Reflection on a Personal or Professional Situation - Paper Example

Describe your academic path. Reflect on your major, your broader curriculum (including postbaccalaureate coursework, if applicable), and any research experiences. What do your academic choices say about you as a candidate? How have your educational experiences to date prepared you for your professional education and your intended career?

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As early as in the third year in high school I had already chosen the science as my academic direction. My educational choice and love of science especially biology was a reflection of my zeal the pursue the medical career. Notably, I loved sciences and therefore shows that am a candidate who is obsessed with sciences. Specifically, I wanted to major in medicine. I have lots of research experiences especially abroad because my country lacks adequate resources for intensive research. Firstly, I attended the Rheumatology conference in Italy back in 2007. Secondly, in the same year, I managed to attend another conference on Cardiology especially the heart failure in Germany where I managed to reach out and interact with other attendees such as the Americans where I learned that the government allocates over $10 billion annually for research. Last but not least I also managed to attend a conference on Immunology in England where I was disappointed with the immigration restrictions in my quest to engaging in a research topic with the country. Moreover, my challenging academic experience has enabled me to pass through great strides in my professional education and also prepared me for the following challenges which I have to face as a medical professional, and it will also enable me to bring solutions to various health and social problems in the society.

Identify a time when you experienced difficulty in an academic or research setting. How did you approach and overcome this challenge?

While I was in New York, the level of financial pressures exerted was extremely challenging and unbearable for me. Apart from economic challenges in meeting my essential needs, I was behind in the payments of tuition fees that forced the school to deregister my pre-health program. However, from a good advice from a friend, I made an appointment with the Dean of school share my humble background and the financial challenges I was experiencing. The Dean was sympathetic enough to provide me with a scholarship of $6,000 for my outstanding obligations and even arranged for my return to classes despite the fact that the award amount could not completely meet my late tuition fees.

What inspired your initial interest in a health profession?

My original interest in becoming a health professional was always inspired by my family background and the society I was born and raised. Specifically, I wanted to help my communities come out of the various social and economic challenges they were undergoing. My village lacked essential necessities such as drinking water and basic health care leading to extreme hardships. Besides, my parents died because of these Sudan challenges. Therefore, I wanted to bring an end to the medical problems that has cost many families dearly.

Describe the specific experiences that have helped you to confirm your interest in the profession you seek to enter. Explain how these experiences informed your choice of health profession (e.g. medicine, dentistry, pharmacy) versus other occupations.

There are various specific skills which I went through and also played a significant role in confirming my interest in the orthopedics and research. Firstly, from my early age, I have always lived with my grandparents after the death of my parents. I have always developed a philanthropic approach to life after witnessing the various suffering people in my communities are experiencing. However, the multiple challenges in my societies including their yearning for positive impacts on their health standards have always been a confirmation of my chosen career and also helped to overcome the difficulties and pressures of studying orthopedics. Secondly, when I graduated from Al Zaeim Al Azhari Medical School in Sudan, the country was going through civil wars in Darfur which caused a lot of atrocities and many suffering of the citizens. I felt a lot of pain to witness the sufferings in Darfur. Hence, I volunteered to work as a medical doctor to offer life-saving assistance to thousands of citizens in Sudan. The circumstances compelled me to seek further studies by doing USMIlLe exams to continue with my research in the US owing to its adequate resources in research. Other experiences I gained from attending several conferences in Italy, Germany, and England where I gained a keen interest in research.

How do you define service? How have your service experiences outside of health care allowed you to develop skills and perspective which you can employ in your future career?

Service is defined as the act of helping someone to overcome challenges such as the social and economical in their lives. However, health services involve all services which are responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, or the promotion, maintenance, and health restoration which may include both the personal and non-personal health services (Kirch, 2008). Being a leader and a co-founder of ZAMSA, I believe my leadership and decision-making skills were enhanced during the implementations of organizations programs which could significantly help me to be a strategic and focused leader in the provision of healthcare. Additionally, my experience in organizing fund raising activities and humanitarian missions has also improved my organization skills that are vital in the delivery of quality services to the clients.

You intend to enter a helping profession. Identify three values that you believe are essential to someone entering your proposed field, and how you demonstrate these values.

Medicine and specifically orthopedic surgery is a demanding career which requires basic values such as knowledge skills and performance, safety and quality and communication, partnership and teamwork from someone entering into the field. To demonstrate the knowledge skills and performance, the individual should show commitments to self-improvement and motivation in studying orthopedics. Moreover, they should apply awareness and experience to practicing in the helping profession by demonstrating their academic ability, problem-solving skills, and their resilience. Secondly, to demonstrate the value of safety and quality, an individual should contribute and adequately comply with the systems that protect patients, respond to risks to safety and also protects patients and fellow colleagues from any risk posed by personal health. Lastly, effective communication, and working in collaboration with other members to improve the patient care are ways of demonstrating the value of communication, partnership, and teamwork (Brophy & American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2010).

Describe your personal background. How have your experiences, family history, and culture shaped your understanding of your social identities?

I come from a humble family background which is headed by the grandparents who lost their nine children including my mother due to various calamities that befell the communities we lived in. Besides, I was born and raised in a small village in Sudan which was characterized by the lack of essential needs such as water and basic health care. Indeed my knowledge and understanding of the social identities have been influenced by the life experiences, our family history, and culture. Notably, I realized that people come from different social backgrounds hence there is need to accept and recognize diversity in the society. For instance, my traveling to various conferences abroad enabled me to gain more insight of different social settings of the different countries which are entirely different from my culture and society I belong. Moreover, I belong to a collectivism culture where the community is everything as demonstrated by the sticking together of the family despite my grandparents loss of nine children.

Reflect on a non-healthcare experience. Describe how it has broadened your ability to think or relate to others differently, and how stepping outside the environments that you are accustomed to has impacted your thoughts and biases. If you have studied away or engaged in a service project abroad, discuss those experiences.

The non-health experience which I remember very well is when a friend of mine walked into my tent while I was casually reading. He questioned what I was doing, and I briefed him on my plans of continuing my medical training in the US. Apparently, the boy laughed at me, and he even dissed me that I required a reality check and went further to advise me that I should cling to more realistic dreams like going to the city to make phone calls or get a stable source of clean drinking water. Indeed, his thoughts significantly enhanced my belief and thoughts that everyone has a dream or vision and right attitude is the key to meeting individuals vision or dream. Moreover, my ability to travel to the US to continue with my education has enabled me to shift my initial thoughts and biases relating to the society. For instance, I managed to maintain high GPA throughout my studies. Hence, I acknowledged the fact that despite the background an individual belongs to one can shine in the privileged societies. Therefore, I realized that human beings are equal despite the diversity of the environment. Moreover, I do not think my academic or professional experiences would have changed if I had studied abroad because I believe my country, culture, and the living conditions played a significant role in pursuing the career.

Reflect on a personal or professional situation (not related to academics or research) in which you experienced adversity. How did you respond to the challenge, manage your feelings about the situation, and adjust your behavior in response to the feedback you received?

While I was carrying out the ZAMSA programs and activities, I met lots of adversities experienced by various people in the country. Notably, our visit to Zuhal which is a poor farming village enabled me to experience the difficulties faced by the community. To respond to the challenge, we managed to see over 500 cases, treated the ailments and diagnosed hypertension and other conditions in the society. Moreover, we also carried out school visits with the aim of educating students about their health and strategies of preventing diseases. Moreover, we had to schedule meetings to other towns, averagely two times per semesters as a way of managing our feelings and attitudes about the various societies. Additionally, from the positive feedback, we received from the humanitarian activities, my philanthropic and humanitarian conducts has always increased hence I always have in the forefront in ensuring that the patients health is improved (Scaffa & Reitz 2014).

It takes time and experience to improve leadership skills. Describe your understanding of how effective healthcare professionals lead and what strategies you have employed to develop leadership skills.

Effective healthcare professionals should always set a good example. For example, I have always engaged in various activities such as swimming and weightlifting so that I can demonstrate the significance of maintaining good health through staying fit. Besides, the strategies which I have employed in the development of leadership skills include the improvement of communication skills, maintaining a positive attitude, and setting ultimate goals and following the concrete plan of actions (Adair, 2010).

References

Adair, J. E. (2010). Strategic Leadership: How to think and plan strategically and provide direction. London: Kogan Page.

Kirch, W. (2008). Ency...