As Yashvi Purohit graduated high school, her vision of the future was clear, she wanted to become a doctor. Yashvi was one of 15 students from The School District of Palm Beach County to be awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the HCA Florida JFK Medical Staff Scholarship. As a Medical Academy student, she obtained certifications in CPR, AED, Electrocardiogram (EKG) technician, and EMS at Jupiter Community High School. Her time spent shadowing and volunteering at Jupiter Medical Center and St. Mary’s Hospital instilled the faith she needed to follow her ambitions. Let’s learn more about Yashiva…
What skills did you develop during your clinical experience?
I’ve stood by the side of doctors in the Oncology, Hematology, Pediatrics, Plastics, and Gastrointestinal departments. The most important thing I learned is the importance of communication and how a doctor carries themselves. Through my personal interactions with both the doctor and patients, I observed a unique view of how much tone can affect the dynamic of the exam room. In the Oncologist and Hematologists office, I got to adopt this approachable persona when I walked patients to their rooms and made sure they were comfortable.
At the Plastic surgeon’s office, I was asked to execute an EKG exam on my own. This allowed me to execute what I’d been learning regarding patient care by answering her questions and putting her at ease before beginning the exam. I have always enjoyed the scientific part of medicine but this experience allowed me to figure out that I enjoy personal interactions just as much.
I have also been volunteering in Jupiter Medical Center’s Gastrointestinal Lab. I have learned about the business side of running a hospital/office: ordering supplies, scheduling, logistics, beds ready, restocking, and insurance. This work strengthened my skills in multitasking and organization; in order for everything to run smoothly, you have to be thinking of hospital needs well in advance. Through these experiences, I’ve learned there is more to being a doctor than just medicine. My clinical experience has taught me the depth of being a doctor. I got to explore the patient care side and the business side as a high school student in various settings and teams of doctors, which is a rare opportunity; moreover, I’ve been able to develop my communication skills with patients, which is critical for patient care.
How has community service inspired you?
My volunteering experience has helped me decide what to do with my career. My pediatrician initially inspired me. At the age of four, in my eyes, what she did was magical. She was able to take the pain away from kids and make them happy. She helped so many kids around me, including myself. Since then, I have been the first person to stand up to support others. I believe that Healthcare is one of the fields where everything you do is helping someone. As a high schooler, I developed an interest in Healthcare from the scientific portion and my interest in helping others. My volunteering experience at Susan G Komen proved to me how much a doctor or physician can change a patient’s life and how grateful the patient is for that.
What experiences have impacted your career path?
Growing up, I traveled to India often, taking clothes to donate to homeless children. My family members talked down on it as connecting with the homeless is considered taboo. Struck by the genuine need for public health, I became inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and founded a club that organized community service projects to reduce inequality and promote wellness. In one such project, we created a schoolwide drive for sanitary products to donate to a foster home for teenage girls. These girls were going into a time when their bodies were making changes that they were completely uninformed about. Working in the medical field would allow me to greatly impact the lives of women globally through education and access to contraception. I would particularly like to influence women in underdeveloped nations who may be forced into sex work with no choices for contraception and not enough education for other means of sustaining their families. Without options, they become more and more dependent on this work. I would like to break this cycle with education about how to prevent conception and to find other work opportunities.
Congratulations, Yashvi! You are an inspiration.
