1. The Committee on Admissions values diversity as an important factor in the educational mission of the Wake Forest School of Medicine. How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and to the medical community in general? (400 words or less). I am half-Chinese, half-Swedish, and both a Swedish and an American citizen. Throughout my life, my parents have always stressed the importance of celebrating all three of my nationalities; however, growing up, my peers were not able to accept me for being anything but “some sort of Asian.” In spite of my Swedish heritage and our shared upbringing in the homogeneously white town of Rye, I was always treated differently because of my appearance. Constantly having …show more content…
Although he had undergone an amputation due to diabetes-related complications, George was beaming as he sat in his wheelchair. Ignoring the physician who was attempting to give him instructions for post-operative care, George peppered me with questions ranging from what was my favorite hobby to what I enjoyed most about attending Colby College. Laughing through her big, toothy smile, George’s wife covered his mouth to halt the barrage. She informed me that George used to work in the Colby dining halls, and his favorite part of the job was talking with students. He was forced to stop, however, due to his health. As his wife went ahead to get their car, George and I continued to talk, and he confided in me that it had been difficult to make ends meet recently. The sense that he was no longer able to provide for his family weighed heavily on him; however, talking with Colby students helped him forget about his hardships and reminded him of when he could work. George’s story has stayed with me because his struggles should have been averted. By undergoing preventative measures, his chronic illness may have had a better outcome. Perhaps most troubling, George’s story was not unique. Due to their lack of both insurance and health literacy, many patients I met while volunteering in Maine suffered from afflictions that were …show more content…
The memory of George’s struggles provides a continuous reminder of why I am pursuing a career in medicine and serves as a perpetual source of motivation. I have a responsibility to those less fortunate than me to work my hardest and to continuously improve, so I may grow to ensure that others do not needlessly suffer as George has. Moreover, the knowledge of healthcare inequities I have gained will allow me to bring the concerns of underserved populations to the Wake Forest School of Medicine and help foster the growth of physicians who are dedicated to aiding the disadvantaged. Medical school will undoubtedly be wrought with challenges; however, I am confident that dedication to ameliorate others’ suffering will allow me not only to thrive, but also enrich the learning experience of my peers. 4. If you have already received your bachelor's degree, please describe what you have been doing since graduation and your plans for the upcoming year (200 words or
If you have already received your bachelor 's degree, please describe what you have been doing since graduation, and your plans for the upcoming year. (700 characters)
Keeping in line with Marietta College’s statement on Diversity and Inclusion, it is important to map out a plan to make sure we are living up to the mission of the college. In order to fulfill this mission, it is necessary to have students from diverse backgrounds represented on campus. However, having students on campus is only one aspect of D&I work. Understanding the make-up of the college and the surrounding city, it is necessary to ensure these students have the support to be retained through graduation. In this effort, I propose the creation of a three part program that will assist in this effort. This plan will involve
Poor first-generation college students are underrepresented in medicine, despite their wealth of experiences giving them a unique and significant perspective into the challenges of patients. Even through tireless work and perseverance they may be only a few steps away from achieving their dreams. I am one of those students and I intend to become a physician. My interest in the ABLE Program is rooted in two main reasons. First, its focus on disadvantaged students. Second, ABLE aligns with my long-term goal of service to underserved communities across Michigan.
“Never be a doctor if you’re going to have any loans to pay back.” “Don’t do this to yourself.” “You’ll never have a family if you go to medical school.” “The two worst jobs in America belong to physicians and teachers.” Without even soliciting their advice, physicians noticed my “Pre-medical Volunteer” nametag, and immediately approached me with words of discouragement. I participated in a volunteer summer internship at St. Mary Hospital in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, following my sophomore year of college, in an effort to gain more experience in the medical field and solidify my lifelong desire to become a physician. Throughout the eight weeks, I spent mandatory hours in both the Emergency Room and the Operating Room, made contacts with physicians in specific areas of interest, and spent time shadowing them. In addition, each of us in the program attended weekly business meetings in which administrators of the hospital and local physicians spoke to us about their particular positions and experiences. Unlike the many years of high school I spent volunteering at a hospital and a nursing home, where I was limited to carrying around food trays and refilling cups of water, I was able to gain hands-on and more intimate experience. Initially uneasy at the site of the blood gushing into plastic sheets draped around the orthopedic surgeon’s patient in the OR, it took only a few days to grow accustomed to the images on the television screen during a laparoscopic procedure and the
As a young child, I witnessed underserved communities in India and America that truly needed health care, but were deprived of it, due to high poverty. I was a casualty of this situation when I moved to America. I lived in a neighborhood that was poor, and there was a lack of proper healthcare, especially if one did not have health insurance. The neighborhood had only one hospital in its vicinity, and the wait hours were long. My experiences were never pleasant, for the staff and doctors were often rude. These experiences made me realize that my passion for helping would be most helpful in a health care career. However, I knew that if I were to become a doctor, I had to maintain my grades, as it is a highly competitive field. This desire to become a doctor led me to take classes at a community college while attending high school.
The Stritch school of medicine is an institution that allows the intersection of research, compassionate care to all members of the community and academic excellence while keeping the patient first. For this reason, I am certain that being a part of this program will challenge me to widen my horizons and increase my exposure to different perspectives. Furthermore, the emphasis on serving others, especially those from the underserved population aligns with my future aspirations as a physician. The ASPIRE program has invaluable resources for me to broaden my depth of knowledge about health care disparities, team dynamics in medicine, and the significance of healthcare professionals that are willing to implement change.The combination of academic
If you earned your baccalaureate degree prior to this past June, please indicate your plans for the upcoming academic year.
The medical field is a career path that brings about many options and opportunities of great value. The noble idea of being a doctor tends to cloud the diligent studying and precise training that is actually required for this career. I have wanted to become a doctor since a very young age, and now that the opportunity is here for the taking, I have fully researched what it takes to succeed in this profession and various specialties of the practice. The road to a medical degree is one filled with thousands of notes, years of schooling, and many stressful nights, but the reward is one incomparable to any other. Saving people’s lives on a day-to-day basis has been one of my dreams for as long as I can remember, so the rigorous curriculum
Through these volunteering efforts alongside medically underserved individuals I gained experience as well as a better sense of cultural competence and compassion that has gradually helped me learn the capacity to understand other people’s experiences and sufferings in a way I never had before. Furthermore, by specifically working in family and free health clinics, I have had the opportunity to gain perspective to the present health disparities of minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. I have witnessed how a lack of insurance, monetary income, or health education can affect one’s decision to attain primary health care. Seeing their medically related hardships increase has only challenged me to contribute my unwavering efforts to pursue the Biomedical Sciences MS degree and become a compassionate, culturally competent, and respectful type of physician who thinks logically and rationally when striving to help people in their greatest time of need, instead of focusing on their
When planning my pre-medical schedule at the University of Iowa, I found a first year seminar titled “Journey to Medical School.” All of the fears, ambitions, and everything I could think of regarding my journey to medical school was covered in the seminar. I left the class feeling terrified, but more than that, excited and prepared for what was to come within my next 8 years. One of the class periods was filled with the intellect of students who currently attend Carver Medical School. During that class period, I was mesmerized by the way the students carried themselves. They talked with poise and grace. Listening to them talk about how their journey was going made my heart putter – I was terrified, yet excited to continue on my own
For a split second I caught myself reconsidering my future that I have thought for so long I had all figured out. As the President of the Ole Miss chapter of AMSA began the meeting, I found myself starting to relax a little. I listened to all the things that most medical school reviewers look for on a transcript and application, and all the things she talked about were offered through this organization or were made much simpler with the aid that it provides. The speaker went on to say that AMSA was not simply a “medical school prep”, but it was heavily involved in community service. Following the speech by the President, Dr. Gray got on stage to tell us about his experience as a member of the review board at the University of Arkansas Medical School, and he shared some of the things that he, as a reviewer, found as positives and negatives in an application. When the meeting was coming to an end, we were encouraged to join the national chapter of AMSA as well as the Ole Miss
Many of the stories Shannon shared with the class were excerpts from a larger Memoir Shannon is compiling. Two of the major events Shannon’s memoir will focus
As someone of Asian race, but adopted into a white suburban family, it has always been hard to reconcile the two. Growing up I never saw myself different than my primarily white classmates. Only when kids, mostly strangers, would sometimes pull their eyelids back or spoke pseudo-Chinese in an attempt to imitate Asian culture in middle school did I realize that I was different on the outside did I begin to understand that the
Hi Ian, First of all, Thank-you for agreeing to let us complete some of our diversity placement within your school, we can not express our gratitude to you enough. Due to an unexpected compulsory task none of us will be able to see your school on Tuesday the 15th of November, as well as Friday the 18th we are extremely sorry for the inconveniences this might cause for you. However every other day their will be placement students in your classroom.
Randy had ten tumors on his liver, and he only had a short time to live. Carnegie Mellon, the university where he worked, offered a lecture series for students wherein educators shared advice based on lessons learned from their lives. Randy had his chance to share before he died.