Look over my School List and Personal Statement/Secondary Editing Thread

Hey here's what I have so far:

My preceptee and I headed to the triage desk for a new patient. A young teenager was checked in for suicidal behavior. His parents brought him in for sticking a fork in the outlet. As the student was completing the EKG, I noticed that the patient was anxious. I struck up a conversation with him. As we talked and connected, he relaxed, and then opened up more. He admitted that he had no desire to commit suicide, but had actually done it because he experienced an uncontrollable urge. The nurse and social worker confirmed this and he was admitted to the psychiatric wing to help manage his urges.

This experience cemented in my mind the importance of patient interaction. A miscommunication could have led the young man to keep silent, which would lead to improper care. Instead, approaching the patient in an open manner helped us discover a truth that we did not expect. The EKG treated his body, and the conversation addressed the patient as a whole, which resulted in treatment of his mind.

Connecting with a patient is key, and health care workers should utilize their background to assist with this. I believe my modest background helps me bond with others. Growing up, my parents followed a frugal budget. Until high school, I wore awkward fitting clothes that I would grow into, had no cell phone, and was unable to buy nicer birthday presents for other kids. This caused social dysfunction and exclusion for me as a child. As a consequence, I acquired strong empathy for the underprivileged and a desire for social interaction. My learned frugality drove me to graduate early. My parents’ eventual rise in prosperity taught me to value hard work and gave me a competitive edge to rise to the challenge of school and life as they did. It made me confident in who I am today. My upbringing helps me connect with patients and my confidence reassures them of my skills and professionalism.

During college, I knew my desire for greater medical knowledge, mastery in a craft, strong teamwork, and significant responsibility were a perfect fit for medical school. While I enjoyed connecting with people in non-clinical settings, I took up hospital volunteering and employment to see if this applied to patient interaction as well. Some of my coworkers say medicine turned their views on people cynical, yet I discovered the opposite effect. I found the value in optimism and I feel it growing in me. Being optimistic allows me to approach each patient with the benefit of the doubt. It compels me to put total effort into addressing a patient’s symptoms. Medicine is not just turning me into a better caregiver; it is turning me into a better person.

As the philanthropy and service chair in my fraternity, I learned that sometimes the best act for humanity is bureaucratic work. Though one-on-one work is priceless, gathering members to accumulate hundreds of volunteer hours per year and raising thousands of dollars can do more good than one person alone. With this focus, I joined the unit council in the ED. There, we address workplace issues like procedural response times, patient satisfaction, and nurse turnover rate. We change what we can, and I am proud to play a part in it. At the very least, I have learned how to properly educate myself and dispel misunderstandings between workers and/or patients. I now understand the importance of staying involved. For example, there is increasing pressure to see more patients in a shorter amount of time. However, for patients like our psychiatric patient, I would not have provided proper care without having a full conversation with him. The privilege to have time to talk with patients is worth fighting for. In the future, I hope to contribute by at least serving on a committee like the unit council, in order to push for better changes.

Helping the psychiatric patient and his worried parents taught me to treat patients beyond their chief complaint. The social worker and our clinical team each did our best and a patient received proper treatment. Treating individuals together, making a greater change, and growing into a happier and wiser person make me certain that I want to be educated and trained as a doctor. One of our physicians told me, “If you can find yourself smiling, even after 5 12-hour shifts in a row, then you’re in the right field”, and I do.

/r/premed Thread Parent