“So allied health, is that nursing or pre-med?”
“You know you’re gonna have to go through like 8 years of school right?”
“Wow I bet your student debt is going to be so high!”
“I’m so glad I’m not studying what you are. You’re slaving over your work!”
These are only some of the things I hear along with a confused look and the awkward head tilt, when I tell people I’m an allied health major or that I’m studying to be a physician assistant. For all of you who don't know what allied health is, it's defined by the dictionary as "a segment of healthcare professions comprised of specialized occupations that require certification, including physical therapists, dental hygienists, social workers, speech therapists, nutritionists, etc., but not including doctors, nurses, and dentists."
For me, it’s not about the difficulty of my workload or classes. It’s about dreaming of a career I aspire to have while loving what I’ll be doing. It’s not about the money or the amount of school I have to go through, but it's for my own personal satisfaction. It doesn’t matter how hard my classes may be or how many hours I have to spend memorizing muscles and organs or trying to comprehend organic chemistry, because I know in the end it won’t matter as long I’m enjoying my job everyday.
Don’t get me wrong, every position in the medical field plays an important role and each one piggybacks off one another, but I want to do something that isn’t a generic “doctor” or “surgeon.” That’s why people give me a weird look when I tell them I want to be a physician assistant. Many times people don’t even know what a PA consists of when I mention it. I’m determined to reach where I want to be and I won’t let a few confused stares stop me from doing that.
No matter how many obstacles us allied health majors face, we always come out with a reward and valuable life lessons and I can’t be more thankful to love what I’m studying. It’s all going to pay off in the end and I encourage everyone who’s studying something in the medical field not to give up, to prove everyone wrong, and to be super nerdy about science because what’s better than that?!
