¶ … Wishing to Pursue Graduate Study
Dr. Paul Farmer of Partners in Health was asked in an interview if he knew at a young age what he wanted to do or if it was an idea that evolved over time. He replied: "You can…grow into what you want to do…grow into your aspirations." I took that to mean that personal experiences can open our eyes to possibilities and that small successes can focus our attention on goals that once seemed too lofty. I have learned the importance of taking one step at a time and striving to excel in every stage before reaching for the next level. Like a rock climber, I have also learned to visualize my next handhold -- and picture myself achieving that goal even as I reach for it.
Despite some difficult life circumstances, I have been graced by my origins and my experiences as an immigrant. I learned the importance of cultural tolerance and the universality of meeting people's most basic needs for care, compassion, and respect. I have learned to practice the brand of patience that comes from not having the resources to make change happen immediately. I know the value of hard work first hand. I held full-time jobs during my BSN program; before that I worked two jobs to support my family members in two countries. And now, because of the earthquake, I understand what it means to start anew -- to pick up where you left off.
I think that I offer the best sort of investment a college can make: A student who has proven to be hardworking and goal-focused; and a professional who will make manifold community contributions. Caring for other people is my life's work and I wish to take it to a higher level by further developing my skills and increasing my knowledge.
Part 2: My interests, the kind of work I would like to do in my intended field
I love nursing and believe myself to be a good nurse. Because of my extended family and my own children, I have an interest in family nursing. My experiences in nursing extend across a wide range from Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) to registered Nurse (RN). Learning to provide nursing services at different levels of responsibility coupled with my ongoing pursuit of more nursing training and education, has over the years, helped me develop strong interpersonal skills and management skills.
I used a quotation from Dr. Paul Farmer, the founder of Partners in Health, to introduce my essay because it exemplifies my interest in world health organizations. When I have a bit of leisure time -- which is a rare event in my busy life -- I go online and browse the Internet to see what is happening in various world health organizations across the globe. Happily, I am often surprised by the sophisticated approach that small non-governmental organization (NGOs) employ to provide health services to many of the globe's poorest people. These model programs actually use methods and strategies that work in more developed countries as well. For example, I read in The New York Times magazine that in the delta region of Mississippi, a program is being tested that uses community health workers to go door to door visiting people who need health care services in their homes. While this is not a novel idea, it is not a common practice -- at least not in the United States. Versions of community health workers have been active from Africa to China to Mexico. The groundbreaking work with community health care workers conducted by Partners in Health over the past two decades has informed the medical community about the barriers to accessing necessary health care. These barriers include discrimination, lack of information, social stigma, time constraints, and transportation costs.
An important learning that has come from the community health worker models, in the Mississippi delta and across the globe, is the importance of a personal connection between the community health workers and the patients who receive care. In the Mississippi delta, a common issue is the fundamental trust that takes its place when people are "of" the same place. The comment "You're not from around here, are you?" is posed as a question, but it is an unequivocal observation. Dr. Shirley recognized that hospitals and clinics need a person who is trained to figure out exactly what will help a patient get better, and that person must -- absolutely must -- come from that patient's world. The patient and the community health...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now