My Journey Of A Doctor

My interest in medicine first stemmed from my freshman Biology class and my Nutrition class. I was intrigued by our studies of cells, genetics, and disease. Both courses incited a sense of awe and curiosity within me. Dissecting a frog, was the stepping-stone for my interest in medicine. Seeing the frog's heart made me wonder how the human heart worked. My research into the human heart inspired me to learn more about the medical field. I sought out volunteer opportunities that would give me insight into a doctor’s typical day. During my volunteer experience, I learned that as a doctor you experience many obstacles, including patient compliance and insurance approval issues. In my journey to pursue medicine, I learned that becoming a doctor means more than helping people, it means being the team leader, being compassionate, and most importantly being committed to the patient’s well being.

The morning of October 8th, 2005 shook my world - both literally and figuratively. A major earthquake devastated the entire region of Northern Pakistan and changed my life forever. Little did I know, when I was woken up by the sound of shattering glass and falling trees, that the scale of destruction would be so catastrophic. As the death toll continued to rise, I changed my inertia and grief into action and altruism. I decided to volunteer at one of the largest hospitals in my city. While watching doctors working tirelessly to save lives, my passion for becoming a doctor grew stronger. The satisfaction and sense of fulfillment I achieved after easing the patient's pain and making them feel better was priceless. This indeed was a defining moment in my life and gave it new direction and purpose. With a new found vigour and determination I entered medical school the same year.

The medical field is a career path that brings about many options and opportunities of great value. The noble idea of being a doctor tends to cloud the diligent studying and precise training that is actually required for this career. I have wanted to become a doctor since a very young age, and now that the opportunity is here for the taking, I have fully researched what it takes to succeed in this profession and various specialties of the practice. The road to a medical degree is one filled with thousands of notes, years of schooling, and many stressful nights, but the reward is one incomparable to any other. Saving people’s lives on a day-to-day basis has been one of my dreams for as long as I can remember, so the rigorous curriculum

I first realized my passion for health promotion and disease prevention the summer following my first year of college. I had the privilege of attending the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP), which introduced me to numerous healthcare professionals. During the program, many of the professionals shared their stories about why they choose the profession, and with each story, I began to reflect deeply on my own background and what drew me to medicine. It was not until an emergency medicine physician spoke about his experiences, that allowed me to fully understand connecting my background to my future. The physician mentioned growing up in D.C., which brought to mind my family in D.C. It had been almost a year since my grandmother

The rise in numbers for doctors are growing and many people don’t understand all the aspect that it takes to even be considered to become a doctor. The years of education that are required depend on what someone would like to specialize in. Sadly though, college and medical school both cost a lot and takes time away from planning further along. Although the path to this career is hard, but it allows them to have an easy lifestyle. My dream career to become a physician for it requires motivation, high level of education, and a stable mentality. These qualities are what I need to ensure I achieve the type of lifestyle I hope to achieve by the end.

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

A strong work ethic, cultural competence, compassion, and a desire to learn are a few of the personal qualities that have influenced me to become a physician. To achieve this, my current professional goals are to be accepted into the George Squared Special Master’s Program/Biomedical Sciences MS and to persevere and succeed in order to reach my specific career objective of gaining entry into medical school and becoming a family medicine physician especially to serve underserved and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Although growing up I may have lacked the role models and exposure to medicine needed to cultivate my desire to become a physician, what I had were personal examples of hardworking role models – my parents. With their

Samuel Hahnemann once said “The physician's highest calling, his only calling, is to make sick people healthy to heal, as it is termed.” Over multiple years of being posed the question “What do you want to be when you grow up? I have come to the conclusion that I want to become a physician or at least I think I do. Who wouldn’t want to help save lives? As a physician, I am presented with the opportunity to help better communities all around the world for the rest of my life. I always wanted to try to make a difference that people would appreciate. As I researched this profession, I discovered that because of physicians and their ability to use medical science, the life expectancy in the United States has more than doubled between 1990-2013

Adversity has only improved my tenacity, focus, endurance, and problem solving abilities. Various circumstances have affected my academic performance negatively, but I use that as motivation to continually improve myself. I want to be a part of the solution to the family physician shortage and serve the community in the most effective way. My drive to improve the lives of others will help propel me through the difficulties of medical school and beyond. The personal experience I have with my immersion in the field of primary care gives me unique characteristics that will translate into creating a successful physician that focuses on building meaningful relationships with patients. I continually witness how my grandfather is positively impacting the community through medicine and it is my goal to be granted an opportunity to do the same. My belief in lifelong learning and continual self-improvement consistently drives me towards the study of medicine. Because of my life experiences, I now have the balance, endurance, clarity, and tenacity needed to be a successful medical

Dr. Nelson, the general practitioner for whom I volunteered for two and a half years, had always told me that the desire to become a doctor must come from deep within. In his office, I took patients’ vital signs and helped them feel more comfortable. I also spent a significant amount of time with Dr. Nelson learning about the physician’s role. He became my mentor. I learned of

I became captivated by the opportunity to apply my knowledge of the biological and chemical sciences in a way that one day may save a life. Though my interest stems from my experiences, my passion to pursue this field lies elsewhere. Growing up in a family of low socioeconomic status in an area with few sources of acceptable health care, I saw my parents struggle as they aged to provide my siblings and I with a proper education. There were times they would ignore their own illness in order to save funds for an emergency for us. Observing this, I knew that no matter how difficult of a path I picked, regardless if it was pharmaceutical sciences or the medical field, my parents had concurred greater difficulties. Growing under such conditions, I began to realize the disparities in quality of treatments my parents received compared to those who of a higher socioeconomic status. This motivated me to pursue a career where I would be given the chance to offer care to individuals through unbiased views. Of course, there are a plethora of careers that can fulfill this but medicine has presented itself as very unique to me. It promises a lifestyle devoted to empathetic patient care, direct patient interaction, and a boundless opportunity to learn and experience something new. As the end of my undergraduate experience is forthcoming, I look forward to taking on the next phase of my life, endeavoring to join the ranks of tomorrow’s

Growing up, being a physician was never a part of my plan. Coming from a first generation immigrant family, I was encouraged to simply do what I could with what I had. There was never an emphasis to do anything beyond living day by day. I saw this not only in myself, but also in those around me. Yet, the exception to this came from my mother.

During the time I have spent on this new journey, I have met people from multiple schools and different cultures with different levels of training and career goals, but ultimately, all of which have a common desire to serve the patients – something I have found enriching in my

Having lived in three different countries in my childhood, it was a challenge for me to I wade through the unspoken rules of each culture. My Chinese heritage, reminded by my mother’s cooking, complements my penchant for Japanese snacks and trinkets. At the same time, I proudly represent Seattle where I grew up. My friends were often confused by my habits or certain beliefs and my family often did not comprehend what I was learning and struggling with at school. These obstacles were not solved overnight; I slowly learned to understand, taking the advice of many helpful teachers and mentors. I had to learn how to ask for help and advocate for myself. In my pursuit of medicine, I recognize healthcare transcends this cultural barrier, but the

William Butler Yeats stated, “Education wasn’t the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know.” As such, the fire still burns inside me. My diverse experience of work and research in the health field and passion to care for others has motivated me to become a physician.