My Life At Medical School

Being from a small village, I was the grandson of a carpenter and the son of a shopkeeper and a housewife. My family was very caring, I told them I wanted to be a doctor and they encouraged me to pursue my goals and did everything within their power to help me achieve them. I worked hard, stayed focused and was admitted to medical school. Being a medical student was more interesting than I could have imagined. I studied well, stayed among the best students in my class and enjoyed every single aspect of my life at medical school.

On the last day of my 4th year in medical school, I received a call from my brother that my one year old nephew had lost consciousness after severe vomiting and dehydration. They rushed him to a nearby hospital and by the time I had arrived, he was already comatosed. The tears in the eyes of my brother and the rest of my family were difficult to bear. He was initially diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis and did not regain consciousness for a week and when he did, he had sustained severe cerebral insult. After discharge, he had several similar episodes with normal blood sugar levels, which the doctors described as the honeymoon period for the disease. Finally, my family was advised to go to the city for a second medical opinion. There he was correctly diagnosed with organic acidemia. The doctors showed compassion, explained the disease and advised diet modification to prevent future episodes, but unfortunately, nothing could be done for his neurological symptoms. After a few months my nephew suffered another severe episode and did not endure. We had been close, his sweet and innocent smile was always waiting for me. His passing left a strong message for me, his “Dr. Uncle”, to become the best physician p...

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...urther strengthened my communication skills, clinical reasoning, integrative thinking, as well as my determination to not only pursue but to excel in residency and contribute to the system.

Given my interest in the multidisciplinary patient care, I strongly believe that Internal Medicine is the best fit for me as it will allow me to use my diagnostic and reasoning skills to look after a wide range of patients. It will provide me excellent capability and opportunity to fulfill my obligation to give back to my community at some point in my life. I am therefore very enthusiastic to make it my profession.

I believe acceptance to your residency program will provide me the key to open the door to the field that nurtures my curiosity and provides an environment where I can understand how to use modern medical advances to care for each patient to the best of my abilities.