Kaitlyn Stokarski

Quinnipiac University Physician Assistant Program

I was born and raised in Springfield, Vermont. I graduated from Springfield’s public high school, then attended Quinnipiac University for my bachelor’s degree in health sciences.

I have volunteered at my local Meals on Wheels for many years, and this past year I began helping deliver meals to homes in addition to serving. This volunteer experience in particular has shown me how appreciative the recipients of service are, as well as how much they rely upon service.

I am interested in in the Urban Service Track/AHEC Scholars program in order to learn how I can make traditional primary care more of a holistic practice. Contemporary healthcare providers often make the mistake of not seeing the patient as an individual, which diminishes their capacity to treat the patient. Essential questions, such as questions about patients’ daily lives and the barriers they face, are often not asked, and certain default answers are assumed. Without asking these questions, healthcare providers cannot hope to fully understand the patient or the patient’s needs. The complications and barriers patients face are, in part, the responsibility of the provider; to fulfill her function, the provider must be able to take such obstacles into account. Healthcare cannot stop at the office visit, but rather must be integrated with the lives of patients.