Journey to Becoming a Physician: A Personal Narrative

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.

I came to the United States with my family in 1997, after we survived a violent robbery. My parents wanted me and my sisters to grow up in a safe environment where we could thrive and have a promising future. When I started college at Florida Atlantic University my interest in medicine intensified, and I was delighted to pursue a major in biology on the pre-medical track. Over my college years the connections between science and its clinical applications became clear, and my determination to become a physician grew stronger.

Medical school started as a terrifying and seemingly never-ending journey. It was my first time back to the country where I was born, yet I felt like a foreigner. Adjustment was difficult, as

It wasn 't until I did my clerkship in emergency medicine that I realized the importance of family medicine, as so many of the patient 's basic health care needs were being addressed in an emergency setting and so many things that were needed could not be done. Many of such patients did not have a primary physician, which created a disconnect, lack of continuity and in the end it was the patient 's quality of care and health that suffered. All I could do was instruct them where they needed to go, knowing well there wouldn 't be communications between specialists, leaving things fragmented and