This personal statement traces the author's lifelong motivation to enter healthcare, beginning with childhood "doctor's office" games in Vladivostok, Russia, and shaped by her grandmother's hidden story of post-WWII illegal abortions. The essay follows the author's path through work in the Russian police, a transformative experience with traditional herbal medicine in South Korea, and hands-on training as a medical assistant in a New York podiatry practice. Drawing on multilingual skills, administrative healthcare experience, and mentorship from a practicing Physician Assistant, the author articulates her commitment to integrating Eastern and Western approaches to patient care while pursuing a PA degree.
The word medicine is derived from the Latin ars medicina, meaning "the art of healing."
"Hello, my dear; what is bothering you today?... Hmmm... Aha... I see... I think there's nothing that cannot be fixed here. Let me just get my stethoscope and listen to you breathe... Now, let me check your pulse and blood pressure... I see... Wonderful! So, as I see it, a little shot of antibiotics can make you feel better instantly. Would you like me to do it? Yes? Okay, then turn around and let me see your cheek... Relax, you will not feel anything, I promise... Alright, my dear, let me just quickly write you a prescription for some wonderful medication, but don't take it unless you feel really sick — and then call me first, okay?... Goodbye, dear!"
I would then put my plastic doll and syringe (without a needle) down as my grandmother called me for breakfast. Those sunny winter mornings back home in Vladivostok, Russia, all I did was play "doctor's office" — where I was the doctor, of course — happily seeing patients all day long. I was about eight years old.
Many times my grandmother, when she was alive, would say to me: "Go to medical school, baby girl; you are smart — you can listen." There was a secret story behind her encouragement, which I learned from my mother very recently, after my grandmother had been gone for over ten years. Right after World War II ended, she somehow became involved in helping women terminate unwanted pregnancies. One of those women died from complications following a procedure performed by a pair of uneducated "midwives." My grandmother carried that guilt for the rest of her life.
Although I took her advice to heart, my family was poor and we could not afford medical school. I had to start working as soon as possible. After working in the Russian police for about a year, I understood how far my heart was from that profession and that my true calling was to help people feel better. So when I had the chance to go overseas to work and earn considerably more money, I took it. You can read more about the history of medicine and healing traditions that have shaped modern healthcare.
I was invited to South Korea to work and live. I spent about three years there, visiting my hometown once a year. It was not easy, taking care of myself and making my own living for the first time. My friends and I got very sick once with a severe case of the flu — worse than anything I had experienced before. One of our Korean friends went to a pharmacy and returned with medicine: three bags of mixed herbs and roots, ground to a powder that the pharmacist had prepared on the spot after reading a list of our symptoms. We each swallowed one bag of powder per day with tea, and by the second day we felt energized and approximately 80% better. It was remarkable.
This experience solidified my desire to pursue a career in healthcare and to explore holistic and integrative approaches to treatment — ones that balance Eastern and Western ways of thinking about medicine.
"Podiatry office job launches U.S. medical career"
"Clinical duties, mentors, and formal education pursued"
"PA career chosen; commitment to lifelong healing stated"
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