Statement of Purpose for Phd in Public Health

¶ … working with a diverse population of Native Americans, Hispanics, and other individuals in the prison systems and public clinics of this country, I have come to two, crucial conclusions. Firstly, that the currently cost-strapped environment of the national health care system cries out for innovative financial and sociological solutions. Secondly, I believe I require further education in the field of public health to accomplish my goals in seeking to remedy the systemic abuses I have personally witnessed in my own, current capacity as a physician's assistant. These two crucial reasons combine and fuse in my desire to pursue a PhD at Walden in the field of public health.

"Physician, heal thyself," goes the famous quotation -- and indeed, I have sought to heal my own gaps of knowledge through continually educating myself in the technical innovations of the medical field and of the current state of public health in America. In 2002 I submitted 465 hours of approved continuing education to national certification body. Daily, I find myself confronted with the challenges of dealing with populations who suffer from poor preventative care, the physical and emotional legacy of years of drug abuse, and the lack of community and self-esteem that give birth and support such disorders.

I have attempted to treat such societal ailments as best I can, but it is time for this physician's assistant, I have decided, to indeed 'heal the system' by 'healing thyself' -- to go back to school, so that to become a better teacher and advocate for individuals lacking a voice in the public health field. I have served indigent and suffering populations with my hands, heart, and mind, now I would like to serve them in a more public forum as an advocate.

I have chosen this juncture of my career to do so because I believe I have achieved the crucial balance of academic and professional preparation and experience to be successful within a program on the doctoral level requiring independent research and extensive academic and practical knowledge. I possess masters in both forensic science and internal medicine, thus I understand the technical aspects of the medical profession, as well as how they relate to public policy health objectives. I am also Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Surgery.

But my education is not simply intellectual -- in my current work at the Mayo Clinic, I assist in the surgical room regarding transplants and have performed minor surgical procedures. I counsel families of potential donors and donor recipients about the physical and emotional aspects of this difficult decision. I explain how patients must follow up their hospital care by taking care of themselves properly after they leave the hospital environment.

At present, in addition to my professional work at the Mayo Clinic, I also volunteer as much as sixteen additional hours per week at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Clinic. There, I provide diagnostic and therapeutic medical care and services to a diverse population of indigent patients, including Native Americans and Hispanics (with whom I am able to converse, without a translator) in this inner city outpatient setting.

In my vocational and volunteer capacities at St. Vincent and the Mayo Clinic, I have often been required to make split-second decisions with a cool head. Thus the independent thought and action necessary of a doctorate level program is, quite simply, part of my daily routine. But it is not enough for simply a health care worker to be independent in thought and action. The patient must take responsibility for his or her own health for treatment to be effective. Thus, I seek to empower others to seek their own independent control over their own health, by fostering the self-esteem of clinic patients. By renewing the clinic's patients own personal interest in their own personal health and medical treatment, I hope to motivate them to seek treatment for the preexisting conditions that a lifetime of neglect can produce, and to give the next generation a new life. By restoring the mind, one restores the body -- and vice versa.

Also, in the clinic, I have performed emergency life-saving procedures in cases such as cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, massive hemorrhage, or similar emergencies, as necessary -- drawing upon my willingness to work independently as well as part of a team in the field of medicine. But communication, whether with patients regarding their at-home treatments or the staff one works with, is always key.

I have come to realize that technically, health care is changing all the time. In my previous work for Ameriscan, to take just one example, I was able to become fluent in the necessary expertise to operate state-of-the-art equipment that is presently available in only seven facilities in the United States in only four weeks. But sometimes it seems that as American health care advances light years in technology, the public health system lags behind in finding solutions to how to provide the poorest and neediest of patients with the most basic of care, and finding ways to communicate with these populations in an effective way, before their conditions become even more costly to themselves and to society.

I seek a way to bridge this contradiction, this gap in the American public system of health, between its technological precocity and its difficulty in reaching all the necessary populations of the uninsured, underinsured, and simply under informed. It is humbling to think that while working for Ameriscan, as I studied revolutionary new medium contrast for advanced MRI testing procedure that will eliminate standardized colonoscopy treatments, many of the patients I serve at St. Vincent did not know what a colonoscopy is until I explained one to them, much less why they might need one, much less how to afford one. In my previous internship a private neurology practice, where I assisted a physician with his patient's care and supported his business development initiatives, I explored the reasons people develop carpal tunnel syndrome -- yet many patients in the prisons I have volunteered with do not even know how to turn on a computer. I take satisfaction in being able to intervene and explain to a diabetic in the language he is most comfortable with his treatment schedule, but more must be done, clearly to remedy some of these systemic and societal extremes.