Personal Narrative Research

Throughout my medical school, Neurological sciences have intrigued me most. First time I saw a human brain in gross anatomy I felt so thrilled. Being able to look n learn about one of the most complex humans organ was just exhilarating. I used to spend hours in the college library reading about neuroscience and other beginner’s concepts. During my medical school rotations, I was exposed to a wide range of neurological conditions. Being involved in care of such patients brought me a great sense of satisfaction. One such case that I vividly remember is Mrs T suffering from acute stroke. When I first saw her, she was lying on the bed, one half of her body paralyzed. I read his casefile and learned more about the patient. She was a successful lawyer, and overnight her life had changed following the stroke. But under the care of my amazing attending, within few months following the treatments and extensive physical therapy she regained 60% of her functioning and was expected to improve even more over course of time. This whole experience of her reclaiming her day to day life was an incredibly satisfying

Once I graduate from La Serna High School, I will partake in a stressful journey into becoming a neurosurgeon. Neurosurgeons are physicians who perform surgeries on the brain to treat diseases or injuries. Besides surgeries, a neurosurgeon diagnose people, prescribes medicine, and also considered the surgical risks of proceeding with a surgery. This career is probably one the most stressful jobs in the world, due to all the information they must know and because of all the pressure that is on them during a surgery. The reason I am interested in this career is because, I have always been fascinated with the brain and how it works, not to mention I love helping people treat diseases or injuries.

In my exciting journey to become a physician, I hope to major in neurosciences at Creighton University. Now, I was drawn to this specific major due to a particular experience I had during an Anatomy and Physiology dissection lab. The air smelt foul, tables were crowded with scalpels, and I was wearing blue gloves with geeky large goggles. Cutting into a raw, cold sheep brain, I became fascinated by the distinct parts: the cerebellum, pituitary gland, corpus callosum, and the medulla oblongata. Being the nerd I am when it came to that class, my partner and I would aggressively battle one another over who gets to dissect the brain next. I realized that I became most aggressive during dissections in this particular unit, purely because I was so interested and captivated by the subject of neuroscience. Due to this experience, I had no hesitation in selecting neurosciences as my undergraduate

Whether it was as simple as teaching a person how to operate the remote control, finding a way to motivate distraught patients, or learning how to interact with terminal patients and their families, I constantly sought to improve the quality of care I offered as a CNA. Though I have worked in a variety of inpatient units at the hospital, one of my more impactful experiences occurred while working in the Surgery Unit. Here I was able to learn the intricacies of surgical preparation and recovery, from colonoscopies to hip replacements, as well as interact with many physicians. This really peaked my interest in the surgical aspect of medicine. Subsequent shadowing and observing different surgeries, has only enhanced my interest in pursuing a career as a surgeon. As opposed to other branches of medicine, I love the ability that surgeons have to physically fix a problem and immediately provide a path to improve patients’ health. In addition, the high pressure situations that surgeons are involved in and the quick thinking and leadership that is required, are circumstances where I personally

I have grown so much in the past 2 months that I have worked at Lifespan than I feel like I have in the past 4 years of high school. I got to experience the hospital environment and see that from the experience I no longer wanted to become a neurosurgeon. I realized that the right path for me was to still become a doctor, but focus

I have always believed that education is an endless process of learning from people who inspire you and I feel privileged to have met several inspirations throughout my journey so far. As a resident, I shall continue to strive for excellence and provide the best medical care possible to my patients. Pediatric Neurology has been my driving force and a dream to pursue. Not only I feel obligated to help children live a healthier life, but I also feel the need to be able to reach out to as many people as possible. My ultimate dream is to foster painless solutions to the children suffering from epilepsy and work on finding a better approach towards the management of this disorder. I am confident that my commitment, passion and experience will help me achieve my dream, and at the same time prove myself to be an asset to your

Every rotation had appealing qualities, but it was my last one, Neurology, that solidified my career path. It had everything I wanted in a specialty: a mix of in-patient and out-patient, diagnostics as well as procedures, and a focus on the most complex and challenge subject matter known to mankind: the nervous system. Additionally, Neurology was the only rotation where both a detailed history and highly specialized physical exam were used in conjunction with radiologic and laboratory studies to determine a treatment course. While all these aspects drew me to the field the doctor-patient relationship was what I love the most about Neurology. Seeing neurologist take time to educate their patients on the complex nature of their conditions and advocated for them reminded me of Ira. With the right neurologist I have seen patient’s attitude changed from apathetic and defeated to inspired and resilient. A week into my rotation I called Ira to let him know of my decision to pursue Neurology. “I always knew you would,” he said nonchalantly “You have what it

It’s a job that requires you to work more than 40 hours a week and requires you to be dedicated and outstanding at what you do. This career field requires the individual to be a good leader, compassionate, knowledgeable at their job and trustworthy with many other factors involved. I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to shadow healthcare providers at hospitals during my high school years. That is where I got the chance to shadow a neurologist physician and see the way they work. I have an idea of what my life as a neurologist would be like and it’s sweet and sour but I’m willing to work for it.

I was given the opportunity to start giving back and begin making a difference by volunteering as the student intern neurologist at the VA Hospital in Cleveland. There I dedicated my time to assist in aiding our US Military personnel by helping to provide healthcare for those experiencing neurological difficulties. Every summer I continue my study by working on a neurological internship to research some specific neurological difficulties and hopefully advance the field. I have been fortunate to study neurology using a multifaceted approach. In my research I have studied the entire patient experience – from clinic to intensive care; I was given the opportunity to explore and learn as much as possible. I found it extremely rewarding to learn basics like taking a history and learning how to perform neurological examinations to the more complex like being able to perform autopsies and brain dissections. Through this experience I was given the opportunity to learn much more than I would have been able to in a textbook and I know I will be able to use this information in the years to come. This experience has also provided me with the day-to-day challenges that neurologists’ face when they care for patients with disorders that are both common and rare. Overall this broad clinical experience brought meaning and application to the basic principles

While I feel there are adversities presented to all people throughout life, I find mine stem from having to hard work for things I want to accomplish and not being blessed with the best abilities, it is my competitive nature that allows me to be who I am today. The drive that I feel in school or on the mound, the drive being to be the best I can be and to be a competitor. I always want to feel as if I am the best. The work I put in, on and off the baseball field, in and outside of school, all of it, has always been for one purpose; to get better and to be the best possible. Often when asked about my mental drive (most often by parents) I try to explain the feeling, the feeling or rather need to be better than anyone around you. Some get discouraged

During my first and second years, I excelled in anatomy and neurology, to the point when as a third year, I was selected as one of 8 neuroanatomy teaching assistants to teach second year students neuroanatomy and physiology. Neurology was the perfect field in which I was able to use my strengths in hands-on learning and identifying how the structure tied so explicitly with function. I could see more easily the connection between the complex and beautiful architecture that is the nervous system with its intricate function that carries out how our bodies move, feel, and process

I remember one day in late July my dad had taken my to a dog race that we had went to every year since before I could walk. The race used to be held in Kenton Ohio at an old campground, one of our dogs had came up to the tree lagging a little behind the rest of the pack with his legs tore up, and looking a bit confused. When I met my dad back at the camper all we could do was clean up the open lacerations on his legs and give him a small painkiller. The next weekend we went to Indiana in the country to have some practice field trials at one of my dads friends houses. I laid the scent of a raccoon on a quarter mile track through the woods and in the first heat that we raced our dog in he was way ahead of the entire pack. When suddenly while

On May 6th of 1997 I was born in St. Johns hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. My family and I lived in a small town in the suburbs of St. Louis. I lived with my mom dad, and older brother Tyler. I attended a catholic school from pre-kindergarten until fourth grade. The summer before I started fifth grade my family decided it was time to move. We moved about thirty minutes away from our previous house to a little town in Illinois called Bethalto.

Organization was never one of my strong suits as I progressed through high school as well as life. Many times, I would just remember things that I have to do off the top of my head when the time was right or if I had forgotten I would ask a friend or classmate for the homework. I was always given an agenda, but I rarely used it. One may think that I was very disorganized but actually it was the opposite. By remembering a lot of things, I was able to complete all of my task. If it got to the point where I was no longer able to remember everything then I would write down the things I needed to complete. I know that this may not seem like the most effective idea. But, I plan on changing my ways and I want to begin to start to become more organized.

Since graduating from Indiana University with a degree in Neuroscience, I have encountered employment at Billings Clinic. With over 1500 hours of clinical work experience, I think I have learned an insurmountable variety regarding medicine. This job enables me to shadow medical providers on a daily basis, which has provided me with the opportunity to watch suturing techniques, review diagnostics labs, treatment options, and prognosis determinations. Working with a plethora of providers, physicians and mid-levels, has helped me to understand how each doctor is unique in their own respect. This summer, I will also be shadowing several neurosurgeons, and viewing procedures like tumor resections and total disc replacement. Often times, there is not one specific treatment option in the clinical setting. Some providers like the tried and true methods, while others are bold and prefer the most novel methods of treatment. This perpetual balance has helped me to understand the role of being a physician.