At thirteen I left my home in sunny Miami, Florida to attend a boarding school in snowy Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During those four years I learned to be independent, and to work effectively with my peers. One year, a group of students and I began to visit patients every
A 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.
Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to graduate from medical school. After being rejected from multiple schools, she was finally accepted into the Geneva Medical College (Markel). Although it must have been very difficult, Elisabeth’s headstrong attitude pushed
In 1868, Elizabeth had founded a women’s medical college in New York City to help train other women who had hoped to become physicians. The educational standards placed within this college were substantially higher than those in contemporary male-dominated medical schools (NWHM). This school had earned worldwide attention, which caused Elizabeth to place an even more profound emphasis on entrance exams, curriculum, and graduate
Screech!!! The bus’ brakes scream upon stopping. I look up to see buildings that look like stone and marbled statuses. The buildings stood tall with tan shiny finishes. The grass was too green to be true and the atmosphere felt like home to me. I had embarked upon a journey that I never thought would be. I was here, here at Emory School of Medicine. Numerous of people walking around with white doctor coats, teal scrubs, and soft colorful crocs. I was a part of an elite group of about thirty high school students, who would soon be a part of Emory’s School of Medicine mentoring program, called Emory School of Medicine Pipeline Program. This program introduced intercity students, such as myself, to the world of medicine. This inspired students to become future medical doctors, nurses, and other medical professions. This program greatly influenced my interest for medicine.
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.
As far back as I can remember I had a strong affinity for science. I recall having an avid curiosity in biology and chemistry while I attended catholic school. Our congregation placed an emphasis on missionary work and social service, and growing up I felt very connected to that experience. Medicine as a profession was something I was exposed to early on as many of my family members are physicians. I became even more interested in medicine when as a teenager my dad became critically ill and I wanted desperately to know what was happening and what needed to be done to get him better.
Furthermore, as I wanted to advance in my career, my family and I came to the United States for a better future. Though I had several obstacles such as language barriers and financial problems, I got accepted to Florida International University with the FIU Academic Achievement scholarship and joined Alpha Epsilon Iota Academic Honor Society, where I gained experience that strengthened my desire to study medicine. Feeling so grateful for the opportunity given to me, I begun to volunteer at Miami Children’s Hospital in the Pediatric Oncology Unit. Working w...
For the first time in my academic and professional career, I am sincerely interested and excited about what is yet to come. This is not to imply that I am displeased with the amount of time it took me to make the decision to pursue medical school After all, there are many people who never end up in a satisfying career. I believe my past experiences are propelling me forward with a sense of enthusiasm and conviction which will translate into the formation of a competent and humane doctor. Perhaps, someday, I will be the anonymous face that helps a twelve year old boy in his time of need.
I grew up in the south-eastern part of Nigeria where both the nuclear and extended family is close-knit. The gentle but professional way my uncle, a family physician took care of any ill member of our family resonated early in my life and I wanted to be a doctor like him. I always looked forward to going to his small practice during which I would ask him as many questions as my young mind could muster about medicine. After I gained admission into medical school, the journey from the pre-clinical years of understanding how the human body functions to the clinical years of seeing how that fund of knowledge transformed a sick person’s life caused me to gain a deep respect for the profession. I enjoyed all my rotations and learned so much from them. However, my first day in the medical ward remains indelible in my mind. The empathic way my
But one day, her friend Mary Donaldson was feeling ill in the hospital. Elizabeth went to visit her. She kept comforting her and making her better. Until, Mary said something. Something that changed everything Elizabeth Blackwell had ever thought upon. Mary told Elizabeth that she should join the medical career. Elizabeth was very surprised. She was even laughing at Mary’s idea.
Although I have great goals to help people, my grand wish cannot be granted without a great amount of effort on my part. I decided to take part in activities that would help me reach my goals and to ready myself for that field of work. My extracurricular activities and my electives showed proof of my interest in the medical field over time. I made an extra effort to look for activities and classes that could help me on the way to becoming a doctor. My first step was
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.
A documentary Doctors ' Diaries produced real-life stories of seven first-year medical students from Harvard University. The film shows emotions and mental stress that goes through medical students while becoming a doctor and how it affects them. Medical students choose medicine or pre-med as a career to help save people, but the challenges interns interfere with are their personal life and education. At first, the interns were excited about their future and then over time they became tired and damage in certain ways; Tom Tarter was one of the interns that had to go through their medical education, internship, and family life at 21 years old.
I left my position at the laboratory, I stepped down to a part-time position, and I joined a hospital volunteering program in New York Methodist Hospital (NYM). I had joined a volunteering program before but I didn’t have the opportunity to involve myself in the patient care logistics of a hospital or worked with the doctors and nurses. Nevertheless, I did not have any similar issues with NYM. I was assigned to a general post-op floor and work very closely with the nurses, physician, and other medical practitioners. Therefore, I was reminded why I made the choice to become a physician. Why I went against my traditional family’s goal for me to be a well-offed housewife. I was in awe watching the physician treat the patient in a spectrum of injury but keeping a calm demeanor, even when it was a difficult case. The physicians took charge of the situation, confident in their knowledge and ability.Solidifying my belief that I must improve and apply again to achieve the career that I truly