My name is Jefferson, I am a Pre-Med student at the University of Milwaukee, working part time as a Medical Assistant with the goal of getting into medical school. Before embarking on the journey to become a physician, I was in the process of developing a career in Supply Chain management. There, I was responsible for bringing in material required to assemble a variety of healthcare products like X-Ray, MRI and anesthesia. Then, 2020 came along and most of the world came to a standstill. As the world slowed down, I reflected on what I was doing with my career and asked myself if this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The answer was no, and decided to return to school and pursue a career in healthcare.

After my first year of schooling was completed, in 2021, I was fortunate enough to find a job as a Medical Assistant at Sixteenth Street Community Clinic where we help struggling families get access to healthcare. Rooming patients, taking vitals, taking down their chief complaint and administering medication were some my main day-to-day responsibilities, but I also provided interpretation services for those families whose primary language is only Spanish. During my first week on the floor, I had to interpret a difficult case for a provider, the interaction I was able to observe between the provider and patient helped solidify my career choice.

One of the biggest challenges for Healthcare Practioners that I see on the horizon is the growth of Health Social Media Influencers who can undermine a Provider’s orders resulting in devastating consequences. To combat the spread of misinformation sowed by the influencers, I believe that a provider must be able to listen attentively to the patients concern and provide comprehensive explanation to them. My goal is to make every patient feel that they are in a safe space while they are being evaluated in the exam room, a practice that which I have started while working as an MA.

Another job that I have is that of swim instructor, being that I am a former competitive swimmer, I teach swim lessons on the side from 3-year-olds to 65 years olds. On my own time, I like to free climb (bouldering), weightlift, yoga, read/write, and play strategy video games.