Why I Want to Be a Doctor - Admission/Application Essay Example

When I am not reading one of my treasured collections of medical books, I find myself involved in several mission trips in Latin America and the Philippines. My experience in the Philippines was among the best. It felt really good to care for, feed, play and pray with children. I had unforgettable bonding moments with the sick children as I shared God’s message of hope and salvation and Jesus’ love for them. Early this year, I joined another medical and dental mission to my mother’s hometown in Mindanao, Philippines.

This proved to be another fruitful experience because I was given the opportunity to reach out to people through a health seminar. Joining the medical missions made be realize that my potential in helping the sick is not limited within the hospital bed. Health care providers have to look beyond the frailties of the physical body, but towards helping the sick through health education and an understanding of the sick in the context of their environment. As neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing quipped, “A physician is obligated to consider more than a diseased organ, more even than the whole man - he must view the man in his world”.

My experience in the hospital and the medical missions also highlighted my limitations in helping the sick. God has called. While I have finally grasped the reality that doctors’ “hands that heal” during my childhood were merely instruments of God’s divine gift of healing, I believe I can be a better instrument if I can acquire a degree in medicine in a reputable medical school. I am pursuing God’s calling. My heart and my body are prepared for the great mission, but I need to have God’s instrument crafted and calibrated and this has got to be done in the best medical school.