Clinical Oncology Personal Statement

As I have moved toward the path of a career in Internal Medicine, there have been certain educational events which served as catalyst to my career. My first clerkship in Internal Medicine Outpatient in a rural and underserved area of Tennessee, I met Dr. Candi Overholt. She was an extraordinary mentor as I watched her daily manage each patient’s numerous comorbidities and yet she also showed sincere interest in each patient’s emotional and personal life.

In 2016 approximately 1,685,210 cases of cancer will be diagnosed, and 595,690 people will die due to this disease. My uncle, unfortunately, was a victim of this deadly disease. My family and I witnessed the effects of this and it impacted us all strongly. I watched as my uncle underwent all the surgeries and treatments, and progressively got weaker and became fragile. The whole experience made me reflect upon myself and I desired to make a change, and help expand the research to develop a cure to end cancer.

After my observations, I have learned a lot about how the the medical aspect of the health care system worked. I always had the mindset that the doctors were the ones who ran everything in a hospital or a clinic. Upon observing, I realized that this was false and that it took teamwork, cooperation, and communication to help create an environment to best serve its patients. When I came into the University of Michigan as well as the Health Sciences Scholar Program, I had set my target to go into family medicine in order to pursue a career as a family physician. I also saw that there were many health disparities and inequities among patients in hospitals as well. I thought maybe I could help fix this if I became a physician. After my observations, I had an ambivalent feeling if I should still continue with what my heart was set on. I never really thought about exploring the vast array of other health-related professions. There were many fields of health professions I had really never thought about and this class as well as my observations had really helped open my eyes to the complexity of the health system to make it work.

The experience taught me to work hard to achieve my goal of becoming a doctor and helping as many people as I can. It taught me not to waste my time. All of my dedication has pushed me to be the best person I can be so in the future I can feel confident about all of my choices. Volunteering at Children’s Hospital offered me an experience that pushed me to strive for no less than excellence. By volunteering, I watched my dreams and ambitions get closer, and although the process is a slow and difficult one, every second of it was worth it because I was able to watch everything I value become

The prime condition of success ,the great secret ,is to concentrate my energy , thought ,and capital exclusively upon business in cancer .Having begun in research ,resolve to fight it out , to lead in it , adopt every improvement ,have the best machinery, and know the most about it .Two passions ,simple but overwhelmingly strong ,has governed my life : the search for knowledge and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.I have sought knowledge . I have wished to understand the causes of cancer . I have wished to know why people die . And I have tried to apprehend the breakthrough in cancer treatment written by Gleevec who discovered the approach was to target the disease at the cellular and subcellular level .A little of this ,but not much , I have achieved.I long to alleviate the pain of cancer . As the mathematician Jules Henri Poincare said, Science is built with facts just as a house is built with bricks .I would take approaches as many scientists do .Scientist start an investigation by finding out what other scientists have learned about a particular problem.After known the facts have been gathered , the scientist come to the part of the investigation that requires considerable imagination . Possible problem are formulated. The scientists plans experiments,performs calculations,and makes observations to test hypotheses.When hypotheses are confirmed ,they are incorporated into theories. If I become a scientist

deliver patients medical records, and run errands for all of the Nursing Units, Radiology, Admitting, and the general offices. From this experience I exhibited characteristics such as responsibility, caring, and, trustworthiness. Most importantly from this experience I learned you can change a person’s entire day by simply sending a smile their way or offering assistance. The small things in life matter, and I was reminded to live everyday to its fullest, because you never

Give people diagnosed with a life limiting illness, a better understanding of the different types of cancers and management of the issues they may encounter as their disease progresses.

Having this opportunity to learn and experience the medical field in a more real and deep way make me realize how much I enjoyed to help others feel better when they're more burnable and to know how many challenges the

Until the 5th grade of medical school, when my clinical clerkship began, I had just passed many tests without a passion. My first rotation at the university hospital was pediatrics. A little girl, I called her K, changed me completely. She was diagnosed as having an abdominal malignant tumor and her tumor was not responding well to chemotherapy with radiation. Just a medical student, I could not do anything to treat her disease, but see, play, and talk with her and her mother every day.

. Jettowyne, (The Compassionate Friends, 2011, November 4), stated, “Friends don’t want to say your child’s name, because they think it will make you feel bad”. Being open and asking or commenting on the child is essential in the healing process and showing support.

This diverse clinical settings enhanced my clinical skills beyond my expectations. The motivation to perfect my medical knowledge and skills in order to serve my future patients has been by daily inspiration. However the repetitive gratitude expressed by patients and their families and the positive feedback I received from my attendings emphasizing my ability to connect with patients especially in challenging settings,and the satisfaction I get from just making a suffering patient feels a little better, made me certain that I not only have what it takes to become a successful Oncologist but I have the personal qualities and skills that would allow me to really enjoy my

Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, represents a place of medicine and friendly faces. Anyone I know that has ever been to PVHMC, always reflects on the friendly environment that comes with the hospital. Around every corner is a smiling face and a pair of listening ears. The latter are just some of the reasons I wish to become a College Volunteer at PVHMC. From my time in high school as a student volunteer, I learned so much about the medical world, but I also learned even more about dealing with individuals in a time of need. Rather that time was during a family loss or the welcoming of a life into this world, I learned that being in the medical field, is much more than just coming to a diagnosis, because it’s the faces and the smiles and

Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre provided me with life lessons I will never forget—kindness and humbleness. Spending my free time in this facility has given me bliss. The patients became my family; I knew their families, their kids, and even their grand-kids. I spent hours getting to know these patients—their stories, their likes, their dislikes. It was refreshing to do their errands, to help them, to feed them, to care for them. At this hospital I learned more than what the doctors and nurses do. I learned more than the mechanics of a hospital. I learned about the patients. I learned what I want to do in life. I learned that eventually I would like to become a medical doctor—to combine my love of biology and assisting

Also, I find the dynamics of cancer treatment to be absolutely fascinating. I’ve experienced the physical and emotional toll it takes on an individual and their family, and I would like to make a contribution to help better understand the disease as well as better the lives of those who are diagnosed. Along with seeking acceptance into the SURF+ program, I am also in the process of looking for opportunities in which I can volunteer or work in a cancer care setting. Volunteering or working in a cancer care setting while supplementing that experience with research in the field is an extremely rare and invaluable opportunity. If I am accepted, I am almost certain that my experiences during this summer will serve as the core of any of my future endeavors. Currently, I am close to wrapping up my first year of volunteering with Honor Health at the Deer Valley Medical Center, and I can say, without any hesitation, that my desire and motivation to make health care my career has only continued to grow. Additionally, I have taken the time to learn about MIHS itself, its mission, and the services it provides to the

One reason I would like to Volunteer at Baylor Scott & White in Grapevine Is to get exposure to different medical fields inside the hospital. I know that this program is not a shadowing opportunity or anything of that nature. However, every time I step foot in a hospital I get extremely excited and ready to go to medical school. I am not only doing this for the experience though. One of the things that brings me the most joy in life is being able to help people. In fact, that is one of the reason’s I want to go into the medical field.