Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project.

The STEP Signature Project featured engaging in a Phlebotomy Course with the Ohio School of Phlebotomy. Requirements included passing didactic assessment requirements and demonstrating competency in clinical skills. Moreover, a special focus was placed on receiving a Certified Phlebotomy Technician certification.

What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?

Throughout the experience, transformation and affirmation of thoughts co-existed to produce novel changes. A major takeaway was the underscoring of my passion for healthcare. The process provided a realistic insight into the medical enterprise and quotidian assignments. It strengthened and affirmed preconceived notions I had with regard to my passion for the field. Moreover, it further compelled me to explore the intricacies we hinted at in the course.

The experience additionally emphasized the compounding effect of small actions in conjunction with diverse thinking in producing optimal health outcomes. Using subtle body language, connecting with patients, providing reassurance, and more acts as such enhance the overall experience for the seeker and the provider. Moreover, it is important that such actions are nuanced and applicable to a diverse plethora of experiences, cultural expectations, and social norms..

What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you?

An experience that I will remember for the rest of my life is the first day of clinical experience. The cold room, the lingering anxiousness, and the nervous small talk filled the room from the student group. Everyone looked at each other with empathy and care, excited to try not something known but in fear to not cause inquiry. I knew patient care was where my ambitions lay, and I was intrigued to take on this experience. In my first venipuncture, nevertheless, I felt light-headed, and my hands were shaking as I inserted the needle in the vein. With the right supervision, I was successfully able to extract blood. The completion of this procedure gave me joy, leading to the further strengthening of my passion. This joy increased over time as my confidence improved with my experiences.

Proficiency in sticks was coupled with appropriate and expected practices for patient care. A patient’s satisfaction is not entirely tied to the success or failure of a venipuncture, there are a multitude of factors that can generate comfort and trust. The ability to connect and comfort is a key metric in positive outcomes. Watching my instructor make jokes, reassuring concerns, connecting with my background, being seated on the same level, and answering questions helped patients feel much more secure about the procedure. There were certain experiences where individuals were scared about being stuck or had previous sticks that did not go successfully. The number one lesson provided is that the ability to connect has its own power to heal.

Nevertheless, healing is not without nuance in thinking. Individuals come from a variety of backgrounds and one’s thoughts may not align with another. It is important to be familiar with the individual expectations and accepted connotations. It is important to not only be inclusive in expectations but also be inclusive in one’s own creativity. Think about unique ways to aid someone or bring a solution. Innovative thinking is key in such applications. Combining the process of innovation with small acts of comfort has not only transformed my view of patient care but has further augmented my pursuit of this. The factors in conjunction have bolstered my efforts to provide quality care to those in need.

Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?

This experience is further enhanced by the journey of pursuing medicine as a career. According to new projections published by the AAMC in March of earlier this year, the United States will face a physician shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036. There is an ever-growing need for healthcare as pathologies begin to increase in number. It is critical to meet this demand by providing individuals with affordable, accessible, quality care. In reference to Maslow’s Triangle of Human Needs, one needs to meet physiological needs before being motivated by self-actualization. Every individual has a universal right to healthcare and must obtain services promptly in order to climb the hierarchy and make a positive impact in the world. With this in mind, the experience of pursuing phlebotomy has facilitated my drive to serve people as a provider in the future.