BS Physician Assistant Autobiographical Sketch

BS Physician Assistant Autobiographical Sketch

Having spent the first eighteen years of my life growing up in the country of Haiti, almost every memory I have of my homeland is tinged with the knowledge of the tragic realities that transpired, that my family and I lived through, and ultimately left in the hopes of a better life. I was a child, growing up, struggling with my own path, getting educated, becoming a woman.  Many times people in other countries read the news, hear a shocking story and it as Americans say, “a flash in the pan”, and are quickly forgotten. 

Haiti is only now getting back on its feet, recovering from decades of violence, coups, corruption, and international condemnation.  Too often people outside of the equation fail to realize or even think of the many children growing up, the dreams that they must have, the hopes of a better life, and the desire to make tomorrow a better day for all.  I am one of those people, a woman who has risen above the odds, pursued education, and am all the more eager to serve the healthcare needs of America’s people in a country that has given me so very much.

In the most unlikely place on earth, I still feel it is little wonder that my feet were placed onto the path of Nursing.  The statistics are staggering for Haiti, with crushing poverty being the prime denominator for the myriad public health issues, affecting mostly children.  Haitian children under five are more likely to die than if born anywhere else on earth.  Women giving birth in Haiti are more likely to die in childbirth than anywhere else on earth.  Most shockingly of all, just a 90-minute flight from Miami, over 19,000 children in Haiti are currently stricken with HIV/AIDS.

I remember to the day when I came to America.  The opportunities to pursue Medicine were very good, and I began my nursing assistant, direct care assistant, and home health aid training in 2000.  In 2003, while pursuing Biology and Chemistry in the pre-med program at Delaware State University, my family suddenly fell upon hard times.  My father passed away and my family plunged into financial problems.  As the eldest child, I felt compelled to help.  This was my family, my responsibility.  I put my ambitions on hold, and immersed myself in trying to bring relief to my family, doing all I could to bring things back onto an even keel.  My efforts, strength and perseverance paid off, and in 2009, I was able to proudly walk from the graduation podium, with my BS in Biology and minor in Chemistry.

I really must give credit to the woman who rekindled within me the fire of my passion for helping others.  While I was pregnant with my son, there was a nurse who came to visit me regularly.  On one visit, I remember staring at her, and yet seeing beyond her, remembering something within me that had been tucked away in the recesses of my heart.  The words unfolded themselves from my mouth, like a part of me simply had to release.  I told her how I had always wanted to be a doctor, to help people, that I felt it was something I had been born to do, that a person could have all the money in the world, but it just would not matter, and that you could never be truly happy, if you were not well.  She believed in me, telling me all about UXX, the Physician Assistant program. Later, she fulfilled her promise, bringing me all the information I would need to take the first positive steps towards my dream, the challenge and opportunity of the baccalaureate Physician Assistant (PA) Program at UXX.

 I feel that all of my work to date has given me many of the leadership and communication skills needed to become an effective healthcare professional.  From my practical clinical and laboratory skills, to my supervisory and leadership positions in five university student organizations, and within a dorm of some 45 students, work that involved conflict management, student coordination and motivation, teamwork and the responsibilities of bookstore management.  I have been a counselor, tutor and interpreter, work that has solidified my interpersonal communication skills.  And my organizational and public speaking skills have been fully developed through my church and school fundraising events, and conference work.

 My goals are very clear in my mind, to work under the supervision of an OB/GYN, ER or labor areas.  The experiences I have had to date through Delmarva Community Services working with the mentally disabled has shown me that there is a real need for healthcare professionals who are not just multilingual, as I am – speaking Haitian Creole, French and English - but also people who are fluent in the immigrant experience, the assorted issues of acculturation, poverty, childcare inadequacies, racism, discrimination, and language issues.  I have lived and seen the underserved populations, and my compassion for these populations and situations has only grown with my own experiences.  These personal experiences combined with my professional and volunteer experiences will aid me invaluably in my helping of others.

 Achieving my ambitions will enable me to give back that much more, and on a greater scale than ever before.  It is my hope to join in missionary work, bringing healthcare, and hope to the people of developing nations.  Through my medical mission work, I hope to inspire others in my community and in other countries to give of themselves, their time and talents, however humble they may be, and to believe that one person really can make a difference.

 Whether or not I must forget the past is immaterial; I know that I never will.  As a child, I felt helpless to the things I heard, saw and lived through, helpless to aid the poor, sick and needy around me.  Now, by God’s grace, I have been given the opportunity to educate and empower myself, and use my passion to help others at all costs, to bring about a better, safer tomorrow for America’s children and mothers.

I do not do this simply for myself, or some lofty dream.  I do this for my son, to show him that with hard work, and determination, you can achieve your dreams.  I do this for my community, and the women, children and families I will go on to serve.  And I do this for America, and the culturally diverse people she welcomes into her arms ever day.  This is my contribution, bringing children safely into the world, one child at a time, one more chance for a better tomorrow.

 Thank you for your time and kind consideration.

BS Physician Assistant Autobiographical Sketch