Here it is, my (semi) final draft for my residency applications. Haven't gotten a WHOLE lot of people to look at it, so if you have the time to run through it, I can't tell you how much it would mean to me.

Thanks!

I’ve always known that I wanted to become a doctor. Of course, I went through the obligatory phases of childhood during which I was convinced that my destiny was to become an astronaut or a marine biologist. But my interests, no matter where they strayed, always returned to medicine. I attribute much of this to my mother; as a registered nurse, her dinner table stories of the patients she had taken care of enthralled me and nurtured in me an insatiable curiosity for all things medical. Throughout my school years, I found myself gravitating towards the sciences, biology in particular. I became enamored with the intricacies of the human body, with the million delicate processes that culminated in a living, breathing organism. I also developed a fascination with the ways that these processes could break down, resulting in disease. While a junior in high school, I was employed as an aid and secretary on a medical-surgical floor. I was delighted to discover that not only did I thrill at the clinical applications of all that I had so passionately studied; I also relished the human component of medicine, the art of being a healer. From that point forward, I set myself to achieving the goal of becoming a physician.

I matriculated to medical school in 2007. Although admittedly a stressful time, it was also a time of enormous personal growth and satisfaction. Growth, in that I found myself rising to meet adversity with determination and perseverance. Through hard work and countless hours of studying, I developed proficiency in my knowledge and clinical skills as the years progressed. Satisfaction, insomuch as I found it nothing short of joyous to be immersed in subjects that fascinated me so thoroughly. I found that much of the joy I derived from my studies came from the mental acrobatics required to tease out diagnosis. I fell thoroughly in love with the ‘ah-ha’ moment in which the pieces of a particular patient’s puzzle would fall into place to reveal the picture of their disease. Nowhere do the skills of deduction and reason seem to be more thoroughly tested than in Internal Medicine. During my inpatient Internal Medicine rotation, I found that I enjoyed the complexity of the patients on our service. I appreciated the way the attending physicians would take time on rounds to dissect through the minutiae of each case; this not only optimized patient care by addressing each facet of their clinical picture, but it also taught me how to think about medicine in a precise and analytical fashion. (Reigning in my enthusiasm for these didactic sessions proved to be difficult, and often I would inadvertently exacerbate the lengthiness of rounds.) I find these physicians to be a community of thinkers, masters of reason and logic, a community I aspire to be part of. I also love the flexibility and variety Internal medicine offers its practitioners; during my sub-specialty month, I became convinced that regardless of the one’s passions, a niche for it had been carved out within Internal Medicine.

Today, as my graduation from medical school looms on the horizon, I reflect not only on the road behind me, but also on the road ahead. Throughout my clinical years, I have found that nothing excites my passion for medicine as much as Critical Care. There are several reasons for this fervor; first, I much prefer the intensity and subtle hum of energy of the inpatient setting to the more sedate outpatient setting. I also enjoy the challenge of taking care of acutely ill persons, as well as the ethical dilemmas that frequently arise at the end of life. Lastly, the ICU is a place where the laws and concepts of physiology (the very same that drew me to medicine initially) come to life, and comprising of patients whom require the sharpest and most resolute of medical minds to minister to. I aspire to be that kind of physician, and envision myself pursuing fellowship training in Pulmonary/ Critical Care to ultimately become an Intensivist. Also, I have thoroughly appreciated training at an academic center, both for its focus on the latest medical research and recommendations as well as its ample opportunities to teach, and would prefer to continue my career as faculty at just such an institution. Regardless of where I train, one thing is for certain: I will strive to be an asset to the program. I will bring to the institution enthusiasm for learning and the voracious professional curiosity that not only allowed me to come this far, but continues to drive me forward.