Summer Undergraduate Research Program - Fred Hutchinson ...

Medical School Personal Statement #6
Medical School Personal Statement Example #7
“How can I live a life of service?” is a question I routinely pondered as an undergraduate. The
answer arrived one evening during my freshman year at an “interest meeting” for the National
Association for the XXXX of XXX (XXXX). The lights were dimmed and a video began
playing. In the video was a physician in Madagascar, compassionately providing treatment to
those who had no one else to turn to. Unfortunately, due to a lack of sufficient medical
personnel, she had to turn many of the desperate patients away. Despondently, she said, as if
speaking directly to me, “We need more physicians out here. I can’t see them all by myself.”
That poignant statement initiated my desire to live a life of service as a doctor; one that involves
providing medical care, comfort, and thereby, empowerment to those assailed by illness.
While growing up in XXX, I remember witnessing several victims to diseases such as malaria,
cholera, or AIDS, many of which are preventable. Millions, everyday, continue to suffer with
such conditions both abroad and in underserved communities here in the United States. I am
saddened when I realize that I have been privileged with so many opportunities, such as gaining
an education, while they continue to suffer. Accordingly, I must use what I have to alleviate their
conditions and those of other suffering individuals around the world.
My interest in medicine escalated as my love for science grew stronger. During my freshman
year, I enjoyed studying General Biology and assisting my colleagues during our study sessions.
In doing so, I was astonished, for example, that the human brain could form a perception of
reality from heaps of electrical impulses and somehow accomplish this task while monitoring all
other bodily functions. My acquaintance with the human body during this class, and other classes
thereafter, solidified my desire to be involved with science in my career.
At the end of my sophomore year, I pursued an opportunity to observe the doctor-patient
relationship at a XXXX XXXX clinic at the XXX hospital. While at the clinic, I followed Nurse
XXX into a small room where I saw a young boy sitting in a wheelchair, somberly waiting to
have his stitches removed after a surgical shunt replacement. I expected her to simply go through
the mechanics of stitch-removal and then proceed to the next patient. However, during the
process, she asked the young patient about his favorite kind of dessert and casually joked with
his family, all while wearing a contagious smile. The whole family seemed so at ease. I admired
her ability to calm the distress that so often accompanies illnesses. From the time I spent at the
clinic, I noticed that a health care provider must value the individuality of each patient and
always seek to alleviate the burden of disease in whatever way they can. After this experience, I
determined to be a doctor, not only in the academic sense, but also, in the very essence of the
word, a care-giver.
I further pursued my interest in neurobiology at the XXX XXX XXXX XXXX (XXXXX) as a
participant in the XXX XXXXX XXXX. While working in Dr. XX XXX’s lab, I researched the
neural architecture of the emotional response of fear. Due to the very basic nature of my project,
I noticed that research required a greatly narrowed concentration and meticulous study to
eventually make an impact on a person’s life. Although I was fascinated by the stimulating
study, I felt that I was missing the holistic beauty of the machinery behind the human body and
more importantly, I yearned for an opportunity to have a direct impact on people’s lives.
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