My mother was a physician, yet I never saw her practice. My family and I were new immigrants to the United States when she was diagnosed with diabetes, schizophrenia and portal hypertension in the span of a few months. Her health prevented her from seeking residency in the United States and she retired from the medical profession. Like many other new immigrants, our finances were limited and my mother’s treatment further dented them. It was during this time that my journey to the field of medicine began. With my father often working late to meet the financial demands of my mother’s treatment, I became her primary caretaker. While I found the role to be challenging, I embraced it due to my love for her. I learned to be patient and understanding …show more content…
Observing physicians as they tended to my mother, I was fascinated by the medical sciences at work during her treatment. My curiosity led me to ask them about the scientific reasoning behind her condition. Interacting with them as they explained to me the anatomy of her health, I grew to tremendously respect my mother’s physicians. More than their insight about my mother’s health, I was impressed by their insistence to help me, as a teenager, understand and cope with her condition. I began to consider medicine as a future career and started to research the profession during my spare time. The allure of medicine soon became too strong to ignore and I began to immerse myself in the …show more content…
Courses became an opportunity to further my understanding of the human body and its various intricacies. I discovered an enjoyment of the content of scientific courses and felt compelled to apply my newly gained knowledge. Research provided me with a rewarding opportunity to do so, yet I felt a distinct lack of human interaction in the laboratory. Looking back at my volunteer experiences, I realized that a human application of the sciences would be necessary for my future career. Outside the classroom, I found twin passions in leadership and working with others. Coaching youth soccer gave me an opportunity to serve as a leader in the community. I discovered the importance of effective communication with children as well as adults. During subsequent shadowing experiences, I discovered similarities between the player-coach and physician-patient relationship. While the goals of each relationship were different, I found that both facilitated a transfer of information through a strong, trusting relationship. Consequently, I hope to use my coaching experiences to better connect with