Radiologist Personal Statement

As a naïve kid growing up in India, all I wanted to be was a cricket player. I would carelessly spend hours in the 110-degree heat of New Delhi playing cricket with my friends, as our mothers would yell at us to come inside to protect us from the heat. I would wake up at the crack of dawn and practice before school; I would practice during any spare time I could find. During those times the idea of practicing medicine seemed farfetched. The concept of becoming a doctor did not cross my mind until I started volunteering at the Hinsdale Hospital E.R. during high school. I continued working at the Hinsdale Hospital not necessarily because I saw it as future career but because I was fascinated by everything around me. I made beds, transported samples back and forth from the lab, and other seemingly mundane tasks. I also talked to as many patients as I could and I slowly realized that it was not really small talk; it meant something. It meant something to me because I liked being a part of their healing process in a humble way. I would listen in

on doctors trying to piece together a diagnosis. I was intrigued by the complexity and sophistication of their thought process and the power of their scientific knowledge.
After numerous experiences like above, I was sure I wanted to become a physician but I started medical school without a definite field in mind. However, one anatomy lecture set me on a path that would allow me to find my perfect fit. Images ranging from the MRI of the brain to angiography of blood vessels in the foot left a lasting impression; there was something powerful yet humbling about looking inside the human body.

At the age of fourteen, the move from New Delhi, India to a suburb of Chicago presented a unique set of challenges and opportunities. Experiencing life in different countries and various cities has helped me develop the ability to adapt, while allowing me to appreciate the importance of distinct thoughts and ideas. As an MBA student, I embraced the opportunity to work among individuals with diverse cultures, professions, and experiences. Foreign concepts such as 'information spillover' suddenly become familiar and the applications to healthcare became apparent.

As I continued my journey through medical school, I actively sought out research projects and looked for opportunities during my clinical rotations to gain a deeper understanding of radiology. From classifying thoracic and lumbar fractures based on CT images for a research project to assisting in a transcatheter arterial chemoembolization procedure during my interventional radiology rotation, I continued to gain an appreciation for the field. During my radiology rotations, I saw patients ranging from a two year old with congenital heart disease to the 87-year-old with the MRI showing metastatic prostate cancer. The prospect of providing care for a wide-ranging patient population and numerous pathologies is unique to radiology.

My involvement in various research projects reflects my interest in analysis and complex problem solving involving.

Throughout my various clinical rotations, I would often search for diagnostic clues in the radiology reading room, trying to correlate the clinical symptoms with the findings on images. I remember the first time a radiologist pointed out a pulmonary embolism in a patient on my medicine team, a finding that we as a team were having difficulty identifying. I was in awe of both the subtly of the finding and radiologists ability to visualize the finding. On the other side, equally interesting were the visits by other teams to the radiology reading room during my radiology rotations. Interdisciplinary collaboration helped improve our understanding of the patients underlying pathology. Radiology provides the opportunity and the ability to collaborate with various specialties, an aspect that strongly resonates with

me.

Radiology is a subtle combination of art and science; I hope to use my analytical and collaborative skills to spur innovation and improve the standard of care for my patients. A broad and challenging field covering every aspect of the human body will require a lifetime of dedication, a challenge I look forward to embracing.