07/22/2024
Kaleb Braun always knew he would pursue some form of medical care as a career, but an unexpected trip to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy solidified his plans to become a physician assistant.
In June, Kaleb went to the Baptist Parkridge Emergency Department after suffering all night from a bad stomachache. He later had an emergency appendectomy. After the care he received from his “excellent, compassionate, calming medical team,” he said, “I could tell this is something I want to do. I learned a lot about how to treat a patient from being a patient.”
Kaleb’s dad wrote a letter to the team thanking them for the great medical care but also for being “friendly, responsible, professional” and for “the authentic concern, support and encouragement they provided.”
“He is only 18; this was his first time obtaining medical emergency help on his own,” Daniel Braun said. “The staff did an amazing job by not only immediately recognizing the severity of the situation but also identifying his nervousness … they calmed him and provided reassurance.”
When the nurses learned about Kaleb’s intention to pursue a career as a physician’s assistant, they provided him guidance and contact information for shadowing and volunteer opportunities.
Daniel wrote, “EVERY staff member we interacted with – from Security and the front counter staff to the surgical and recovery team – provided continuous reassurance, clear and concise information on a level that a young adult could understand, and all-around genuine excellence in medical care.”
Kaleb recently graduated high school and is part of the University of South Carolina–Midlands Tech Bridge Program. In two years, he hopes to transfer to the College of Charleston’s medical program.
Acute care nurse Disney Cuddington said, “Learning from Kaleb's parents that he had an interest in entering the medical field gave me such joy! Our field is always in need of kind, passionate individuals with good hearts, something I knew right away about Kaleb. He was in pain and nervous about what was going on, but he was still grateful to staff.”
She added, “Our jobs are tough. We see terrible things too often, and the community can rarely understand. Hearing how our care positively impacted Kaleb and solidified his desire to join our field brings great satisfaction to me – and we will count that as a big win!”
