Medicine Personal Essay Sample

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Drexel Student, MSIV
Internal Medicine Personal Statement
I still remember something one of my college professors told me on the last day of his class:
"Never stop being curious," he said. I liked his message; it was simple without being trite.
To me, it emphasized following a path in life that is intellectually stimulating and promotes
lifelong learning. Those words still resonate loudly with me today as I prepare for my
journey towards residency and what I hope will prove to be a long and rewarding career in
medicine.
As a third year medical student, several factors motivated me to choose a residency in
Internal Medicine. During my Internal Medicine clerkship, I experienced the intricate
thought processes involved in treating patients with multiple co-morbidities, as well as the
energy and compassion needed to care for the patient as a whole. I quickly found a mentor
in one of the attendings with whom I worked. His breadth of knowledge and enthusiasm
for differential diagnosis showed me how exciting the field of Internal Medicine can be. I
loved the challenge of being faced with a set of symptoms and identifying their common
etiology. My curiosity was certainly piqued; the more I learned, the more I wanted to learn.
The most gratifying part for me, however, was the interactions I had with my patients.
Behind the countless chief complaints presented to me were real people, each with a story
that shaped who they were and how they had come to that point in their lives. The patient
presenting with hypertensive urgency was actually a 23 year-old woman who had developed
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy after spraining her ankle, and subsequently given up her
dream of becoming a marathon runner. The patient presenting with vertigo was actually a
62 year-old man who, after the recent death of his wife, had started taking multiple herbal
supplements to help him "live longer". My job became not only to determine what brought
these people to the hospital, but also to find out who they really were because, more often
than not, the two were intertwined. It moved me to see how my curiosity and patience in
learning about each person's background helped me to better treat each individual.
For these reasons, a career in Internal Medicine would satisfy both my thirst for knowledge
and my desire for strong patient relationships. Furthermore, I know that I have the skill set
and the drive that will help me become a caring and competent physician. My involvement
in activities both inside and outside of medicine has made me well-rounded and enables me
to work effectively with different types of people in various situations. Being a member of a
musical band has reinforced the importance of communication and working as a team-
player, and holding a class office for nearly three years has instilled in me a great sense of
responsibility and organization. Finally, co-chairing a large-scale benefit event for Saint
Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia confirmed to me how much I enjoy
playing an active role in the community, and validated my ability to be a successful leader.
I would like to continue reaching out to my community as a physician, and work with my
colleagues to benefit individual and common health. I am looking for a residency program
that will not only allow me to achieve these goals, but one that will also present me with a
broad range of exposures to help me develop my skills as a doctor and provide possibilities
to move on in my training. In turn, I will bring enthusiasm, diligence, and most of all, my
endless curiosity. Thank you for your consideration.

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