Physician Assistant Student Mikayla Brown describes why COPE Health Scholars is a hub of opportunity.

A pivotal time in Ms. Mikayla Brown’s academic journey began with the COPE Health
Scholars Program in June 2015 at St. Joseph Hospital of Orange (SJO). As a member of
the second cohort of Health Scholars at SJO, Mikayla had the opportunity to practice a
variety of nursing skills in most of the units she rotated through, including Orthopedics,
General Surgery, Mother Baby, Definitive Step-Down Unit (DSU), Critical Care Unit (MICU),
Emergency Care Center (ECC), Labor & Delivery, Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT),
Cardiovascular (CVSSU) and the Infusion Center. This variety of clinical experiences at
SJO greatly enhanced both her personal and professional growth. She says, “With every
shift I had the opportunity to form new questions, learn new methods, techniques, and
modalities, and create new goals for myself and the provider.”

During her time at SJO, Mikayla also joined the COPE Health Scholars Leadership Team.
As a Leader, she found the opportunity to mentor fellow future health care professionals
inspiring. Mikayla’s goal is to share her clinical experiences and knowledge in hopes of
teaching others how to provide the best care possible. Ironically, her mentorship of others
has in turn, motivated her to continue learning and improving her own clinical and patient
care skills. One of the main reasons she highly values mentoring in the realm of health care
is that she knows these individuals will one day become her colleagues.

In January 2019, Mikayla graduated from the COPE Health Scholars Program at SJO.
Although her time on the Leaders Team has ended she doesn’t intend to stop mentoring.
As a student who has shadowed and learned from numerous providers, Mikayla hopes to
continue the cycle of mentorship when she becomes a health care provider herself. She
would like to be a resource for and provide the same chances to those embarking on their
own health care journey. Mikayla has the following advice for all Health Scholars:
“Life-altering experiences happen everywhere every day, and the [COPE] Health Scholars
Program is a hub of opportunity for those with the motivation. I’d like to remind you
that these encounters – regardless of whether it’s filling a water canister, observing a
peripherally central catheter insertion, or observing a woman bring a new life into this
world – influence both ends; they shape you as a future health care provider and impact
what could be a patient’s most exciting, terrifying, or possibly final days. Carry on with
kindness, sincerity, and humility; it will take you further than you can imagine.”

Ms. Mikayla Brown’s greatest takeaway from the COPE Health Scholars Programs was the
vast professional network that she developed. These connections aided her in attaining
a job as an Obstetrician Technician in the Labor & Delivery unit at SJO, in her academic
pursuits as a Physician Assistant (PA) student at Chapman University and in her personal
and professional growth as a health care provider.

Written by:

Brendan Barth, Program Manager at St. Joseph Hospital

Rachael Aquino, Senior Program Manager at Adventist Health Castle