Annie

Bacon
Project 4- Philosophy

Since middle school, my passion has been to serve those in need in
developing countries. In 2008, I traveled to Tanzania and stayed with locals for two
weeks. Watching people hunt their food every day and walk three miles for fresh
water was a complete culture shock. While in Tanzania, I worked with a makeshift
medical team to administer influenza and malaria vaccinations. I also went to local
schools to educate teens on how to practice safe sex to prevent AIDS and unplanned
pregnancy. Locals waited for hours outside our building in a line in the burning heat
for treatment and education. I left Tanzania unsatisfied with the seemingly
miniscule impact I made. I realized that I could change lives and I wanted to help
more people. So, in 2009 I went to India for another medical mission. In 2010, I
served those in the Dominican Republic. Through these experiences, my passion to
promote health in developing countries was born.

I want to use my training in public health to assess the needs of those in
developing countries and implement programs that promote health. For example, I
would like to explore areas in Tanzania that have a high rate of AIDS and build
clinics in those areas that host activities to show locals that they are at risk for a
deadly disease, but that they have the capability and resources to prevent this
disease. So, I will use the Health Belief Model to help change risky behavior. I would
also like to offer STD testing in these clinics as well as free condoms. I believe my
background in public health will enable me to improve the health of a population
living in a developing nation because I have the skills to help people achieve the next
level of their personal readiness to change their behavior.

Besides working with medical teams to improve the health of those in
developing countries, my work experience in the public health field includes
volunteer work and an observer program at Mayo Clinic, involvement in the Juvenile
Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) club at school, and volunteer work at B2
Medgroup. My background in the field has given me first hand experience of the
public health method (assess, plan, implement, evaluate) used to help people
achieve the next level of their personal readiness to change their behavior. For
example, when volunteering in the outpatient rehabilitation unit at Mayo Clinic, I
watched physical therapists assess patients current level of health and plan and
implement activities that would allow the patient to reach the next level of health. In
the future, I plan to continue my volunteer work at Mayo Clinic so I can gain
knowledge and experience in the clinical side of healthcare. I also plan to join Eta
Sigma Gamma, a national health education honorary that gives students hands on
experience in healthcare and promotes professional growth and leadership. After
graduation, I plan to attend Nursing School at the University of North Florida.