I firmly believe that through earning the credential of registered dietitian nutritionist and contributing to the body of scientific literature, I have a chance to impact the health outcomes of my family, friends, neighbors and future patients, as well as our future generations. I am confident that the Dietetic Internship and Masters of Public Health (DI/MPH) program at University of Texas School of Public Health (UTSPH) is the ideal environment to prepare me in the pursuit of my primary long-term goal of developing a career as a research dietitian. In addition to the program’s alignment with my professional interests, I am a candidate that will bring grit, curiosity, maturity and academic excellence to the 2017 cohort. Five years ago, …show more content…
The prospect of studying public health is very appealing, as it would include topics I have not yet been exposed to, such as biostatistics and epidemiology. I am particularly interested in less traditional public health interventions such as choice architecture as a supplement to nutrition education. The diverse research interests of UTSPH faculty and numerous program partnerships would allow for a broad range of exposure to intervention design, research and nutrition education programs. I could easily imagine myself working with Dr. Sharma in her efforts with Brighter Bites due to my interest in children’s eating patterns and desire to improve community-level health outcomes. I recently started volunteering with the Brighter Bites bag assembly team at Hines-Caldwell Elementary and have enjoyed seeing the intervention in action after reading about the statistically significant improvements to the home food environment among participants in Dr. Scharma’s 2016 paper in Preventative Medicine. The opportunity to complete a written culminating experience will support my short-term goal of strengthening my scientific writing skills and also my secondary long-term goal of achieving publication within the next three years. I have previously enjoyed my experience volunteering with Recipe for Success in their HISD school Seed-to-Plate classes, which included gardening …show more content…
Most notably, my 2016 internship with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center cemented my interest in research. Witnessing the transformative research that is occurring in our local institutions was thrilling. I enjoyed the minutiae of protocols, deep dives into the nuance of dietary recall methods, and researching emerging technology to support data collection. Shadowing the research dietitian and manager of the Bionutrition Research Core brought new excitement each day, which included attending a research seminar at the Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine, sitting in on interdisciplinary research study meetings, and learning to record dietary data in Nutrition Data Systems for Research. Processing participant dietary records, which were doubly recorded as photographic records and within a mobile food diary, was enlightening and will aid me in the future when I begin conducting 24-hour dietary recalls of my own. I was able to serve as a study participant as well, where I wore a continuous glucose monitor and kept a meticulous food diary for one week. Wearing the glucose sensor, calibrating the receiver with finger pricks multiple times per day, and watching my glucose levels gave me a bite-sized perspective for the daily tasks of diabetes patients I will encounter as a dietetic intern. From the viewpoint of a
My father, two paternal uncles, two maternal uncles, five cousins, and two cousin’s husbands. Three cousins who are in medical school along my sister who is on the premed track. These are the statistics behind my claim of being from a family of physicians. Importantly, these statistics do not hold much importance in my choosing of becoming a family medicine physician. In my last year of medical school, evaluating my personal experiences with my family, my country of origin, and future opportunities, I decided that family medicine was the field I wanted to be a part of.
“Every man is born as many men, and dies as a single one.” This quote by German philosopher Martin Heidegger fits well with my decision to aspire to become a physician assistant. While I always wanted to help others, especially the disadvantaged of our society, I did not initially realize what outlet this longing would have. Ultimately, however, I found that the PA profession was the best avenue where I could unite this concern for others with my intellectual strengths and abilities.
As I walked down the gravel road, breathing became more difficult as the harsh sun beat on my back. I did not know if I could withstand it much longer. All I could think about was the sun - until I made eye contact with a little boy. His oversized t-shirt was drenched in sweat and dirt. He was breathing heavily, fighting tears to no avail. It was then, the large mass on the side of his forehead became more obvious. I could no longer selfishly feel the heat - only empathy for I knew the root of his pain: denial of proper medical assistance.
Healthcare administration is a field that is often overlooked, but is essentially the beating heart of any healthcare organization. With more and more hospital, and clinics, and other healthcare organizations popping up everywhere there is a need for people like me to manage the day-to-day operations. I am choosing to apply to this program because I want to study how the U.S. healthcare system operates. I want to learn the essential skills of operating a healthcare facility such as managing a budget, reducing healthcare costs, analyzing the efficiency of an organization and proposing ways to improve it. This program is going to give me the necessary education and skills so I can carry out my goal of being a healthcare administrator.
One year ago, I was given a life changing opportunity to intern at San Ignacio Community Hospital in San Ignacio, Belize. Each day brought something new: a man limping towards the emergency room with a deep shin laceration after a machete fight, mothers and their children waiting to be evaluated by a pediatrician for the first time, and numerous teen women who would soon be in delivery with no previous prenatal care. Patients traveled miles by foot, bike, or taxi to be seen at the hospital every day and we worked until all were cared for. Consequently, I witnessed how a public health system functions in a rural, considerably underserved community.
Serving in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service is a dream opportunity for someone like me who is very passionate about Science and Medicine, as well as serving our country. It also provides an avenue for me to exercise my knowledge, skills, and abilities that match the organization's approach to fulfilling its mission. These "KSA" includes my promptness in responding to public health needs, my leadership and excellence in executing public health practices, and my ability to help advance public health science.
...arable interaction between nutrition and exercise, and I appreciate a program that challenges students to see how different areas of health intersect and connect. In addition to this solid foundation of public health knowledge, George Washington’s one-on-one mentorship opportunities and customizable field and research experiences allows students to develop the skills necessary to succeed in their specific area of interest. The university’s location also provides access to a wide range of organizations, agencies, and policymakers, and the chance to work with these groups would give me unparalleled insight into public health policy. George Washington’s public health program strives to fully prepare students for successful careers in public health, and I hope to use the knowledge and experience from the program to reduce the impact of eating disorders on public health.
Internal Medicine has always been my number one choice for residency. It offers constant intellectual challenges, imparts a vast ocean of medical knowledge and ultimately establishes a strong relationship with the patient. The vast diversity of challenging clinical conditions, degree of illness, medical procedures, continual advances in treatment and the ability to cure diseases is what appeals me the most .
My mom always used to say,” Look at the person as a whole to understand the condition.” Even though it made little sense to me as a child, I learned the concept when I was doing my Internal medicine rotation. The passion of knowing that I could improve a person’s quality of life drew me into pursuing medicine. The multitude of different organ systems that one covers while practicing medicine fascinated me to delve into a field that encompasses them all - Internal Medicine. In addition, I enjoyed the challenges that Internal Medicine would provide me with its diversity. Altogether, Internal Medicine was the amalgam of everything I learned in my medical practice and decided to pursue my residency.
Education is neither linear nor static. It requires evolution and fluctuations. I received my undergraduate degree in Exercise Science at UNC Charlotte, and now it is time for a prime conversion to be made. Attending the Masters of Public Health program at UNC Charlotte would open the door for me to pursue my career aspirations in health care. Specifically, I am interested in epidemiological methods in community health. My ambition, perseverance, and work ethic have brought me to a high point, and enrolling in the Masters in Public Health program would raise that threshold even higher.
Pursuing higher education in healthcare is what I have always desired. I believe that healthcare is a field for people who deeply care about the greater good for all human kind. However, after taking various courses in the Public Health major, I have decided to venture in a different direction. Yearning for something more towards the administrative and technical side has been a focal point in my collegiate career. When I discovered Health Informatics and Information Management (HIHIM), I’ve come to the conclusion that this is the perfect path moving forward.
I first considered a public health career when I interned at the Ghana Health Service Family Health Department as an undergraduate student. Participating in national meetings focused on strategies to reduce maternal mortality in Ghana, I recognized that, in order to create sustainable advances, it is crucial to address the underlying social inequalities that exacerbate adverse health outcomes. To advance this goal, I am seeking admission into the Global Health and Population Doctoral Program at the Harvard School of Public Health.
From a young age, I was drawn to the healthcare field, not because the amount of money doctors, nurses and other health professionals made, but because of the dedication and contentment I saw on their faces helping someone in need. Growing up everyone wanted to become a doctor or a nurse and as a little child being a doctor or a nurse was a profession many parents wanted their child to pursue as a career. Needless to say, I fell into that category because I had high hopes that one day I will become a nurse. However, that dream came to a halt.
I am inspired to explore the field of dietetics which is very broad and dietitians perform a variety of functions in their jobs. As a dietitian, I can work in a wide variety of positions such as a foodservice manager in commercial or institutional, a community nutritionist, such as the WIC and Headstart, a consultant to major food corporations such as Kelloggs and Kraft or go into sales. I am very interested in working in a position where I can help people develop habits to improve their health. I may eventually go on to graduate school to advance my knowledge of dietetics.
My field practicum at the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center Nutrition Support Shared Resource would be a great experience for other students interested in public health, epidemiology, cancer prevention, and population dietary assessment. It would not be as relevant to students interested in clinical dietetics or food service because clients, patients, or customers are not interacted with and no food is served.