Since she can remember, Quana Lee Ticket has wanted to help people. The 36-year-old from Noorvik was lucky enough to know what she wanted to do with her life since childhood. And now, with a family and a dream she never gave up on, Ticket has graduated as a physician's assistant from the University of Washington.
She grew up in Noorvik and moved to Anchorage after high school to further her education. She graduated as a Certified Medical Assistant and after working in Anchorage for several years, went back to the Northwest Arctic to work as a health aide in Selawik, where her husband is from.
"When I was a health aide, the elders were always so encouraging, their encouraging words stuck in my mind all through PA school and although a lot of the elders are gone, their encouragement pushed me toward my goal," Ticket said last week. "I am very thankful to the elders for their love and encouraging words."
After spending five years in Selawik she, her husband and her two sons moved back to Anchorage where she continued work as a medical assistant. But she wanted to do more. She wanted to help more.
And so, in her mid-30s, she went back to school. Along with working fulltime and continuing her duties at home, Ticket started taking prerequisites to pursue another degree.
Ticket applied and was accepted to the PA program at the University of Washington, which required her to move there for a stint. Once back in Anchorage, she spent long hours in the classroom and longer hours studying at home. Something she could never have accomplished without the ongoing support of her family, especially her husband, she said.
"It was challenging, medical school in two years basically, and I had to be really dedicated," she said.
Ticket graduated last month and plans to hone her skills at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage for a couple of years before returning to rural life.
"I'm very excited to help not only the people of our region, but all throughout Alaska," she said. "I think it's worth it because I will be able to be a voice for the Native people of our region and all over. I've seen far too many young people perish from cancer that was too far spread. I'm not saying that I'm going to save all the people from cancer but I want to help our people get the help they need and to educate them about preventative care and screening exams they need to screen for cancer and other diseases."
Being able to help others, while showing her sons that anything is possible if you set your mind to it, was all part of her grand plan for going back to school, she said.
"I missed a lot of my sons' basketball games because I had to study, but it's worth it, I think," she said. "Just to provide a better life and also show my kids that they, too, can go to school and accomplish whatever they want."
For Ticket, going back to school in her 30s was daunting at first. Times have changed and lots of little things, like math, have been forgotten over the years, she laughed.
"There was a lot of memorizing and I had to read the same things over and over and over until it was stuck in my brain," she said.
Being a health aide in Selawik for several years helped Ticket when it came time to hit the books again, she said. Health aides are often the only medical staff in the smaller, rural communities and therefore have to treat whatever injuries or ailments come through the door.
"We're basically like the doctors out there," she said. "We have to do exams and there's a lot of trauma; we save a lot of lives out there. And all that training and experience really helped me during school."
As a PA, Ticket will be licensed to examine patients, diagnose illnesses, take the patient's history, develop and carry out treatment plans, suture wounds, and prescribe medications under the supervision of a doctor. The scope is not quite as broad as a medical doctor, but it's close.
"My goal is to go back to the village, but I want to get more experience here first so I know what I'm doing," she said.
Ticket plans to specialize in primary care to start, but may choose another specialty later on.
But first she still has to take the certifying exam later this month to complete the process, she said.
"Most of all I thank God for his continuous help and all who prayed for me," Ticket said. "All glory goes to God."
This story first appeared in The Arctic Sounder and is republished here with permission.
Correction: This story originally identified Quana Lee Ticket as Quana Lee.