|
Patrick Wharton |
 |
Hi!
I’m Patrick. I am currently
completing my second year of PA
School at Wayne State. I am very
lucky to be in this program and I
appreciate the opportunities I have
gained over the past few years.
I was born on the Westside of
Detroit. I originally lived in the
same house as my mom did growing up.
My mom was a teacher and she knew
many families in the neighborhood.
The neighborhood had begun to have
increasing criminal activity
including robberies and shootings.
My mom received a call one Saturday
morning from an older brother of one
of her students telling her to get
out of the house because the local
gang was heading through our street
robbing house by house. She took me,
(I was only 2 at the time) and we
left the house for the afternoon.
When we returned, we found out that
the gang got to our next door
neighbor’s house, the 4 year old boy
found his parents’ handgun and
pointed it at the gang members who
then left the house. After that day,
my parents decided we should move to
the suburbs.
I became interested in healthcare
when I was young and my brother was
diagnosed with neuroblastoma.
|
|
I
remember the day he was diagnosed, I
was at home with my dad and sister
when my mom was at the Rose Cancer
Center at Beaumont with my brother
who was about 15 months old at the
time. When my dad heard that my
brother was diagnosed with the rare
type of cancer, neuroblastoma, he
cried. That was the only time I ever
saw my dad cry. I remembered going
with my brother to the hospital for
his tests and chemo sessions, and I
became interested in going into
healthcare. I volunteered at various
hospitals in high school and college
and continued to be interested in
healthcare.
I graduated from Michigan State and
decided to pursue becoming a
Physician Assistant. I worked as a
Medical Technologist for a year and
then decided to join the Army. I
felt that I could do more with life
than what I was currently doing.
Joining the Army was a way to
travel, gain discipline, have fun
and do so sustainable. Joining the
Army was one of the best decisions I
have made in my life. I deployed to
Iraq as soon as I completed Medical
Service Corps Officer Training,
about one year after joining the
Army. I was blessed to be there with
some incredible Soldiers who I will
always remember. My main job in Iraq
was review the information we had on
where attacks were happening along
our main supply routes and develop
safe routes for our logistical
convoys to travel every night. I
received my EMT-Basic while in Iraq
and served on a team who would
transport injured Soldiers and
civilians from aircraft into the
hospital. One story from my time in
Iraq was that I was on the way to
our Easter Sunday Church Service and
was running about 10 minutes late. I
arrived to the chapel, walked in and
the service had just started. I was
wondering why the service was
starting late, because church never
started late. The first words the
pastor said were, “Thank you God for
keeping us safe from that mortar.” A
mortar had hit just outside of the
chapel and everyone had to get into
the bunkers until the “all clear”
announcement was made. We were
mortared and rocketed nearly
everyday, but luckily the Soldiers
of my Convoy Support Team stayed
safe throughout our whole
deployment. I am truly grateful for
my Active Duty Service Time and I am
currently serving in the Michigan
National Guard Medical Detachment.
After my Active Duty service in the
Army, I completed my B.S. in Nursing
degree and worked as a Nurse in a
Surgical Intensive Care Unit. I am
truly blessed and lucky to have the
opportunity to serve patients as a
Physician Assistant. I am grateful
to the staff, faculty and supporters
of the Wayne State Physician
Assistant Program who are making my
goal of becoming a Physician
Assistant a reality. |
|
