Summer Undergraduate Research Program - Fred Hutchinson ...

Medical Medical School Personal Statement Statement Example #9 #8
“Bie jin ta de fang jian (Do NOT enter his room)!” my grandmother warned me
against entering my uncle’s seemingly ordinary room every time I peeked inside. Uncle
XX worked a regular job, interacted with friends and neighbors without maintaining an
unusual distance, and showed no physical signs of illness. Yet during the four years I
lived in Beijing, China, my grandmother denied me direct contact and minimized any
indirect contact I had with him. He had his own sink, tableware, stool, and used a tissue
to handle shared household appliances.
These once puzzling behaviors now drive my commitment to combine my
intrigue with the sciences and the cultural sensitivity I gained from living in China, Japan,
and the United States to train as a culturally competent physician in the field of global
health and infectious disease. I understand now that my grandmother’s caution stemmed
from her desire to protect me from contracting hepatitis B and the ensuing discrimination.
China still bears one third of the world’s hepatitis B burden and social stigmatization
against hepatitis B-positive individuals remains widespread. Even though my
grandmother knew from her experience in pharmaceutical research that hepatitis B is not
transmitted through casual contact, she still felt it necessary to limit my interaction with
my hepatitis B-positive uncle.
My aptitude as a trilingual, culturally-aware physician who can promote mutual
understanding, facilitate a collaborative, trusting physician-patient relationship, and
provide appropriate and effective care also draws from the diligence and dedication I
gained from playing the piano. As a pianist, I spend hours analyzing how the notes and
rests interact with each other and experiment with the different tones a key can produce
depending on how fast it is pressed and released and how much force is applied. These
details often keep me in the practice rooms until late at night. Yet I continue to practice
because piano challenges me to experiment, interpret, and present a musical work from
what some people may perceive as merely black dots on paper. Physicians face a similar
challenge in presenting their repertoire of black dots, or medical knowledge, in ways that
patients of diverse backgrounds can understand.
Pianists and physicians also practice adaptability. Pianos are not easily
transported and I have performed on many unfamiliar pianos in my 17-year musical
career. Before each performance, I methodically test the firmness, tone, responsiveness,
and projection of the unfamiliar keys and adjust my play accordingly. My medical
observerships at the XX XX Family Medical Center and the XX Children’s Hospital
demonstrated that the physician-patient interaction is much like a musical performance;
physicians cannot choose patients or completely control a patient’s health and thus, must
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