I've met a lot of people who are cynical about pre-medical students. I've heard such students being profiled as the grade mongers, the goody two-shoes, and the experience collectors. For a while, I bought into these sentiments. But as I progressed on my own pre-medical journey, I started to realize that these qualities aren't as bad as they sound. Don't we need doctors who are aggressive about their continued learning, who abide by personal and collective moral laws and go out of their way to help people, and who are well-rounded enough to relate to patients of a wide variety of backgrounds and personalities? I'd like to think that in the past four years, I've learned from knowledge and experience how to encompass these qualities to an extent that is appropriate for a doctor. Below is how I sold myself as a potential physician to prospective schools:
Medical School Personal Statement
I remember being at a sleepover at my cousin’s house and my mother waking me up in the middle of the night to ask if I was having chest pain. I learned that my aunt had called her to say that I was having a heart attack. I was nine years old. I wasn't having a heart attack. I didn't really know what one was. That was my first introduction to mental as well as physical illnesses. Later as a pre-med student shadowing physicians, I saw patients who had actually had heart attacks as well as patients with paranoia like my aunt, and I saw how disruptive either could be to individuals and families.
What intrigued me while shadowing was the crucial role each physician had in the lives of patients and families. Physicians needed not only knowledge and problem-solving skills to reach a differential diagnosis, but also a willingness to understand each patient’s life situation to design a treatment plan appropriate for that individual. I grasped the importance of this approach while shadowing a urologist who was considering Botox for two patients with spastic bladder. Both were of similar age and presented with similar symptoms. Aware that one patient’s occupation involved heavy lifting, the doctor opted not to give him Botox injections, an invasive procedure he feared would cause abdominal pain and interfere with physical activity. After seeing similar situations while working with primary care physicians and various other specialists, I learned that effective treatment depends not only on using textbook knowledge to address a health concern, but also on considering patients and their individual circumstances to best help them. I feel that meeting this challenge is what makes a physician’s work deeply satisfying.
Medical School Personal Statement
I remember being at a sleepover at my cousin’s house and my mother waking me up in the middle of the night to ask if I was having chest pain. I learned that my aunt had called her to say that I was having a heart attack. I was nine years old. I wasn't having a heart attack. I didn't really know what one was. That was my first introduction to mental as well as physical illnesses. Later as a pre-med student shadowing physicians, I saw patients who had actually had heart attacks as well as patients with paranoia like my aunt, and I saw how disruptive either could be to individuals and families.
What intrigued me while shadowing was the crucial role each physician had in the lives of patients and families. Physicians needed not only knowledge and problem-solving skills to reach a differential diagnosis, but also a willingness to understand each patient’s life situation to design a treatment plan appropriate for that individual. I grasped the importance of this approach while shadowing a urologist who was considering Botox for two patients with spastic bladder. Both were of similar age and presented with similar symptoms. Aware that one patient’s occupation involved heavy lifting, the doctor opted not to give him Botox injections, an invasive procedure he feared would cause abdominal pain and interfere with physical activity. After seeing similar situations while working with primary care physicians and various other specialists, I learned that effective treatment depends not only on using textbook knowledge to address a health concern, but also on considering patients and their individual circumstances to best help them. I feel that meeting this challenge is what makes a physician’s work deeply satisfying.
The University of Washington’s Health Care Alternative Spring Break (HCASB), a program through which undergraduates shadow physicians in rural and under-served communities, introduced me to a part of medical care that is increasingly important for a large segment of our country’s population. I will never forget the Yakima Neighborhood homeless clinic, where I saw many patients with medical conditions that were uncommon in the city clinics where I shadowed. I was particularly touched by a young patient my own age with Spina Bifida, which I learned likely could have been prevented if his mother had been given vitamins during her pregnancy. The Yakima clinic physicians told me that poor health education, poverty, and language were barriers to delivering adequate health care in this community, but they felt a lot of professional satisfaction working in a community health environment. My week at this clinic helped me begin developing a long-term interest in community health, a setting in which I feel I can prime myself to best utilize my future training as a physician.
Studying community health through the lens of my medical anthropology major stimulated me to seek a first-hand perspective on the systemic issues in health care. While volunteering in the remote Darien province of Panama under the guidance of physicians, I led workshops for the local population in Spanish about preventable illnesses. However, after talking to them I learned that the government had not enacted many of the promised health care policies that would have minimized the prevalence of these illnesses. This experience has helped me connect issues in policy, malnutrition, education, and infrastructure to health care access, introducing me to the challenges and benefits of studying the specific health care needs of a community and contextualizing those needs in physician-level strategies to address them. I have become more aware of how health care is evolving in the United States and how the interplay between policies and social inequities will affect my ability to provide proper care as a physician here.
To share this perspective with peers and expand my own understanding of health care issues in under-served populations, as current vice president of HCASB I recently initiated a subprogram at the University of Washington engaging students with thought-provoking documentaries and guest speakers from departments of medicine, anthropology, and public health. The subprogram will address issues that I personally saw in rural clinics, such as short-staffing, the emotional burden on the physicians, and long wait times for patients. In designing the program and reflecting on my current medical experiences, I am learning the importance of simultaneously striving to meet the immediate needs of patients and considering how future policies and attitudes must adapt to improve health care in our country.
I am ready to take the next step in developing my perspectives and skills in health care through medical school training. My passion is to be part of the future generation of physicians that takes on the challenge of providing quality, compassionate health care for all.
Studying community health through the lens of my medical anthropology major stimulated me to seek a first-hand perspective on the systemic issues in health care. While volunteering in the remote Darien province of Panama under the guidance of physicians, I led workshops for the local population in Spanish about preventable illnesses. However, after talking to them I learned that the government had not enacted many of the promised health care policies that would have minimized the prevalence of these illnesses. This experience has helped me connect issues in policy, malnutrition, education, and infrastructure to health care access, introducing me to the challenges and benefits of studying the specific health care needs of a community and contextualizing those needs in physician-level strategies to address them. I have become more aware of how health care is evolving in the United States and how the interplay between policies and social inequities will affect my ability to provide proper care as a physician here.
To share this perspective with peers and expand my own understanding of health care issues in under-served populations, as current vice president of HCASB I recently initiated a subprogram at the University of Washington engaging students with thought-provoking documentaries and guest speakers from departments of medicine, anthropology, and public health. The subprogram will address issues that I personally saw in rural clinics, such as short-staffing, the emotional burden on the physicians, and long wait times for patients. In designing the program and reflecting on my current medical experiences, I am learning the importance of simultaneously striving to meet the immediate needs of patients and considering how future policies and attitudes must adapt to improve health care in our country.
I am ready to take the next step in developing my perspectives and skills in health care through medical school training. My passion is to be part of the future generation of physicians that takes on the challenge of providing quality, compassionate health care for all.