Personal Statement 7

Unique is a word that best describes my path to medicine. I have overcome many obstacles to get to my full potential, from growing up in a broken home to dropping out of high school at the age of 16 to support myself. All these made me realize that there are many things money could never buy, intelligence being one of them. This awareness prompted me to get my GED at the age of 25, with the intention of building a solid intellectual foundation. In the process, I developed a love for learning which has been my key driving force in undergraduate and medical schools. What is more is that I have a genuine passion for learning and mastery of new contents.
Additionally, I have found Primary Care to be the best fit for me in my clinical course in medical school. I am also drawn to the high learning curve in family medicine. There is a saying that goes “A Family Physician is the jack of all trades but the master of none”; my goal is to be the master of all trades. In clinical rotations, I discovered other reasons why primary care best suited my personality and career goals. The first discovery was my love for teaching. I got great satisfaction from breaking down complex pathological or physiological processes for my patients to understand.
Along with building a strong basic science and clinical foundation, medical school has also helped me build something I have always lacked, self-confidence. I have a reached a level of confidence where I am certain that I can learn almost anything presented to me.

I also learned that, as a family physician, you become an integral part of your community with the ability to make a positive change in the lives of many for a long time. That was evident during my family medicine rotation when I noticed that my attending had patients she had been seeing since birth. That is something you cannot put a price on. In addition, I came to understood that in the family practice setting, you are able to prevent a disease from ever starting. That idea came to me when I saw patients in other rotations in the end stages of a disease where nothing much could be done, apart from managing the symptoms.
Lastly, having dealt with people from different backgrounds, I am able to blend in well in most environments and very easy to get along with. These attributes are things I will bring to my family residency program, as well as, compassion, resilience, integrity, and excellent work ethics. I am very excited about completing my training and making a positive difference in my skills.