Personal Statement for applying to Medical School - Admission/Application Essay Example

Personal ment It has been my long cherished dream to pursue a career in medicine and become a physician and serve the disadvantaged people of the society and in medical missions. I have a strong inclination to work for the betterment of the underprivileged sector and bring some cheer in to their lives. I have, in my personal experience, worked and helped people and the experience has only increased by urge to do service to the society through the field of medicine. I began my social service by tutoring students who were unable to attain good credits in their 9th grades by taking classes in Geometry, Algebra, Biology, History, English and Chemistry after school hours.

During this period I had the opportunity to work with a student who suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and also those with special education needs. One of the children, whom I tutored, suffered from low-self esteem as she was constantly being bullied by her friends. In my effort to improve her self-confidence, I encouraged her to teach back what I had taught her, which caused a dramatic improvement in her confidence levels and helped her to feel good about herself. By such constant interactions with students from diverse backgrounds, I was able to understand their minds and gained a sense of the hardships faced by them.

This resulted in a growing compassion towards such students and I was more eager to tutor and play sports with them as I believed that it made a difference in their lives. My experience in a local free medical clinic helped me to realize the value of the medical profession and increased my interest in patient care. The clinic provided medical care for people who did not have any health insurance and those from the lower income group. In one instance, I held the hand of a college student who was very nervous and had come there all alone for taking her injection.

I could sense that my presence and comfort made her feel much better and take the injection. Such experiences in this medical clinic has instilled in me a desire to serve the needy especially those who are homeless and others affected by war and natural calamities. In fact by growing up in a low-income household I discovered that I had this inherent caring nature and a mentality to serve people. My father once suffered from a terrible toothache and since he lacked dental insurance, he had to wait for nearly a month in order to be checked by a volunteer dentist who visited a nearby free clinic.

The pain that he endured during this period, when he even found it difficult to brush his teeth, was too much to bear for me and it has itself been a driving force that has urged me to pursue a career in medicine and help those who are in dire need. Being an executive board member leader in the Health Professional Society, I once organized a blood donation drive and had contacted the American Red cross to sponsor the event. I personally coordinated the entire blood drive and as a leader I learnt to engage and motivate many students and other volunteers in the process.

I learnt the effectiveness of team work as only the collaboration of all concerned would give success in any endeavor. The subsequent blood donation drives that we had organized only exceeded our goals as the number of donors increased during every event. It was both a rewarding and a life-saving experience for all concerned. In order to gain experience in the field of international medicine, I enrolled as a volunteer in the medical mission trip to Peru where I got the opportunity to work in free medical clinics that were set up in three communities: San Lorenzo Community, San Fernando community, and the Senor de Luren Community.

Under the supervision of medical staff we were trained to give injections, conduct patient surveys, monitor blood pressure, learnt to screen for diabetes and take parasitological examinations and the method of suturing using pork. In this camp I had the hands on experience of working with patients suffering from headache, stomach problems, acid reflux, Anemia, malnutrition, vaginal problems, osteoporosis, and other tropical diseases. I also learnt that many people from the disadvantaged background generally buy medication from the pharmacy without consulting the physician which has led to bigger medical issues as they may be given the wrong medications.

Hence I learnt the negative effects of selling over-the-counter medicines and the increasing need to create awareness among the people about this practice. Working with patients gave me an excellent opportunity to know about the demands of the medical profession and has increased my interest to serve people without basic health care facilities such as electricity, drinking water and those living in dusty and polluted environments due to their lack of proper resources. I want to make a sincere effort in improving the quality of life of such people and hence would be more than happy if given an opportunity to serve people.