COMMITMENT TO HEALTHCARE PROFESSION
by (Student’s Name)
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Commitment to Healthcare Profession
Healthcare workers play an integral and critical role in improving the quality of care delivered and making it accessible to all people. Depending on their expertise and unique field, medical professionals offer essential services that foster good health and prevent diseases or further health complications. The World Health Organization (WHO) projected in a recent report that by 2030, the number of healthcare workers would have fallen by approximately eighteen million, especially in low-income or underdeveloped countries (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020, p.1). I grew up in an underdeveloped country, the Philippines, so I distinctly understand what lack of healthcare services can do to a population. Accordingly, this development has called for the existing healthcare professionals, like me, to remain committed to the field’s ethical and professional standards and engage in activities that realize the highest attainable standard of care for the population.
Not many people have experienced how difficult it can be to access medical services in an underdeveloped country. There is not only a correlation between the poverty rate and healthcare, but also the limited or lack of knowledge plays is a significant predictor. As I was growing up, the community members did not quite understand how to prevent or treat diseases. Even the available healthcare practitioners lacked the necessary expertise and resources to provide proper medications. They were also not well informed on the appropriate diagnosis or control measures. Notably, practitioners who managed to become well-educated in their fields often migrated to wealthier countries, with better working environments and higher wages. Living in such conditions may have acted as a motivation for wanting to become a professional in this field and bring change to similar regions.
Back when I was still in the Philippines, I joined the Philippine Health Development Program – Department of Health. My chief focus was to engage in a team dedicated to serving remote areas. The project’s main goal was to reach out to the marginalized population and address their health needs. Ideally, these residents had as much right as any other individual to primary, behavioral, dental, emergency, and public health care services. Some of the barriers that these individuals encounter include insufficient financial means, lack of transportation to healthcare facilities, communication or language barriers, and health illiteracy.
Through the project, we developed a program called “Doctors to the Barrios.” This program encompassed a doctor, and a Medical Technologist per community called the Rural Health Unit, a Public Health Nurse, and several midwives. Incorporating different disciplines ensured that we worked collaboratively to promote health and meet the residents’ needs adequately. Additionally, this project contained other health initiatives and programs, including but not limited to Tuberculosis Control, Sexually Transmissible Diseases, Schistosomiasis, Malaria, and Leprosy control. These diseases are more prevalent in remote areas due to the interactions of poor economic, social, environmental, physical, and sociocultural factors.
My experience through this exposure inspired me to pursue my MS degree in Public Health. The primary objective in this field is to provide quality, equitable, and accessible care for a population. With this exposure, I have no reason not to be assigned anywhere, including underserved areas. The program has successfully managed to make healthcare services available and, most importantly, affordable for individuals who live in these areas. Furthermore, I have accrued the necessary skills and competencies needed to work with other public health organizations, which can help establish health and educational initiatives. I have had my fair share of mediocre and inaccessible healthcare services, and I hope that through this program, I can usher the needed change in healthcare.
Reference
World Health Organization (WHO), 2020. Health Workforce. [online] Who.int. Available at: <https://www.who.int/health-topics/health-workforce#tab=tab_1> [Accessed 10 August 2020].