College Admissions Essay: Two Words, Gaza Palestine

One time, I was taken aback and saddened by a patient yelling a plea to God as she was suffering through tremendous pain. As I walked into the room, the first thing this patient did was stop yelling and attempt to put on a calm face. It was a sobering moment, but I proceeded to ask her if I could do anything to help. What struck me most about this moment, was how much fight this lady could conjure up to hide her pain and yet still remain compassionate towards me. I hadn't expected anything, but this experience was a brilliant reminder of why I wanted so badly to improve the conditions of patients across the medical spectrum. I couldn't fathom the extent of this patient's pain, but I could fathom the idea of pain itself. In the patient, I saw a little bit of myself. I wanted to help this patient greatly and desired the means to do so. In this patient, I saw the nature of humanity. Human beings, for the most part, are inherently good and strive to be selfless even at their weakest moments. In fact, most people I know tend to be more worried about others than themselves, whether it be from a positive or negative perspective. As I got to know this patient, I realized how much she wanted to be with her family and see her grandchildren grow up. Though she was aware of the pain and suffering, she was also aware of what could be once she got through this struggle. Once I become a medical doctor, I can give back

Then I realized I didn’t have to leave the country or my family to do something to help; I could to something to help people right here close to home. Even though it wouldn’t be in the same way that I helped the orphans or villagers by delivering supplies, it would still be helping others. I came across the idea of helping others in a different manner, by regaining things that they have lost. I realized that I could do this by becoming an occupational therapist. Being an occupational therapist gives me the opportunity to give someone something they can’t give themself. I will be able to teach people how to regain things they have lost.

Recess had just ended when my stomach began to hurt. Soon, the pain was unbearable, and my teachers had to drag me into the atrium so my screams would not disrupt the other students. But I insisted to my teachers that my teeth hurt. Even at three and a half years old, I had been admitted to the hospital several times. I did everything in my power to avoid returning there. Of course, my teachers realized what was going on and called my parents. My medical problems have not gone away, but I have realized that as much as I hate living with pain, I don’t know if I can live without medicine. Each time I visit the hospital, I become more interested in procedures, research, and

My passion for medicine is something deeper than a mere interest in learning the extraordinary functions of the human body. I am completely fascinated to learn gross anatomy, histology, pathology, and the complete medical school curriculum. However, I am more captivated by how the knowledge I will gain in medical school will allow me to perform the lifesaving procedures that physicians are able execute. Although, medicine is not always ideally as I have written, I believe that as a physician I would use my knowledge and my experiences to provide the best holistic care to my patients. My culture, my experiences, and my education will bring a different perspective to the medical field. I aspire to have the ability and knowledge to save a child that might not live, to save a woman that suffers a heart stroke, and to even provide the necessary treatment for a child with a mere cold. Additionally, participating in the Loma Linda Gateway to the Health

For as long as I could remember, I have seen my father rushing to the hospital in a white coat, answering pagers in the middle of important family conversations and attending night calls even in the most terrible weather. I had always wondered; what could be so important that it belittles every other responsibility in his life. It was only after many years of anguish and protests that it finally made sense to me. This defining moment of realization occurred when I first met a patient in his office. I saw how the gratitude in the patient’s eyes can provide a sense of fulfillment that triumphs all other feelings in the universe. It was human life that was most important. Being a doctor does not make you a mere healer but also gives you the responsibility of a caregiver. I had never felt more proud of my father and that was the day I felt the urge to relive this feeling many times over. It was there in that moment that I decided to pursue a career in medicine.

“I was the fortunate child of medical and public-health “workers, whose compassion... They brought me to a place of wonders, taught me to pay attention, and set me early on a

The whole night my father was groaning with pain and died the following day, witnessing the death of my father and another relative in my village due to lack of health care facilities grew in me a desire to become a doctor and save live. I moved out of my village and got an opportunity to volunteer in a pharmacy

It was dark and there were so many noises around me as I slowly woke up and recalled I was in a hospital with abdominal pain. I then heard a familiar voice say “Sweetie, wake up! Wake up!” I opened my eyes to a blurry image of my mother. “Shhh… don't make any noises. We're leaving now. Just act like you are fine. We'll try to sneak out before anyone notices”, my mother said. She explained later that she could not afford to pay hospital bills, so we had to leave before any physician checked over. Living in Vietnam, I was filled with resentment towards their healthcare system, as people were rejected treatment and left to perish in the streets. As a child, I therefore never considered medicine as a career. My spark for medicine was unforeseen until I went on a high school field trip at INOVA Fairfax Hospital in Virginia. Hovering over the glass ceiling of the operating theater, I watched doctors performing coronary bypass surgery while witnessing the heart beat stronger and stronger. At this magical moment, I was overwhelmed by the power of medicine to save people’s lives.

Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care, the words of Theodore Roosevelt written in the radiology department at Good Samaritan Hospital, where I work as a Radiologic technologist. These words are a constant reminder of why I choose to pursue a career in medicine. Growing up in Haiti, I was an underweight, mal nourished child with a weak immune system. Sick days seemed to occur every other day. In a country with limited resources, I remember traveling with my parents to different towns in search for medicine and the right physician. We would walked miles, but no miles was ever long enough to stop my parents from getting their son the proper treatment. At a young age my parents showed me the true meaning of altruism and empathy, necessary skills needed to make a great physician. Living in poverty can have major consequences on one’s health. I witness this in my own health and those surrounding me. To survive these harsh conditions, as a community we had to stick together, we had to care for one another. We shared everything with our neighbors, from clean drinking water, food supplies, to natural herb treatment and medicine. From observing the change in lives in the community when treatment was provided, I quickly learned to values the benefits of good Health and medicine.

Emory School of Medicine provides a unique environment to mold my medical education to work within clinical care in a dynamic global community. My diverse range of experiences from my upbringing, eclectic communities I have grown in, and unique perspectives of medicine and public health I have gained through my professional pursuits will be vital to me contributing to the unique atmosphere of ingenuity at Emory that supports the development of doctors who strive to serve individuals and communities of all types. Through my research experiences, I gained a multidisciplinary understanding healthcare through different contexts, which converges on finding effective ways to communicating with people and gaining a better understanding of what goes

I spent hours and hours of my life in India at hospitals, sitting in on medical school classes and reading books owned by family physician. The complexity of the human body fascinated me like no other. I would hurt myself playing soccer and basketball time and time again until my visits to the orthopedist started becoming visits to a close friend.

I realize that the most capable physicians can heal because they have been sick and are able to fix because of their own brokenness. In other words, adversity builds character and changes people for the better. In my case, my disadvantaged upbringing has made me a better person, son, father and potentially a better public servant. After my parents divorced in 2000, my mother and I moved to Little Rock, Arkansas where we struggled to get by. Enduring that hardship with her changed me from an early age. Some nights I stayed at my best friend’s apartment, because we had no electricity. In a sense, this deprivation allowed me to mature and understand that in life you must sacrifice for a larger

“By 1989 he ordered Hamas to kidnap Israeli soldiers inside Israel, to murder them and bury their bodies in a manner that would allow Hamas to negotiate the exchange of bodies for Hamas prisoners, who he hoped would be released from jails in Israel”.

Since early childhood, I have been fascinated by the complexity of the human body. The curiosity for its functioning and potential dysfunction led me to medical school and allowed me to successfully complete my training at the University of Brescia In Italy; far away from my family, fending for myself, learning a different language, living in a different culture and studying without help.

I was born and raised in a small village in India. My father was a farmer and my mother is a housewife. It troubled many people in my village that no doctors were in close proximity. For me, it was a relief, as I feared getting big needles in my thighs. What pleased me most, was a swing set in our back yard. I would sit there for hours, without a care in the world, simply singing songs and swinging back and forth. On that swing I felt untouchable. In the swing’s gentle motion, I was overcome with a sense of peace. One day, I woke up and found that the swing no longer existed. Our backyard had been rebuilt and the ground, which had once supported our youth, had been transformed. Things changed as I grew up and that serenity was lost somewhere with those childhood moments. I am always searching for the swing, longing to find a resemblance of that peace. I hope to find it each day, as the product of my life and of my career. Ironically, I have learned that being in the medical feild brings me that contentment.