Friday, December 9, 2016

From A to HBV

When I entered SUU I had a very narrow understanding of what science was in general. In high school I had taken and liked classes such as chemistry biology but I got my first taste for real science when I took AP biology. Up to this point in my life I had breezed through every class that was set in my path. This biology class was about to change that. I remember my first assignment, a three-page paper on the properties of water. What a pointless point paper I thought, how was I supposed to come up with more than a paragraph? I when to my bio book for support and soon found myself that three pages was going to hard to write not because it was too long but too short. After this assignment I learned that the world was not as clear a picture as I had thought that it was. This helped me to understand that I needed to reduce the assumptions that I held. This mentality pushed me to have a more exploring personality that served me well when I started my college experience some years later. Because of these experiences I had a pretty big investment in science and I entered with a chemistry major declaration. My views helped to shape my desire to pursue a future career in medicine.
From this semester I have gained an understanding of what science really is. It is messy. There is hardly ever a this is this and that is that scenario but rather a this is this when in this situation and that when It is in this situation with the exception of when that is this and only when this this is that that. This exposes a real side of science that attracts a certain type of person. This person is drawn to seek understanding. This is something that I have been developing in myself and striving to become. This is similar to how my understanding of the world has changed as a result to this class. I think the biggest change has to do with depth. I have often looked into the depth of the science behind a particular situation but never really considered the social, economical, or other far reaching topics. For example, this semester we talked about a topic that I had previously known just about every nook and cranny of the science. Diabetes is a topic I have covered in pathophysiology, advanced nutrition, diet therapy, and vertebrate physiology. Needless to say I have peeled back the layers of this onion for quite some time. However when we talked about It in class one we were assigned to read on a topic I had never studied, economics. I learned of the economic cost of people with diabetes and the impact that this has on the current medical landscape.

When I graduate I will be going on to an other schooling adventure called medical school. In this I will once again start to learn science in a new level of understanding. I will need this knowledge to complete my goals be being able to diagnose problems and diseases that affect my patients. The world that I will be joining will incorporate all of the knowledge I have obtained and all that I will gain. I will be able to make this world a better place when I have gained the proper training. It will not be a huge change in the worldview but it will be a large change in the individuals I will be able to serve.

7 comments:

  1. I agree that science is so vast in its information that we don't really know everything about one thing because there are so many parts. It's a good thing that people like us who are interested are willing to put in the time to understand the different parts of science and medicine better. Great job, and good luck/have fun in med school!

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  3. I agree in that science has also broadened my scope on how the world works. I think it is so interesting to see how far each of us have come. I also can echo what you said concerning seeking understanding. Great job on this essay!

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  4. Boy, I would have freaked out trying to write a 3 page paper on the properties of water. I think I had the same experience as you in high school and later on in college. I think that applying the information that we now know will only help in the future in treating patients and helping all of them in becoming healthier. Thank you for sharing.

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  5. I agree science is always changing; you could say it shares one of the properties of water, in its figurative fluidity. I wish you the best of luck in your journey through medical school.

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  6. Maintaining an open mind does indeed help with altering your perspective based on new information that one is presented with. I think you did an excellent job in illustrating that point. That realization has also helped me to see that the world at its basest level is never the same and is full of exceptions to our preconceived notions. Whether it be with disease, behavior, economics, politics, war, or even religion. I'm glad your experience at SUU has been so enlightening. It also has been for me.

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