Hello beautiful people!! So yesterday I asked one of the doctors I once worked with if he would be willing to write me a letter of recommendation for PA school. Anyone who knows me well knows I absolutely hate having to ask for a LOR. For some reason I always feel like I\’m a burden, but that\’s clearly my own hang-up I’m going to have to learn to get over. All week I had been gearing up to ask. Should I text or email, what should I say, how long should it be…. lol needless questions that caused me much anxiety. Anyway I finally sent the text and was ecstatic when he replied and said yes. Though, he did have a question for me
— Why did you go from Physician to PA to teaching to Public health, and back to PA?
I wasn’t expecting this question, but it got me thinking. The short response is I chose PA because I want to play an active role in reducing health disparities with marginalized groups, working primarily in primary care and substance abuse. However, this was not always my purpose and in fact my life has been a journey leading me to where God intends for me to be.
Initially I wanted to be a physician for a myriad of reasons, but mainly I wanted to help people manage their health. I have witnessed family members poorly manage their health and had distrust in the healthcare system, including providers. I felt through becoming a provider I could help people from my community.
Upon finishing my undergraduate degree, I knew I needed to improve my GPA if I wanted to continue on my career path so began taking classes at a local community college. In addition, to making myself a better candidate I sought after employment that would give me healthcare experience and ended up employed as a medical scribe. However, I began to have a change of heart the more time I spent scribing. There were multiple contributing factors for this, such as working with jaded physicians, thinking of the MD work life balance, the amount of schooling, etc. I began thinking of other career options. I started asking the PA’s I worked with questions about their career, if it was fulfilling, their work life balance, etc., and after learning more about the filed I felt it was a good fit for me. Working closely with the PAs allowed me to learn the roles, responsibilities and capabilities of the PAs and how they worked with the physicians. I got to see the qualities of the PAs, how they had patients that love them, autonomy to diagnosis and treat patients, and how they had time to spend with their families. Thus, I began taking my prerequisites for PA school and doing what was necessary to improve my application. Julies journey to PA school began 😉
During this time, I decided to take a second job and scribe for a primary care physician because that was what I wanted to specialize in. However, overtime I noticed a pattern that some of our patients failed to grasp the severity of preventable illnesses and were noncompliant which I didn’t understand because the provider would take the time to educate these patients. Yet, some patient still chose to dismiss suggested treatment. Around this time, I was looking into more programs/options to help improve my GPA and randomly stumbled across public health programs. Through researching I really liked the idea of health policy and population health which I felt was most effective in changing people’s health behavior. Did more research and decided to apply to a couple public health programs.
Fast-forward got accepted into a program! All aboard, sis was moving to Nashville. Side note, can I just say moving across the country ALONE was one of the scariest things I have done, but honestly after going through that process I feel I can accomplish anything lol.
Okay let me get back on tract lol….
One day while in my MSPH program a guest speaker, an epidemiologist, presented on the Tennessee Senate Bill 1391. This was the first piece of legislation that aimed to incarcerate women who gave birth to children with Neonatal Addiction Syndrome. Having had family members struggle with substance abuse it BAFFLED me this legislation existed as a solution to the problem. Instead of advocating for compassion and policies to help these women get off drugs, such as drug rehabilitation or medication assisted treatment, Tennessee wanted to put these women in prison. I am very passionate about women’s health and even have a second concentration in women’s studies, so I found this bill disheartening.
I became interested in the policies behind drug abuse and the idea that, through surveillance, hotspots could be identified, and resources could be provided to support those struggling with addiction. I applied for an internship at the Tennessee Department of Health and specifically expressed how I wanted to work with women struggling with substance abuse and landed a summer internship. Interesting how God works, because around this time I found out someone close to me was struggling with an opioid addiction and I witnessed them struggle in finding affordable treatment. This further fueled my passion around substance abuse. I later was employed in an addiction medicine clinic where I interview patients seeking MAT treatment as I continue working towards getting into PA school. Overall, I learned a lot in my MSPH program, however, I decided to continue my journey in becoming a PA because I want to treat/manage patients struggling with substance abuse along with chronic illnesses.
So this is where I\’m at currently, still chucking along with hopes of one day getting admitted.
My life has pretty much been a journey on finding my purpose and I’m realizing that is okay because life should be a journey that leads you to where you need to go. 😊
Stay blessed <3