Hello! My name is Jenna Gooding and I am a Clemson University alumni in Clemson. I graduated from Statesville Christian School in 2020 and from Clemson University in May of 2024 with a bachelor of science degree in Spanish and International Health. I plan on attending PA school in hopes to become a pediatric physician’s assistant. Passion is something that drives me towards this goal every day. I have a very large family, so I have always grown up around other kids, which has allowed me growth in that area of care.
In the past 9 years, I have had a few different jobs and internships, in which I learned many skills. I worked for 5 years at a boat and jetski rental company on Lake Norman in NC. In this job, I had many positions including making reservations, doing operation walkthroughs and financial closings, and training other employees. This allowed me to build upon communication, technology, and adaptation skills. I also did an internship during summer 2022, in which I worked at a law firm in Surfside, SC. While this wasn’t on my list of potential careers, I wanted to experience different settings, and get a feel for different fields of work. I did confirm that it was not the right job for me, but the experience gave me new skills, such as improved critical thinking. This skill will assist me in assessments of childrens’ health and diseases.
One of the most impactful internships that I participated in was one that I did while studying abroad in Toledo, Spain. I interned at the National Hospital of Paraplegics in Toledo, where I got to shadow physical therapists, as well as participate in research of patients with spinal cord injuries. This experience truly allowed me to get a feel of what it would be like to work in a healthcare setting. It definitely confirmed my desire to work in medicine. I got practice in patient charting and patient interactions, and I was able to practice my Spanish in a healthcare setting, which is something I had never done. One of the most important skills I gained from interning at that hospital is cultural competence. There are a lot of differences between healthcare in different countries, and I knew that before, but when I actually experienced it, it was something that I had to learn again. This cultural competence will help me in my future as a PA because I will be able to adjust my thinking when assessing patients whose culture differs from the norm.
Another important skill I learned from my internship in Spain is how to interact with patients. I learned that it takes patience and careful dialogue. This was especially true when working with patients that didn’t speak English or Spanish very well. For example, there was a patient who was arabic, and we had to figure out how to communicate with him in the best way. This is important because with health assessments, it is important that the information is clear. We were first trying to just speak very slowly and clearly, but this was not working. We then were trying to translate each question one by one. However, at this point I remembered I had an application on my phone that translated whole documents with just a picture of it. We then used that application, so he could read all of the questions in Arabic without us taking time to translate each question one at a time. Practicing having patience in healthcare will improve my skills in the area of pediatrics specifically. This is because many times while working with the children in the internship, they would cry, complain, and not listen to the physical therapists. However, each time this happened, the physical therapists would not lose their temper, but instead comforted and encouraged the kids. This is an area I then realized I needed to work on.
I would like to continue my journey in healthcare settings to confirm the specific path I want to take in the future. I am planning on interning again in the near future to help me narrow down my choices for jobs. I am also planning to shadow under a physician’s assistant, as well as a pediatrician. My previous experience in the workforce has led to my current skills: effective communication, public speaking, conflict resolution, constructive criticism, and cultural competence. My core values are to incorporate enthusiasm into my everyday life, perform my best, contribute service in many different areas, and keep my values close while also learning and respecting other peoples’ values.