User:Djoung

Living as the son of a pastor in a small Korean community in Tulsa, I had the opportunity to follow my father around during his rounds of pastoral visits ever since I was young. Many of the elderly members of our church did not live with their families and did not want to live in retirement homes, so they often depended on my father for assistance. Together, we would visit their homes to help them with difficult chores around the house such as moving furniture or mowing the lawn while also giving spiritual support and company. When I became old enough to drive, I would drive them to various places like the grocery store or to a doctor’s appointment. As I got older, I was given a more difficult task of being a translator for our elderly church members when they met with a physician. I knew my father was purposely giving me these jobs to give me an opportunity to be exposed to the field of healthcare, and I am truly grateful for that. One of the first times I interpreted for someone was at a psychiatric clinic where a Korean elderly lady was being evaluated to see if she could continue living independently without assisted living. The woman was initially uncooperative because of the reason of her visit, but slowly opened up as the psychiatrist and I worked to make her as comfortable as possible. She was also hard of hearing, so for several hours during the evaluation we had to repeat many things for her to understand. At first it was frustrating to repeat questions for hours on end, but I realized that this evaluation was even more difficult for her. I reminded myself that to work with people that are in need, I need to keep a compassionate and patient mind. I continued to help my father with his ministry at church as well as outside of the church throughout high school and continued to do so when I returned after graduating Baylor. Mr. Lee was an avid member of our church that supported my father’s ministry as well as our family for several years. As he began living in a retirement community, I would often visit his home to give him company. He would tell me stories of his youth and how life was back in Korea before the war. One early morning, I drove Mr. Lee to the hospital for an eye surgery at St. John’s. I’ve already driven him to the hospital for surgeries several times before, so I began to become familiar with some of the staff members. One of the people I talked to often was a surgical service assistant that would always transport Mr. Lee to the operating room. I learned that he was also striving to become a doctor and that he would soon leave for medical school. I took this opportunity to ask for his position after he leaves and eventually was able to obtain the position. I recently became a surgical service assistant at the hospital that does tasks ranging from transporting patients to scrubbing into cases and assisting in the surgeries (only minor tasks such as holding retractors or navigating the scope). Even though this is an entry level job in the hospital, it was another stepping stone to my goal of helping those that are in need. Helping the Korean community in my city was something I enjoyed and still do to this day. It was something that helped guide me to a path that seeks those that I can help and care for. Through working in the hospital, I learned that patient care begins with compassion and dedication not only on the individual level but as a medical team as well. I believe my drive to care for others as well as my dedicated experience in the Korean community in Tulsa will be important factors that help me to become a doctor.