WVSOM Personal Statement

After sustaining a knee injury that required for surgical intervention while in high school, I struggled with recurring ailments throughout my intercollegiate career. It was not until my father, who is an Osteopathic physician, was performing manipulation on me did we begin to diagnose the potential causes. The issue was muscle imbalance and limited flexibility in certain areas of my body that was shifting majority of my weight onto my knees while performing certain movements. This went unnoticed by physicians because while performing examinations the scope was concentrated on the immediate areas around my knee. With the knowledge I obtained through manipulation I have been able to treat my knee ailments by strengthening and lengthening muscles throughout my body. Having this experience helped solidify that if I am to be the physician I aspire to be, it is imperative to be trained in this form of medicine.

I have always had my mind set on becoming a physician. As I sat in my academic advisor’s office during my second year of college, I came to know that there were two types of medical schools, osteopathic and allopathic. I was interested to know the difference, so I started my research. I gathered information from the AACOM and AOA websites, and learned the history, philosophy, and educational curriculum of osteopathic medicine. I desired to learn more, so I made a visit to the osteopathic school near my college. Along with four other students, I sat through an interesting lecture about various bone disorders, witnessed a physician practice OMT, and met with various instructors. The connections I made that day led me to the opportunity to shadow an osteopathic physician who has truly become a role model to me. I learned

As a first generation student, I initially had academic difficulties, as I did not know how to use all available resources. Nonetheless, I significantly improved my credentials in a post-baccalaureate program at Drexel University, which segues to a Master of Biological Science. As I studied physiology and anatomy, I was intrigued by the maintenance of homeostasis and how a single point of abnormality could cause severe problems downstream. During the course “Community Dimension of Medicine”, I found myself both amazed and appalled to learn about the disparate burden of chronic disease in certain

Besides growing up in Colorado and considering this state my home I’m interested in RVUCOM because of the unique educational opportunities it provides to its students. In particular, I’m hoping to study in the Global Medicine Honors Track because I am interested in developing and furthering healthcare infrastructure in places like India, a country that is close to my heart. As the world becomes even more interconnected and easier to travel around, it’s highly conceivable to serve both the Front Range and places across the globe with the same high quality care. My superordinate goal in this area is to help develop cost-effective education programs and preventative methods that work well and improve quality of life irrespective of geography and

The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences offers me a variety of opportunities and programs that I am unable to find anywhere else. First, the Early Selection Program allows me to have flexibility in my journey as a medical professional. Each student’s schedule in the program is tailored to a specific specialty and applicable track. In the program, I would get to explore not only the foundational medical courses, but also the courses that incorporate both clinical practice and community interaction early on. I would get to learn hands-on through the collaboration of my peers and work in an environment that looks at health through a cultural and evolving lens. From here, I will be able to get a solid impression of the care, communication, and approaches I want to implement as a future health care provider.

During my undergraduate career, I discovered further inspiration to pursue medicine while founding Texas Healthy Habits, a student organization. As an officer, I created engaging lesson plans and traveled to local elementary schools to teach children the importance of public health. When I revisited the schools, I was delighted to see that my lessons stuck with the children and they were already applying them to their daily lives. It became apparent that my lessons were helping kids make decisions that had a positive impact on their health. This opportunity revealed to me that I am drawn to a career in medicine because one of my long-term career goals is to be in a position that allows me to

My passion for healing others actually started with an accident. When I was a kid, my brother got a terrible cut and instead of telling my mom that he needed help, I attempted to take matters into my own hands and offer my own medical treatment to him. At the time, I felt like the best way to make sure that the bleeding would stop was to apply warm water onto his cut with a cloth, however, the water that I used had actually been boiling and I didn’t check the temperature before applying it directly to my brother’s open wound. Needless to say, my brother’s pain only got worse and my payment for my medical treatment was a spanking from my mother. Fortunately, my brother survived the treatment with just a memorable scar, but it was this lack in judgment that ignited something within me; it wasn’t a fear of helping others, like one might believe, but a want to learn the proper way to help others and how to implement effective medical procedures and treatments.

On the other hand, Osteopathic medicine seeks to find the imbalance in the human body which causes the disease and seeks to heal it. This distinction was not clear to me before I had looked into Osteopathic medicine more closely when in the BS/DO program. Another key difference I found between the two schools, was that Allopathic medicine focused heavily on medication whereas Osteopathic medicine did not do so. This medication did not always solely benefit the patient. Almost every drug prescribed by a physician comes with a myriad of side effects that affects each patient differently. Often, once a patient is put on a drug to cure one illness, they start another drug for an illness caused by the side effects of their first medication. However, Osteopathic medicine uses an interesting technique known as Osteopathic manipulative medicine or OMM. When my cousin, an Osteopathy student, first described this technique to me, I was fascinated by how a simple maneuver of the human skeletal system can heal a patient’s problems in a few sessions. I seek to learn more about OMM and how to use it when I will be admitted into NYITCOM. Although both Allopathic and Osteopathic medicine seek to heal patients differently, that is their end

Through the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Mentor Program I was able to meet Dr. Phuc Huynh, DO, an osteopathic physician specializing in family medicine, who was excited to share his profession with me. Through Dr. Huynh’s mentorship, I was able to gain a higher understanding of the osteopathic profession and witness how it will allow me to practice compassionate, patient-centered medicine.

I was first exposed to the philosophy and teachings behind osteopathic medicine when I attended TCOM’s pre-medical conference my freshmen year of college. At this event, I learned about the holistic view that forms the basis behind osteopathic medicine. The philosophies behind osteopathic medicine and the emphasis TCOM has on primary care and preventative medicine aligns with my personal medical outlook and endeavors. Since this conference, I sought out a variety of experiences to explore osteopathic medicine. I was given the opportunity to shadow an osteopathic physician, Dr. Ball, before sophomore year. In addition, recently I observed TCOM’s medical students explain and perform OMM treatment. These experiences and others have allowed me

A series of unexpected events led me to become an orthopaedic surgeon. In the fourth year of medical school, I began to observe the orthopaedic surgeries. My supervisors were using their dexterity to repair the fractures in the bone. After the operation and rehabilitation, patients would be gaining their movement back. It was a process that took time and work, but the end result was outstanding. I would care for patients who once came in pain, watching them leave with smiles on their faces. I wanted to improve the quality of life of my patients as well.

Originally, I discovered osteopathic medicine through conversations with my fellow pre-med colleagues. They had spoken negatively about the practice and emphasized how it is only a back-up option for people who could not gain acceptance into allopathic schools. I was not entirely convinced, so I researched the principles of osteopathic medicine on the AACOM website. The more I read about the holistic approach osteopathic physicians practice; the more I began realizing how this practice directly aligns with my own values as a person and writer. People are not merely the organs that constitute them, but unique individuals with years of life experiences. For both a writer and a physician, grasping this understanding of people’s psychological and

The future of Osteopathic Medicine is greatly dependent on leaders who are truly passionate about the field. If given the opportunity to become the Vice President of the SAAO club, I will work together with the President and my fellow colleagues on providing education and a better understating of osteopathic medicine, its techniques and its life long benefits to my fellow classmates and the community. I believe that I will ideally fit the position based on my previous professional experience as a Laboratory Technician in one of the top Biochemistry labs at the University of Rochester. As a Technician, I served as an essential link between the Principal Investigator and the rest of the world on some days. A part of my duties included organization

Being immersed in a clinical setting has solidified my decision to pursue a career as a physician. However, directly witnessing the practice of both allopathic and osteopathic physicians has led me down a new, unexpected path towards a career as an osteopathic physician. As an emergency medical scribe/ clinical information manager at Sutter Delta Medical Center and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, I have had the pleasure of working alongside a handful of osteopathic physicians sprinkled amongst the majority that I now view as my first mentors. Prior to acquiring this position, I knew little if anything about osteopathic programs and even less about the distinction between allopathic and osteopathic medicine.

I learned about osteopathic medicine during the time my older brother was applying to medical schools. I also am familiar with osteopathic medicine because my cousin has attended a D.O school. Additionally, there is a local osteopathic school of medicine near my home. All of these factors provoked me to research more into osteopathic medicine while in high school. Osteopathic medicine resonates with my pursuit of wanting to treat patients as a whole person instead of as a set of ailments. I would like to practice medicine using a holistic approach that not only caters to patients physically, but also mentally in order to revitalize their health to its most optimal level. Additionally, I am interested in osteopathic medicine because I would like to learn osteopathic manipulative treatment.