For my STEP signature project, I chose to complete an EKG certification course. This course lasted 8 weeks where I attended lectures and labs to learn how to perform EKGs, read them and analyze potential problems.

This course prompted many new changes in myself and in my view of the medical world. I had a very surface level understanding of what EKGs were prior to this course. They are so much more interesting and complicated than I could have imagined. When dealing with real people, you won’t always have textbook cases and you will always be seeing something slightly different with every new patient. Getting to experience patient care was different for me since my major is very lab-focused and it’s more “behind the scenes” work. It came as a shock to me how many chapters we had to study just on patient care alone. About half of the work we did was on proper communication, documentation, and behavior, and the other half was the actual EKG testing. I feel like experiencing both sides of patient care will make me the best provider I can be in my future career. Additionally, the people that I met through this project also transformed my view on medicine. My classmates, my instructor, and I all have very different backgrounds. Our combined knowledge and experiences made this course so much more insightful.

My instructor was an orthopedic surgeon from Pakistan who moved here to take the boards and become a heart surgeon in the US. Naturally, the three other girls in my class and I would ask him every possible medical question that came to mind. I learned so much from him, not only about EKGs, but medicine and overall health in general. One thing he told us that I know I will definitely remember is that bananas can actually help with anxiety. Of course, we all started bringing bananas for lunch. In terms of cardiovascular health, I had no clue how the smallest changes in your lifestyle can completely change how the heart works. Many of the atrial or ventricular arrhythmias we learned about can be fixed simply by lowering caffeine intake, sleeping, or eating a banana. Not everything is scary and life-threatening. For me, this was the biggest assumption I had going into the course. I was definitely worried about having to be the bearer of bad news to patients every time I saw any abnormalities. It actually turned out that while being completely healthy, one of my classmates and I had consistently abnormal EKG tracings. This was shocking to see, but great practice for all of us. Not every patient will look exactly the same and not everyone’s “normal” will look the same. The human body does not read the textbook.

The diversity of my class and the different paths we were all on also came as a surprise. One girl was getting certified to build her med school application. Another girl was originally a business major, but her heart condition and routine EKGs inspired her to explore the medical field. My third classmate was a mom whose baby had received EKGs before, which sparked her interest in getting certified.  It was shocking to see how we were all at such different points in our lives, but we all had this class in common. Each one of us being a different age allowed us to learn so much about different generations of students in medicine. During our EKG practices, we would regularly discuss how going to school during different decades impacted how we got to where we are now. One of the craziest things I learned was that the doctors that my instructor used to work with in Pakistan did not need to have any kind of certification to be able to perform surgery.

I learned a lot about patient care that I would have otherwise never experienced without this course. Even though I won’t be directly dealing with any patients in my future career as a laboratory technician, I apply many of the skills I gained from this class. Performing the EKGs on each of my classmates really taught me how to be able to talk to patients about their concerns and alleviate their stress. We would routinely practice being “problematic” patients with hypothetical medical histories or concerns. Through trial and error, we were all able to successfully overcome these problems and learn new skills that we can apply to our future jobs. This exercise taught me a lot about how to think quickly, react professionally, and respond with the best possible solutions. Now, I feel much more knowledgeable about what goes on from the moment the patients come into the hospital to the moment their tests get to my lab.

Overall, the concepts I learned from this course will definitely be utilized in my life and in my professional career. I gained a lot of knowledge about cardiac conditions and EKG analyses as well as the overall ethical and professional practices that take place in the medical field. Along the way, I met numerous, great classmates that I still regularly talk to about what we have been doing since our certification exam. I am grateful for these connections and the chance to build my skillset. Moving forward, I would like to continue doing work in patient care by using my EKG certification to perform tests on patients at a nearby hospital. I think that by continuing to learn about this field and applying the skills I gained, I can be a more well-rounded candidate in my profession.

I plan to complete my project during the summer of 2023, after my second year at The Ohio State University as a Health Sciences major. Premier Choice Health Services, the nursing aide training school, and licensure of my choice offers a two-and-a-half-week nurse aide training program throughout the year. I will use my study of leadership and integrate it into a significant positive contribution to society. This to me is the pursuit of a Certified Nursing Aide certification program, where I will participate in a professionally accredited program to culminate and complete nursing aide training. This includes a 75-hour course, including 59 hours of classroom CNA training and 16 hours of clinical experience in a long-term care facility. CNA classes will prepare me to take The State Board Exam for Nurse Aides and are aimed at producing nurse aides who are specifically trained, competent, and able to perform assigned functions of personal care to the patient in their residence, long-term care facility, hospital, assisted living or hospice care. While completing my STEP project and now working as a PCA at The Ohio State University University Hospital Wexner Center I’ve realized how much I truly love healthcare as my passion and working alongside others is something that comes naturally to my liking. I like getting to know my parents for their stories, how long they have come, and how long they have to go. What they think works best for them, what brought them here, and especially seeing all the progress they make day by day in inpatient. A patient is a person before anything, a well-rounded-whole person with feelings, a past, a family, and a future, and humility needs to return to healthcare and I try with my day-to-day rounds. My project gave me the insight to further understand the mechanics behind the human body and ways to alleviate pain. It taught me phlebotomy, basic care routines, and how to evaluate certain dynamics of a healthcare setting. Now in all aspects of my life, I think with a healthcare provider mindset, I see certain wellness problems manifest and difficult issues that seem may be vulnerable to spiral. I see the behavioral, mental, emotional, and physical habits of my patients and certain things I have learned are patterns and symptoms in everyday life. Healthcare alters your mind because we all revolve around it. My STEP project resulted in many interactions, relationships, and activities now at my job at Wexner, as well as with my fellow students in the classes. While we all bonded on the course we were taking, we also bonded on our similar career paths and the job we were seeking with our new training and experience. Every day I walk into the hospital and interact with about 20 new patients at least, as well as my relationships with those patients’ family members and the nurses whom I work under. Even nutrition staff will make a notable difference in my day to day. As I walk into a day at work it’s a full 12-hour shift of introducing myself as a PCA to people, having to walk into rooms and instantly interact while checking vitals and getting close with people discussing their health issues. It gets as personal as bathing one or having to be a 1:1 sitter with them due to their mental status. Mental status patient cases are the most notable as they stick with me for a while and I will always remember that person’s story. With this case of one’s story sticking with me, a particular case I found interesting was a time I observed unethical behavior as a PCA working in the ED trauma bay during my training. It’s an experience I could never let go because of the circumstances. As I watched active CPR being done on a very young adult who had just suffered a severe and sudden injury, the other doctors, medical studies, and nurses in the room seemed unbothered, which surprised me. This behavior is not out of the ordinary for them because as a healthcare provider working in the Ed trauma bay, you see death every day. In my opinion, humility had left the room and people became senseless and desensitized to the fact that someone was passing in front of them. I noticed this when I heard laughs fill the room, and people even in the back on their phones. As this was very new to me, this was an everyday experience to them, desensitizing them. I still think some levels of respect should be expressed even with desensitization. To them, the person on the bed was just another patient and not an actual person with a family, hobbies, and a life. The behavior I saw that day was unethical and I think humility should be returned to healthcare standards. In the moment and even in the future I will always see patients as a whole person before anything. They have thoughts and feelings as well, not everyone is just another barcode scan and record. I will try my best to keep humility as a standard within my care as an advanced healthcare provider as well. It’s always right to remind yourself that you are human and you are also interacting with another person. Respect comes with ethics and I will always respect someone whether they’re awake to know so or not. Unfortunately, this is the culture we live in but as we progress I believe it should be standard to teach future professionals to keep humility a part of care and wellness overall and remind everyone no matter the workload or patient ratio that someone is a person before they are a patient. I used my STEP project and study of leadership and integrated it into a positive contribution to society. The transformational aspect of my project has helped me become certified in my pursuit of direct patient care in providing efficient health outcomes to underrepresented populations. As I experienced hardships in healthcare throughout my childhood like waiting hours for a doctor. With this, in some of the most vulnerable positions of my life, I was able to be calmed and taken care of by the health professionals around me. When I needed the frontlines of healthcare the most, they immediately took care of me regardless of where I came from, and this experience sealed my commitment to healthcare. It is beyond just the profession itself; it has the gift of reassuring people in times of doubt and hardship. Now, as a first-generation college student using STEP, I have allowed myself to jump-start this reality of mine, using STEP to acquire a CNA license. This has begun my journey to healing underrepresented populations professionally through direct care. As well as getting my foot into the door of direct patient care and seeing what it is like to be in the profession firsthand and connect with others. a care provider, and provide an inviting work and clinical environment, knowledgeable, trustworthy care outcomes, and management and direction. I want to make people feel safer, and cared for, and sympathize with all people to help administer medicine and heal populations that look just like me.

1. The STEP Signature Project I completed involved my EMT certification program at Cuyahoga Community College. This program included rigorous coursework, practical training, and clinical experiences, where I learned essential skills and knowledge necessary for emergency medical response.
2. During the EMT certification program, I underwent a significant transformation in my understanding of myself and my view of the world. I began this journey with the assumption that I could handle high-stress situations, but it was only through the challenging scenarios and real-life emergencies encountered during the program that I truly comprehended the extent of my capabilities and limitations. This experience transformed me into a more confident and resilient individual, with a deeper understanding of the importance of compassion and teamwork in healthcare.
3. The change in my perspective was primarily shaped by the hands-on experiences during field training. The interactions with patients and healthcare professionals helped me develop empathy and better communication skills. Witnessing life-and-death situations and actively participating in patient care pushed me to confront my fears and insecurities. The constructive feedback and mentorship from instructors and colleagues played a pivotal role in my growth, guiding me towards becoming a competent and compassionate EMT.
4. This change and transformation are incredibly significant and valuable for my life. It directly aligns with my academic and professional goals, as I aspire to pursue a career in healthcare and emergency medicine. The newfound confidence, skills, and understanding of teamwork are essential for my success in this field. Moreover, this experience has deepened my commitment to serving the community and helping those in need during critical situations, which resonates with my personal values and long-term aspirations.

For my STEP project, I completed a clinical medical assisting course and got my clinical medical assisting certificate. Throughout this course, I learned things such as wound dressing, taking patient histories, phlebotomy, medical terminology, EKG administration, and more. Afterward, I took the National Healthcare Association’s clinical medical assisting exam. 

While completing my STEP signature project, my understanding of myself changed in many ways. I learned that I value feeling well-rounded in my ability to perform as a healthcare provider. I like being able to perform different types of tasks and have knowledge about many different topics. Some of my assumptions about healthcare as a whole as changed. I also learned that I really enjoy working on a team, or with a group of people that I work closely with. An assumption that I had before my STEP signature project was that when you start a healthcare job, you have all of the knowledge you need to be an efficient provider right after school or get certified. Now I know that you learn the most when you start the job and get actual experience. 

An event that led to change during my STEP signature project was simply reading my class textbook. Our medical assisting textbook went over all of the potential duties and responsibilities of a medical assistant. After reading chapters about laboratory tests, medications and pharmacology, HIPPA and patient rights, injections, and so much more, I learned just how versatile an MA can be. My professor always told us his stories from when he worked as a medical assistant because he talked about how he’s worked in many different healthcare settings and in many different specialties. I loved listening to them because he’d tell us about all the different things he learned and all the experience he gained. It made me motivated to become well-rounded. 

Relationships that led to change during my STEP signature project were the ones I made with my professor and my classmates. Throughout our 11-week course, I got to know my 7 other classmates and my professor Eric. I loved that the class was small because it made it easier for me to connect and learn about everyone. I made friendships with other OSU students that were pre-PA, so I now have connections with people who I have a lot of similarities with. With these classmates, we taught and encouraged each other the material and worked as a team to support each other. We provided assistance for each other and were able to solve problems by ourselves without the professor. I valued this teamwork a lot, and I feel like it made the class easier and much easier to enjoy. 

Lastly, the interaction that led to change during my STEP signature project was when I told my professor I was worried about not feeling qualified enough to start working as a medical assistant. He reassured me and told me that the knowledge that I gained from our book and the practice I gained with my classmates was significant enough to allow me to be successful at my job. He explained to me that the class was to teach and guide us on what’s expected of us as medical assistants, but that you don’t actually learn how to do the job until you get some real experience. This made me feel better and helped me feel more confident about my abilities as a future healthcare provider. 

These changes and transformations are significant to my life because they further solidified my choice to become a physician assistant and go to PA school. I love being able to work in multiple specialties and gain knowledge about lots of different aspects of healthcare. I’ll be able to have my own patients and get to know them and help them towards better help. Also, as a PA, you get to work as a vital part of a healthcare team, along with doctors, nurses, and other PAs. As my professor said, you learn the most valuable information while you’re getting real experience, and I feel more motivated to start working. My STEP signature project has given me great insight into the healthcare profession and has made me more eager and determined to reach my goal.

Here’s a picture of me in lecture and my super chill professor Eric.

A tube of blood from my first blood draw ever! I performed this draw on one of my classmates who also was an OSU student doing their STEP signature project.

My STEP signature project was getting my Private Pilot’s License during the summer in Columbus, Ohio. I went to the airport on average 4-5  days out of the week where I would do either a flight lesson or a ground lesson. I took my FAA written exam and also flew solo for the first time.

Being a pilot is not an ordinary thing for someone to say that they are. Telling people that I go fly planes on just a regular weekday at the airport is always something people are ‘wowed’ by and I always get so many questions. From my perspective, flight training isn’t all amazing views and simply flying, a lot harder work is required to be a diligent and successful pilot. But, the views from up in the air is so extraordinary and it is very rewarding. I mean, who else gets to do this almost every day? After flying all summer and receiving my first license, it made me so thankful and blessed to be able to pursue such an interesting career. That first solo flight put it all into perspective and impacted me greatly. After working so hard at the pre-solo training, finally being able to get up in the air solo was incredible and it made me very proud of myself. It made me a more responsible and disciplined individual. It also fueled my passion for aviation even more.

After this past summer, I can say I’ve become a transformed individual after my flight training. I think becoming a pilot can have a massive impact on an individual’s life, even outside the airport or aircraft. The start of a young pilot flight school journey is not easy and making yourself accountable and being responsible for flight lessons and staying on track helped me become a more organized student and person outside the airport. Time management is huge when taking flight lessons, especially in Columbus. To ensure you have a spot in the schedule and a plane, you must arrive at least 10 minutes early for a local flight, and 20 minutes for a cross-country flight. I would arrive even earlier than this to be prepared and have enough time for pre-flighting and filling out the data card. If you do not arrive within this time period, your plane will be given to another student. After your flight, you also have to clean the airplane and not arrive back at the airport late for other students. These activities ultimately made me very good with my time management.

Communicating with your instructor and being prepared for lessons is another responsibility of the student pilot. All the lessons are laid out and tell you exactly what you will be doing in the flight that day. It was my responsibility to study prior to my lessons and know how to remember to do each maneuver or landing procedurally correctly so that I did not have to waste time repeating lessons. You are not always going to have your instructor around, so it is important that you are personally knowledgeable on every topic and procedure. The de-brief after your flight is when your instructor tells you what you can work on and this is when you fill in the flight to your logbook. This is also where you discuss the next flight lesson as well. This is a critical part of the lesson because this is where you can learn the most, especially on the ground where you are not focused on flying the aircraft. This made me such a better student and would motivate me to do better on each flight. It makes each flight a better learning experience when you can learn how to apply corrections in and out of the aircraft.

Another significant experience that transformed me and greatly impacted my STEP project was my first solo cross-country flight. This is a flight to another airport/destination that is at least 50 nautical miles away. You have to learn how to get to destinations where you haven’t been before by pilotage (using landmarks & without GPS). This is also where we get taught lost procedures in case of an emergency. This is a vital lesson for new pilots because it is very easy to get lost in new terrain. Also, this is where we get taught lost procedures in case of an emergency. Before we use the g1000s which is the term we use to call the high-tech airplanes with screens and computers in them, where we learned how to utilize points on the ground and VORs to keep on track where we are. This is when I also learned how to talk to Columbus approach and departure which is pretty cool because I was on the same frequency as pilots flying for major airlines. Going on my first solo cross-country was a lot of fun and it’s great sight-seeing. It helped me become a better pilot by learning how to handle new situations and even weather scenarios where you may have to go to an alternate airport. Talking with Columbus traffic was also a big step I overcame because you always have to be alert and respond quickly because they are wasting no time.

Not only was this project a huge academic success for me, but it was also so personal. I came into aviation not knowing a single thing, nor did I have any family in the industry (which is not common). It took me a while to finally get started flying and to have completed my first license of many in my career was very rewarding. Not to mention that this also lets me progress in my career and move on to becoming an instrument-rated pilot! Fitting in flying to an already very busy academic career is not easy, but it is unique and an experience not many people get to have. Flying in Columbus this summer made me grow so much personally and stop and take the views in as much as possible in life!

• My STEP Signature Project was focused on learning how to sail through a course with the American Sailing Association. I traveled solo to Hawaii to gain not only a better understanding of myself, but also to become a more knowledgeable leader for future sailing opportunities.

• Through completing my STEP Signature Project my understanding of myself greatly changed. Before this experience I had traveled only with groups of people, never solo. On top of that, I had never taken such a long flight completely alone. I anticipated the experience for weeks and while embarking I was constantly adapting to flight changes, trip issues, and unforeseen circumstances. I learned that keeping stress levels at a minimum didn’t need to be based fully on what was happening around me, but rather could be determined by how I reacted to these circumstances. I focused on keeping a positive outlook in times of loneliness and learned how to adapt to my own needs that I can sometimes overlook. Additionally, I found a better appreciation for the land and the people who inhabit it.

• First, setting off on a 24-hour travel day flying across the country forced me to become more confident in my own abilities to handle new situations. Although I had traveled often throughout my childhood, I had never embarked on a trip quite so independent. I needed to keep up with my itinerary, while also keeping track of spending, and most importantly, ensuring to prepare enough food for my camping portion of the trip. I planned each day and kept detailed notes to best prepare for the unknown. I learned to focus my energy on positive aspects of my day, overpowering the negative thoughts.
• Second, I better learned how to adapt to adverse and unexpected situations. After landing in Oahu, we were alerted of the of the start of the Maui fires. While inflight, the fires had begun and at the time the severity was unknown. Some Maui residents were evacuated to nearby islands like Oahu, the one I was visiting. There was constant uncertainty of rescue efforts and additional spreading danger. I now realize the severity and misfortune that many of these residents were deeply affected by not only in Maui, but throughout each of the Hawaiian Islands. I quickly realized just how fragile life can be and made an active effort to support these residents through financial means.
• Finally, riding the city bus throughout the island of Oahu completely changed my perspective of the popular tourist destination. In Honolulu, I was surrounded by luxury stores, resorts, and expansive beaches. Just a block away, when taking the city bus through residents’ homes and workplaces, the contrast was unmistakable. As I rode through small, compacted towns and bustling middle and high schools I was able to better understand the island communities. I found how important it is to be an active tourist in the ways in which you spend your money and view the place you are interacting with. Although one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States, Hawaiian people are not gaining a penny. Mainland based resorts and tour companies hoard millions when just a block away people lay homeless in the street. This contrasting dynamic goes much deeper, but exploring this relationship allowed me to better understand the people around me. I have learned how to be a more aware and understanding tourist of the places I temporarily inhabit.

• This development of my world view will set the precedent for not only how I view people in my hometown, but also throughout my workplaces, classrooms, and other activities. I understand myself and my own needs in a different way, and additionally better understand the people around me. I can more thoroughly adapt to adverse situations and from them more actively learn. Throughout my life I hope to carry these lessons into many endeavors and continue to build on them as much as possible. This has not only developed the current me, but also, the future me.

1. AAA DAAAAAA The main activities that my STEP project entailed was to attend in person class every Saturday that had a lecture portion and a hands-on clinical experience as well. Also, it included that I did weekly online homework that connected to that week’s lecture and lab.

2. The transformation of myself that took place during my project was coming to understanding that I am growing up and getting closer to my dreams each day. Every class I attended I felt accomplished once leaving because I came in not knowing things but left knowing a lot. I feel like I benefited from every interaction I had in my course whether it was with a classmate or instructor. I also came with understanding that I do really like the dentistry field and the science behind it because to see things from a different perspective really helped me grow.

3. I feel like being able to have in person hands-on clinical experience was a huge part of my transformation that took place while completing this program. It is one thing to do online homework or listen to lectures but to be able to learn things in a dental office and learn from people who do this for a living is another thing. It expands your mind to think in a different way, a way that only people in that desired field think. Learning in office helped me to understand things easier and work towards a higher career in this field. Being able to experience that meant a lot to me and helped me tremendously.

Also, a lot of conversations that I had with my instructors over the week’s helped me realize that the little learning incapability’s I had when I was in high school are the same ones I tend to fall back to sometimes. I learned that other people that have not even knew me for as long as my high school teachers have can pick up on the way I learn and what things can throw me off focus in the classroom. Whenever I felt unaccomplished or overwhelmed in class my instructors could notice and would help me readjust my focus back to things that mattered. So, I just felt like that was very helpful for me and pushed me to want to grow out of those habits.

Lastly, my class was only twelve students including me which was a very small size coming from a biology major that has five hundred people lecture classes. It was different to be able to see all my classmates and talk to them on a weekly basis. It was also an adjust to be one of the youngest people in my class and be around people that were already working full time jobs with kids, families, etc. But I met some nice people and am very grateful for being able to come across some genuine souls, so that really made school easier as well by being cool with my classmates and being able to reach for help if need be.

4. This transformation is valuable for my life because I am so young and I tend to feel like sometimes I am not doing enough, and I believe that accomplishing this pushed me to want more for myself. Finishing this course made me feel good and happy for myself to see what I have been talking about coming into reality. It was one of the best things I put myself in and I look at it as something I can add to my resume and help expand my knowledge and most importantly experience. I am very excited to use my certificate and go get a job as a dental assistant and be help to a doctor that I admire to be one day.