Becoming A Physici Personal Statement

Becoming a physician was a decision that came without much question due to having a single mother with a career in nursing and an older brother with cerebral palsy. However, being born and raised in a small rural town in South Carolina, seeing someone like me in medicine, better yet someone advocating for mental health, was and still is highly unheard of. Therefore, aspiring to conquer new barriers and change the narrative of what someone like me could achieve, was a challenge that I have so gladly accepted throughout my lifetime. Though I came into medical school with limited ideas of what I to pursue, I never realize that my blossoming interest in psychology from undergraduate would lead to a career choice of psychiatry.
Earning a minor

I began my year with a child and adolescent elective and there I was exposed to the intricacies of working with a younger population with mental health problems. I was made aware of the importance of developmental milestones and specific needs that children have during their first few primitive years, and how the lack of these could result in serious mental health problems if not properly addressed. I was able to appreciate the work of a treatment team, consisting of psychiatry, social work, nursing, psychologist and others. During my time on the adult unit, I was given the opportunity to take responsibility of my own patients. Along with the importance of thorough history taking, I realized how important patience, empathy and strategic thinking was necessary in the field. With the successful medical treatment provided to a patient with an acute of chronic depressive episode, I felt reassured that this was the type of medical care I hope to continue to

I have continuously advocated for the importance of representation, and the lack thereof that I had during my upbringing has continued to motivate me to change that. I aim to bring representation concerning mental health in the populations that I identify with, because I believe it is important to be the change that you seek. In the black community, mental health has always been disregarded and viewed as a sign of weakness, which I have witnessed firsthand in my own family. However, in recent years the views of this have steadily improved, and it is my hope that I can continue to bring this awareness to underprivileged communities and younger generations. Additionally, it is widely known that mental health issues, such as depression, substance abuse and anxiety, are more likely in the LGBTQ+ community. As someone who struggled with their identity in their younger years, I can understand how and why this may be the case. Being able to identify with several marginalized groups has made it less challenging to empathize with different people, which I believe would help me excel as future