients before feeling completely comfortable. especially because if i missed it would mean that we couldn't get blood for that time point in the study (since it was longitudinal). our backup option was to take patients to the phlebotomy clinic at the hospital. i faced a lot of trouble with palpating veins. doing blood draws was not an insignificant portion of our job. but one time, i missed the draw on a particularly disgruntled patient. i realized that i forgot to place an order to take him to phlebotomy. our new hires, who i was training but were still unfamiliar with the layout of the hospital and not ready to lead patient visits on their own, were left alone with him while i ran to place the order and having the physician sign off on them. i had to balance the emotions of the patient, who felt that his time was being wasted, with the responsibility i had of making sure our new hires were comfortable dealing with the situation for the time that i stepped away.
I would appreciate any feedback that could be provided. Thank you very much.
I was hoping to receive some feedback on ideas I had for the following secondary essays:
Diversity:
Being a globalization studies major who concentrated in african sustainability and development; how my coursework led me to pursue a study abroad program through my university in an African country where I also conducted public health field research on social factors affecting the measles vaccination status of children. I was especially interested in vaccine trust/hesitancy that might affect one's ability to get vaccinated. i got to explore the intersection between public health and environmental conservation by working at my university's research center in the country. i took classes in biodiversity and primatology. i was able to build an understanding of how much trust-building is required to empower local communities to feel the need to participate in conservation practices. I can talk about conversations I had with the people I intereviewed, what I observed in the field as well. my senior capstone project work also focused on the role of foreign actors in controlling the supply chain of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's cobalt mining industry/the unfair labor practices that not only harmed the health of laborers but contributed to environmental decay. these experiences have informed not just my cultural competency but my desire to work as a physician who can try to increase trust with patients who may be hesitant to seek care or are prohibited by structural factors such as economic ability, etc.
Adversity:
-my father's severe sleep apnea and his refusal to seek treatment for it drove a wedge in my family my entire life. i wasn't able to connect with him as much as i would have liked because he would be asleep for most of it. i would have to run household errands and take on extra responsibilities, especially when it came to driving, because he would be unable to stay awake for it. primarily he would fall asleep at the wheel when my whole family was in the car with him. when it came time for me to become licensed, i faced a lot of anxiety/nervousness when it came to driving on highways and it took me many months to get past the mental block of driving on the highways.
-my grandmother moved in with us when she was undergoing cancer treatment and there were 5 of us living in a 2 bedroom apartment. i had to share a room with my high-school aged brother and grandmother and ensure that both of their needs were taken care of. i had to ensure that both of them had their privacy respected and i had to help my brother find ways to focus/manage his time given that he wasn't able to have a quiet place to study at home.
Failure:
-i failed to connect with my grandfather properly before he died because i didn't have any familiarity with my native language and he didn't know any english. i let the language barrier get in the way of learning about him and i didn't try to know him at all. this led me to try to learn my native language and with my other living extended family in my home country i tried to find alternative ways of spending time with them or getting to know them that didn't rely on linguistic abilities. i grew to appreciate multigenerational households.
-
Challenge:
-at my clinical research job, i had to take on a lot of imaging responsibilities despite not having a background in radiology/engineering especially since our research involved using methods that have previously not been studied. i spent significant time pouring over literature/immersing myself in the workflow of the radiologists who would try to teach me things.
-my clinical research job also had me needing to draw blood from patients. venipuncture was a challenge for me and i was nervous about drawing on patients before feeling completely comfortable. especially because if i missed it would mean that we couldn't get blood for that time point in the study (since it was longitudinal). our backup option was to take patients to the phlebotomy clinic at the hospital. i faced a lot of trouble with palpating veins. doing blood draws was not an insignificant portion of our job. but one time, i missed the draw on a particularly disgruntled patient. i realized that i forgot to place an order to take him to phlebotomy. our new hires, who i was training but were still unfamiliar with the layout of the hospital and not ready to lead patient visits on their own, were left alone with him while i ran to place the order and having the physician sign off on them. i had to balance the emotions of the patient, who felt that his time was being wasted, with the responsibility i had of making sure our new hires were comfortable dealing with the situation for the time that i stepped away.
I would appreciate any feedback that could be provided. Thank you very much.
