Ms. Aw speaks about her personal journey of starting in the medical field when she worked as a 'Candy Striper' Volunteer at a geriatric nursing home as a young teen in her book entitled "Mom & Dad, I Want to Work in the Medical Field: Your Child Can Learn Medical Terminology Early in Life," published by Lulu.com.
Anita Brown, who is one of many college students who is studying to become a health care professional comments: "It is becoming more difficult to decide which medical course to take in this vast field due to the financial strain of taking so many courses in order to get a broad knowledge in this one field. I wish learning medical terminology was being offered when I was attending middle school, and throughout high school. I think by doing so would have allowed me to decide which medical specialty I'm interested in learning, and focus solely on my chosen field." Ms. Aw points out in her book how so many of the present medical field course titles, such as: pre-nursing, medical laboratory technician, medical assistant, medical office assistant, medical transciption, phlebotomy, etc., that are offered in a myriad of two-year colleges across the country have been dissected into 'piece-meal' courses to the point that receiving a thorough education in this field has weaken, and have become financially burdensome, in both time and money, which is perhaps why these courses are offered on an independent basis, instead of "beefing it up," and teach it in 'one sitting' for a slightly longer period of time!
Ms. Aw reaches out to the young student readers without insulting their intelligence when she explains how they should respect the importance of understanding the human body, its relationship to the root words, prefixes, and suffixes already being taught in school, and to respect their own bodies. The author writes her book as if she is speaking to one of her own children, or someone else's, in a manner that invokes the young reader to 'think independently,' without dictating what is the best method to use to remember basic medical terminology, or any other material.
Decades before President Obama's cries to America's call to revamp our country's public & private educational school system, Miriam advocated for years as to how so many teachers treat our middle school age students throughout America who are between elementary and high school grades, most of whom are already feeling disjointed in hopes to find their own 'footing,' or 'place' in society, as if they have no 'sense of belonging' within our society by not listening to their concerns, or answering their questions about a subject matter, the material taught, or general simplistic life concerns. In addition, too many of our nation's educators are invoking their 20th Century fearful tactical methodological way of educating a generation of outspoken, intelligent, and observant 21st Century young people, who are essentially thirsty & hungry to gain knowledge, but are not being fed the necessary knowledge to become complete in order to compete. Hence, Ms. Aw's takes issue that such occurences is perhaps why there are so many high school drop-outs, gangs in our country, as well as the overwhelming growth of independently owned & run [franchised]
"Mom & Dad, I Want to Work in the Medical Field . . . " is a unique beginner's guidebook for middle school age (and high school) youngsters who have aspirations in becoming a doctor, nurse, medical transcriber, medical biller & coder, or in another capacity as a health care professional. The author encouragingly points out to the young reader, particularly to high school age students, that if they exhibit an inherent 'know how,' 'talent,' or 'gift' in cosmetology (hair, nails); The Arts (drawing, sketching, singing, etc.); cooking/baking, or can formulate complicated technology, etc., that they, too, can become a health care professional by combining their personal talents to create a whole new position, or genre in the field of medicine.
Unlike other medical terminology books written by doctors, and/or nurses for college, and older students, that includes artistic medical illustrations, which are vitally essential in the development of understanding the anatomy & physiology of the human body, Miriam, a wife and mother of three, decided against using anatomical & physiological medical illustrations in her book because she feels our 21st Century youngsters have manifested and demonstrated their skill to master other forms of language, which is being overlooked entirely by so many parents and educators. They are learning, understanding, and using the skill of "text messaging" family, friends, teachers, etc., on their cell phones, Blackberry, or via the Internet, by using abbreviations and acronyms proficiently without the benefit of artistic graphics or illustrations. "Texting"
Due to Ms. Aw's personal experiences growing up as a young teen attending a four year vocational high school in the Bronx to learn about the medical field, she confidently believes that much like learning another language (i.e., Spanish, Chinese, Hebrew, Arabic, French, English), and what is already being taught in schools regarding root words, prefixes, and suffixes, Miriam insist that our middle school age youngsters need to know the significance of words, its origin, and how it relates to them in a way that can be easily ingested and digested, so by the time these knowledgeable young people enter into high school as a freshman, they will be in the position to take on incremental doses of additional information involving their career choice throughout the four years of high school more readily - without racking their brains to remember everything at one time when they become a freshman in college, or any other school that offers the same when pursuing their post-secondary education! Miriam comments: "As an example of a New York City public school education growing up in the southeastern section of Bronx, New York, I often reflect about how the teachers in my day encourgaged me, and my peers, to be vocal with our thoughts or beliefs, insisted we ask questions when we were not sure about something, and to think independently, and provocatively without fearing what our peers may say about what we feel, think, or believe." Miriam calls this 'whole education,' the basic core principles of teaching that we need to get back into our schools, and eradicate 'partial education' taught by teachers who manifest their personal fears, negative views, and lack of vision & faith in our youths within our public & private schools throughout America.
Miriam G. Aw's "Mom & Dad, I Want to Work in the Medical Field: . . .," published by Lulu.com, is a 21st Century approach to teach our younger generation early in life, today, to become future health care professionals, tomorrow!
