Rheumatology Personal Statement

My interest in rheumatology started early in life when listening to my father speak to his patients as I helped out in his private clinic in Colombia. At that time, I was just finishing high school and too young to understand the details of the conversations, but they triggered my curiosity, which was the seed that finally resulted in my decision to apply for this fellowship. I also worked with him on my medical school vacations and in my free time as well as on the rotations provided by my program in Colombia.

Soon after graduation from medical school, I started working part time for my father and another general practitioner, managing patients under his supervision. I also taught my father’s third-year medical students and soon had the opportunity to teach second-year medical students in the anatomy lab at my alma mater. Both these experiences led me to consider a new direction in my life. I no longer wanted to just sit in an office and treat patients; sharing my knowledge with others became another reason to wake up in the morning and to go to work and break the everyday monotony.

My job included evaluating patients and managing the research team, including ensuring that the medical team and research coordinators were following the study’s protocols. Together we improved the quality of care delivered to our patients by improving the process of taking patient samples to expedite their processing by the laboratory and initiating the establishment of an infusion clinic. We also obtained approvals from the health authorities, reviewed upcoming studies, and negotiated with the study’s sponsors, among other tasks. From this experience, I learned that promoting change is difficult and that you can expect to encounter resistance. However, by persevering and acting with noble intentions, we managed to achieve our