Personal Statement: Sample 1 (Page 2 of 2) in pdf

Personal Statement: Sample 1 Page 2

In many ways, family medicine melds all of my interests. I can practice in the states or

abroad, in rural or urban areas, in academic or community health settings. It gives me the

opportunity to meet diverse patients from all walks of life and to be present for important

moments that they experience in regards to their health. And I can still play a role in advancing

the field through policy research and advocacy. I want to be the family doctor who advocates for

change with her patients and who understands that the amount of money one possesses should

not dictate the quality of care one receives. I want to be an effective clinician in order to be a

more credible policy maker and I want to be an effective policy maker who lets her practice

experience inform her policy positions.

In Tanzania, in the deserted chaos of the operating room, Dr. Gillian relaxed with a cup

of coffee. Dr. Msema recorded the operation in the log book, and the nurse sterilized

instruments next door. The overhead surgical light pierced the shadows and illuminated the

girl’s pale, tiny face, swaddled with in bright colors. Although still precarious, she had somewhat

stabilized. With such a large head at birth, Dr. Gillian, Julie and I conjectured hydrocephalus.

We were never certain, but a week after I left, she died. As I look back, that little girl taught me

about the difficult, yet delicate tension between knowing when to act and when to be still. As the

palm trees swayed in the gentle breeze outside, all that mattered in that moment had been her

shallow breathing and my hand on her heart.

Personal Statement: Sample 1 Page 2