Admissions Essay - Medicine an Elusive, Tempestuous Creature We shall not cease from exploration/ And the end of our exploring Will be to arrive where we started/ And know the place for the first time T.S. Elliot Four Quartets Medicine has proven to be an elusive, tempestuous creature. It has appeared to me in visions nightmarish and calm, despairing and joyous. My pursuit has been an odyssey, taking me farther into my heart than I ever dreamed possible. However, before I could even begin to approach the emotional, physical and Intellectual demands of a physician's life, I had to gain a better understanding of myself, my identity and beliefs. Only with this stronger sense of self have I felt the confidence to give my best and my all, and to make my contribution to society. My first in-depth exposure to medicine was as a high school Intern at the Children's Cancer Research Institute (CCRI) In San Francisco. It was a disturbing, If fascinating, Introduction to oncology. I witnessed a holocaust from within --pain, fear and horror in patients my own age and younger. The Internship compelled me to reconsider my commitment to medicine, and persuaded me to resolve my feelings about death and dying and perhaps investigate other careers. At the same time, the patients so inspired me, and I felt so glad to be alive after I left CCRI, that I could never really forget. It became an image seared into my memory, a standard by which I judged all other experience. In college, opportunities for travel and exploration beckoned me away from medicine. I researched and wrote about America's heartland and the California coastline for Let's Go: USA. My interest in Americana led to an Internship at Common Cause In Washington DC, where I organized citizens' lobbying efforts. I found Journalism and law pleasant diversions, but under no circumstances would I wish to remain. Though extremely worthy professions, they did not suit my particular tastes. Nonetheless, they did give me a firm grasp of my stand on political and social Issues, and further piqued my Interest in travel and exploration. During my junior year in England, I did some serious introspection. My British friends, though in a friendly manner, challenged my most basic assumptions, and by doing so, challenged me. Everything, from the way I held my dinner fork to my egalitarianism, was fair game.
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Show MoreA career in medicine has been a childhood dream for me. I was born and raised in a small and underdeveloped city in Sri Lanka, where hospitals and doctors were sparse. At the age of ten, I lost my father due to a lack of immediate medical care. Shortly thereafter, a civil war erupted and I witnessed countless deaths throughout my childhood. At a young age, I understood that many deaths could have been avoided, if the sick and injured had access to medical professionals. These experiences have fueled my passionate desire to live my life as a physician.
The motivation to pursue Medicine as a career is frequently presented as a few typical clichés. Some say “I’ve always known that Medicine was the career for me.” While others tout “I was often sick as a child” thus “the hospital was an integral part of my life” while others use the typical “Dr. _______ changed my life and I always wanted to be just like him/ her”. While some these things ring true of my own life experience, there were numerous, sometimes unrelated factors, that have influenced my decision and fueled my desire to pursue Medicine. However, I am particularly drawn to Internal Medicine because of its complex problem solving opportunities, emphasis on team centered care, and the never-ending learning opportunities it affords.
The motivation to pursue Medicine as a career have been frequently presented as a few typical clichés. Some say “I’ve always known that Medicine was the career for me.” Others say “I was often sick as a child” thus “the hospital was an integral part of my life” while others use the typical “Dr. ________ changed my life and I always wanted to be just like him/ her”. While some these things ring true of my own life experience, there were numerous, sometimes unrelated things, that have influenced my decision and fueled my desire to pursue Medicine. I am particularly drawn to Internal Medicine because of its complex problem solving opportunities, emphasis on team centered adult care, and the never-ending learning opportunities it affords.
Medicine appeals to me as a humanistic, challenging field that offers an opportunity to help people in the most vital aspect of their lives; their health. Medicine has passionately appealed to me from my early childhood. I come from a family of doctors. My father, who is my role model, taught me two important aspects in the field of medicine: To reduce suffering & do no harm to patients. With this strong foundation, as my basis and support, entrance into a rural medical school was out of fascination for the intricate human architecture and its functioning. Being constantly in touch with the field of medicine through my father and other fellow doctors and through 6 years of medical school and rotations, I realized that Internal Medicine has evolved as mother of all branches. That is what sparked my interest in pursing a career in Internal Medicine.
As a responsible adult would you ever knowingly send a child into a dangerous situation? The majority of adults would say of course not, but unfortunately this is exactly what happens up to five days a week through much of the school year. Sadly, many school aged children are subjected to violence at school on a daily basis. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention, reports that, “School violence is youth violence that occurs on school property, on the way to or from school or during school-sponsored events (Youth Violence).” Students may be physically abused or emotionally humiliated at the very place that adults send them to thrive and grow. School violence is a real crisis that can affect many aspects of a child’s education
I chose school violence because I know many people who have been affected by it, and the topic is something of interest to me. Almost every school will claim that it is a school that will provide a safe environment for all children, but there are stories almost every day where a student commits suicide or another student just “lost it.” He opens fire in a school building at anyone in his path. Most of these students have been a victim of violence in schools in some way or another. Schools should be a place where students (and teachers) feel safe. They shouldn’t fear for their safety. Sadly, this usually is not the case. Students come to school with the fear of being teased, bullied, and physically or mentally abused. As teachers or future teachers, we need to educate ourselves on how to keep students safe in and out of school.
On a routine day in childhood, I ran towards the phone with excitement and to my satisfaction he was Vineet who said, “Thank you for sending me a car.” I was so happy then since my efforts paid off, but there remained a feeling of guilt. A few weeks back, my friends decided to give a gift to Vineet since he was recovering from nephrotic syndrome and asked me for a contribution. I said, “I would rather buy skates for myself”. A few days later, we visited him and he was looking helpless and weak on his bed. But, he was so surprised to see us and delighted when he received the gift. He thanked everyone and said, “Thank you for the gift”. I said with a guilty, “Sorry, but I’ve made no contribution for your gift”. With intention to do something
Many innocent lives were taken during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Philip Gourevitch’s “We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families,” explains why the genocide that occurred in Rwanda should not be written off in history as just another tribal disagreement. This book entails the stories of Gourevitch and the people he interviewed when he went to Rwanda. These stories express what people went through during the genocide, the loss they saw, the mass killings they tried to hide from, and the history of what led to the Rwandan genocide. Rwanda’s colonial past did influence the development of the genocide in Rwanda. The hatred between the Hutus and the Tutsis had been going on for many years before the genocide.
Doctors can pursue many career paths, including private practice, university-hospital work, or a job with a health maintenance organization. The first lets the physician be his own boss. The second offers him the opportunity to divide his work between treatment, research and instruction, in varying proportions. The third means he work for a large corporation, which provides him with patients and handles most of the administrative and business tasks that physicians in private practice have to handle on their own. Doctors can also work in inner-city clinics or in rural areas, where shortages of doctors exist. Doctors can be general practitioners or they can specialize in internal medicine, cardiology, endocrinology, neurology, oncology, sports medicine, or one of the many other specialties. Medicine is a very rewarding profession, but it is hard work. Doctors are often exhilarated when they know they have helped someone get well and devastated when they lose a patient. It is a job that can prey upon a physician physically and mentally. Since the average patient is not a doctor, physicians must not only be able to communicate difficult, often painful information to those in their care, but also they must learn how to interpret their patients' needs. They must relate to their patients as people and not reduce them to just the illness that needs to be treated. One element of this is collaborating with their patients to determine the best course of treatment for them as individuals. This requires patience, empathy, and compassion. "Compassion," said one doctor, "is absolutely necessary."
Politics was one of the causes of the genocide. “Despite the opposition forces reaching a peace agreement in 1992, political negotiations continued in attempt to achieve harmony between the Tutsis and Hutu.” (Endgenocide) The government had a peace negotiation between the Tutsis and Hutu to settle the conflict that has been going for years. That good because they can settle their entire problems they had and be on the same page. “Hutu attackers burned down churches with hundreds or thousands of Tutsis inside. The violence was triggered by the death of
My final paper is going to be discussing the effects of deforestation on indigenous people in Indonesia, Australia and Brazil. The factors that contribute to deforestation are: lack of available arable land due to the increase in agricultural needs; illegal logging to produce timber products; and forest fires that could be due to natural causes or intentional (WWF,2013). All these activities have a negative impact on not only the biodiversity of these regions but also on the forest-dwelling communities that rely on them for their livelihoods. Green peace (2013) has proposed some key solutions that must be implemented to control the rate of deforestation worldwide. First, the multinational corporations that are behind these destructive activities also have the power to reduce their impact and should start acting more responsibly. Second consumers need to become more aware of how and where their products are coming from by buying sustainable options. Lastly, politics plays a crucial role in the management of forest activities and governments need to implement strict policies to achieve ambitious targets like zero deforestation by 2020.
...y, truthfulness is a real necessity and knowing the truth is a personal right, so doctors should always tell the truth.
In order to determine whether or not clinical medicine was the right career for me, I started shadowing Dr. Richard Turner in the ER. Through my experiences with him, I learned that medicine is a problem solving process. As I watched, he would take a patient's history and try to piece together the correct diagnosis by deciding which scenarios were more likely than others. I was attracted by the dynamic nature of each patient's diagnosis and the necessity for an open mind. My hobby of flying has taught me to look at everything in life with a new perspective and to assess the situation from as many angles as possible. Watching Dr. Turner has confirmed my perception of a medical career and the nature of the work involved. Since I love puzzles and problems, the problem solving aspect also increased my desire to become a physician.
Rainforests are an asset to the entire world. The destruction of rainforests worldwide is a problem because it eliminates habitat for wild life and depletes the earth of vital environmental services.
Throughout my life, I have worked towards one goal which is to become a doctor. Medicine offers the opportunity for me to integrate different scopes of science while trying to improve human life. Medicine has intrigued me throughout all my life because it??s a never ending mystery and every answer has questions, and vice versa. Upon entering my career, I had assumed that professional and financial success would surely bring personal fulfillment. This realization triggered a process of self-searching that led me to medicine. The commitment to provide others with healthcare is a serious decision for anyone. As I examined my interests and goals, however, I underwent a process of personal growth that has propelled me towards a career as a physician. A career in medicine will allow me to integrate thoroughly my passion for science into a public-service framework. Since childhood, I have loved acquiring scientific knowledge, particularly involving biological processes. During my undergraduate studies, I displayed my ability to juggle competing demands while still maintaining my academic focus; I have succeeded at school while volunteering part time, spending time with family and friends, and working part-time. To better serve my expected patient population, I worked over my English and Korean language skills. I have come to discover that a job and even a good income, without another significant purpose, will not bring satisfaction. I planed to utilize my assets, namely my problem- solving affinity, strong work ethic, and interpersonal commitment, to craft a stimulating, personally rewarding career in medicine. I have taken stock of myself, considering my skills, experiences, and goals. I have looked to family and friends, some of whom are doctors, for advice. Because of this self-examination, I have decided to pursue a career in health care. The process has been difficult at times but always illuminating. Throughout it all, I have never lost confidence - the confidence that I will actively absorb all available medical knowledge, forge friendships with fellow students, and emerge from my training as a skilful and caring physician.