Osteopathic Medicine: Personal Statement

I first became aware of my desire to practice medicine at the age of 16 after witnessing health disparities and diseases like diabetes affect my family and community. As I progressed through high school, I explored my interests in science and medicine by volunteering at an inner-city hospital, taking part in research, and joining the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey pre-medical honors program during my senior year. These experiences helped me become certain that I wanted to attend college to pursue a career in medicine; however,coming from a low-income family, attending underperforming schools, and being the first in my family to attend a four-year university placed me at a disadvantage. Despite lacking the support that the

A representative from the office of admissions at Northeast Ohio Medical University gave a presentation each year sharing information about the school and the basis of osteopathic medicine. While I was not able to directly shadow an osteopathic physician during college, I was interested in learning more about the field, and sought out an opportunity to attend an OMM session in Washington D.C. during my gap year as a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This experience greatly contributed to my interest in osteopathic medicine as I was able to not only learn of musculoskeletal manipulation techniques but I was also able to appreciate the hands-on approach to patient care. From this experience I then desired to possess and implement these skills with efforts to holistically treat the whole patient, instead of simply evaluating symptoms and prescribing accordingly. My highest desire is to be a doctor who works assiduously to improve the health of members within underserved communities, while also challenging the standard system of care so as to assure continual improvement of quality patient

I find OU-HCOM especially attractive because it trains students to reach beyond the standard medical training regimen and encourages students to become physician leaders, to implement research into their practice, to strive to improve care, and to build a collaborative environment between physician and patient, where the patient is a true partner in pursuing health. Attending OU-HCOM will afford me the opportunity to gain additional experience in working with underserved populations through the many clinics and community programs that are offered in my home state of Ohio, such as free diabetes clinics, the heritage community clinic, and more. I aim to work towards a health care system that delivers equal care to underserved communities and to serve these communities in three capacities: holistic medical treatment, translational biomedical research, and volunteer work at free clinics. I am confident that OU-HCOM will prepare me to be a well-versed physician-scientist and leader in the community in which I will