The PreMed Example Medicine Personal Statement Library is now open!
These sample pre-medical school, pre-med, medschool personal statement examples are here for your viewing pleasure (fully anonymous). We’re hoping to add more residency personal statements in the future, including Pre-Med personal statements. If you’ve got one to add to the free library, don’t forget to contribute yours.
ERAS MEDICAL SCHOOL PERSONAL STATEMENT
Three weeks after I graduated college I tried desperately to retain all the knowledge acquired over the last four years in preparation for my trip to Guatemala,. For weeks I studied old class notes, memorizing the treatment for a sucking chest wound, symptoms of placenta previa, and how to triage patients. As my departure approached, I feverishly reviewed irregular Spanish verbs and tenses, as well as old notes from my Latin American Peoples and Cultures class in hopes of improving my cross-cultural communication skills.
Filled with fear, excitement, and anticipation, I arrived in Guatemala in June 2001 eager to begin my work in medical missions. As I walked the streets of the village I was to work in, I was reminded of my passion to help the underserved. Many of the faces I encountered in Santa Maria resembled faces of those from the native Hawaiian community I was raised in. A succession of historical injustices in combination with the decline of culture, education, socio-economic status and health-care status have left native Hawaiians trapped in a cycle of poverty and oppression. I could sense the same had happened in this indigenous village. Watching as people milled about in the doorway of the clinic, it was my hope to use medicine as a vehicle for healing bodies and nursing wounded souls.
Each day I worked alongside Guatemalan doctors and nurses helping serving the underserved in a small village of Santa Maria de Jesus. Over the course of my three-month stay I learned much about the human body ,its ailments, and treatments. I expanded my knowledge of human anatomy and physiology. Yet, as my knowledge of medicine grew through interaction with patients, my understanding of the human spirit matured. Instead of seeing a diseased patient that needed healing, my perspective shifted to see a patient who demanded respect, dignity, and compassionate care. Initially, I envisioned my time in Guatemala would be spent giving care to those in need. In retrospect, my time in Guatemala was spent caring for those who taught me an indispensable lesson–“The most precious possession any human being has is his spirit- his will to live, his sense of dignity, his personality. Though technically we may be concerned with tendons, bones and nerve endings, we must never lose sight of the person we are treating.” (Dr. Paul Brand)
In addition to my duties as a medical assistant, I also functioned as clinic site leader, responsible for incorporating visiting North American students into the clinical setting. Each week brought a new set of students, who like me, desired to use their skills to help those in need. While students were instructed in the basics of how to take a blood pressure, perform a blood draw and administer an injection, my role as a leader entailed something much more important- to teach them the lesson I was concurrently learning. In each situation, students were encouraged to proceed gently, being careful to treat the patient and not only the disease. Though we possessed the medication and diagnostic tools to treat patients’ ailments, the importance of listening, smiling, and being culturally appropriate were first emphasized., There were also times where a lack of resources made the limitations of our field apparent. Yet in situations with patients suffering from AIDS, cancer or a stroke, we sat, listened and celebrated life along with the patient and his family.
The lessons I learned in Guatemala further compelled me to pursue medicine with a passion when I returned to the states. Although I obtained a degree in biology during college, a career in medicine had seemed uncertain. Yet, after witnessing the ability of medicine to heal, serve and empower, I desired to continue on.
It has been two years since my trip to Guatemala and thus far my pursuit of medicine continues. Working full-time as a medical assistant in a multi-specialty clinic, while simultaneously attending post-baccalaureate classes has exposed me to the rigors of medicine. Through daily interactions with doctors and patients, I’ve gained insight into clinical and administrative aspects of healthcare. Although the context has changed, I am still learning in much the same manner as I did in Guatemala. It is my hope to pursue a career in medicine in order to live a life full of service and continually enhance my education through clinical knowledge and life lessons.