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As a future physician,
I have a tremendous desire to do two main things.
The first of which is to serve underserved communities,
those communities most in need in terms of access to health care.
And the second is to be a leader in public health,
taking health from a population perspective.
And really the United States Public Health Service Commissioned
Corps
will give me an opportunity to do that.
I am sitting here in a
United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps uniform
because I discovered that there is a student program
dedicated to giving students the opportunity
to learn more about the opportunities in the Corps.
And so I am participating in one of the programs called JRCOSTEP
is the acronym which is the Junior Commissioned Officer Student Externship and Training Program.
And it’s anywhere between 30 and 120 days
where you get to work in a government agency,
in a clinical role, or in a more administrative role,
and just get your feet wet in what the Public Health Service does.
Like medical school,
I think one of the greatest aspects is that
you’re surrounded by people that share your passion.
And in the case of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps,
it’s a passion for taking care of the people of this nation,
really having that population perspective and enhancing public health.
The most unique thing about it in my opinion,
unlike medical school where everyone is going to become a physician,
the Commissioned Corps is a diverse group of people.
You have physicians, dentists, physician assistants,
general public health officials, nutritionists.
And so,
you really get to take care of people’s health
from a variety of angles because obviously,
someone’s health is dependent on more things
than just what drug they’re taking for their high blood pressure.
I hope that in my experience that I’ve had as a JRCOSTEP,
and my future experiences in residency,
that I can really let people know my experience in learning about the Corps,
pursuing this student program,
and then realizing what a wonderful opportunity it is to pursue my unique passions.