Why I Chose a Healthcare Profession

The reason why I chose to be in a health profession knowing that I have lupus can be overwhelming but exciting. I have met many people living with lupus who feel that they do not receive the proper care by doctors and nurses. Some might feel that they do not have anyone to understand them and that they do not have a good support system.

Health professions I thought about pursuing

I went into the healthcare profession to be a voice and get more knowledge underneath my belt to become an educator as well. I feel that information that should or can be dished out should be straight facts. The professions I thought about pursuing and why:

Nursing – Within this field, you learn how to take care of people that are just like you or similar to you. You have the heart to help because of what you deal with on a daily basis.

Nurse Practitioner – Many really do not understand what is going on with lupus patients' skin. That is why there are so many studies to see how they can fix the problems that arise in lupus patients dealing with their skin.

Physician Assistant - You are right on the side of the doctor helping people. When they are not seeing the doctor, they are seeing a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant.

Doctor or Rheumatologist – because I could help others like me and teach them also it is not just about taking medicine, it is a change of lifestyles and habits. We do not have a lot of rheumatologists you can find in Louisiana and if you do find one, they can be really older in age or just starting with no experience. I never met a doctor that actually had lupus.

Healthcare Administration – because doctors do not have the ability to just make the decisions, it is up to the health administration team. They figure out what is best for the hospital and what does the money and time goes towards. I would like to implement that the patient's caregiver if they have one, can come in and assist with the patient while in the hospital also.

I also thought about neonatal lupus because I love kids so that would be in the pediatric field which is way more stressful than geriatric.

Why do I think these fields work?

Because if we want to express and see and change within the lupus community, we have to check the healthcare system and change and improve the flaws that are within the system. We could be able to implement better ideas and strategies that will eventually make everyone comfortable enough to stay at the hospital. Everyone is trained to be in their field but not everyone is trained to be sympathetic and have compassion for someone. Proper etiquette of a job especially in the nursing field should always be taken seriously because we are taking care of someone’s child, parent, or loved one.