Hometown:  Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

Undergraduate School: Private, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Major: Mechanical Engineering and Biological Engineering

GPA: 5.0 out of 4.0

MCAT: 38. PS: 14, V: 11, BS: 13.

Free example medical statement

I still remember witnessing the pain within my own family when my grandfather slowly died from stroke complications after losing his mobility and becoming fully dependent on others. I felt helpless through this experience watching the family doctor exhaust all options to save my grandfather’s life. I wished to do something, but could not and so I began thinking about becoming a doctor. Later on through my numerous experiences, both clinical and in the community, I have become even more determined to pursue medicine since it offers a perfect balance between wanting to help people and my interest in science and technology.

Interested in exploring a career in medicine, I shadowed a cardiologist who still inspires me with his passion for healing through innovation and his affectionate nature with patients. He introduced me to angioplasties and the various medical devices he invented from novel stents to an automatic detector of heart attacks. He amazed me with his ability to develop novel technologies for enhancing the lives of many, but it was his heartfelt interactions with his patients that especially resonated with me.

Eager to see more aspects of medicine, I volunteered in hospitals and shadowed surgeons. My volunteering duties at Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo involved delivering surgical tools to operating rooms which allowed me to view operations such as a C section and open-heart surgery. My shadowing at Massachusetts General Hospital brought me even closer to surgeries. Especially fascinating was a recent case I witnessed of a 60-year-old man with esophageal cancer. I watched the surgeons wield their tools to cut through tissue with remarkable detail and accuracy while avoiding vital tissues. Bypassing the esophagus by connecting the mouth directly to the stomach astonished me—particularly how the anatomy of a person could be significantly altered and yet the procedure would save his life. I envisioned myself in the doctor’s shoes, working hard for hours to save the patient’s life. Excited by these experiences, I became more resolved to study medicine.

Part of why I feel drawn to medicine derives from my desire to help others. Over the past three years, I had the privilege of serving my dorm as a Medlink representative, an on-call link to medical treatment and advice. As Medlinks, we are trained by MIT Medical in first aid and CPR and are provided with an approved stock of over the counter medicines to administer to peers in our dorms. I vividly recall one Saturday night when a student came to me on the verge of tears with rashes on his arms, uneasy about an allergic reaction he was having to his dinner. 

Determining Benadryl was the appropriate treatment from a discussion of his symptoms and medical allergies, I administered a dose to him. In two hours, his symptoms cleared and he hugged me saying, “You saved me.” For the first time I truly experienced how it feels to help someone in need of immediate care. We are now good friends, connected by a short, yet profound moment.

I have also had many rewarding interactions with underserved middle school students while serving as a mentor in several science and engineering programs for the past six years. Two Cantonese children I worked with on a projectile motion project at MIT, however, stood out the most over the years. They were recent immigrants with limited English speaking and writing abilities. Week after week, I patiently pushed them to scour books and the Internet, encouraging them to read literature and think of experiments to test. Despite my frustration at times, I was successful in motivating them to stow away doubts and fear of failure and to learn something entirely foreign. During their final presentation, I could see the excitement radiating from them, filling me with a sense of satisfaction from knowing that I was able to help.

Aside from reaching out to the community, research has been a significant part of my life outside the classroom for the past five years. I once presented my work on the anatomical investigation of neurons on a local access cable network. After the show, one of the cameramen approached me and enthusiastically shook my hand, talking to me about his daughter’s neurological disorder. He understood my presentation as he spent months researching neurological diseases and investigating treatments. He thanked me for working hard to better the understanding of the nervous system for the sake of people like his daughter. Thinking about our conversation, I knew my career would have to involve helping people through both research and medicine.

Knowing that I am pursuing a challenging career, I am confident that I will be able to use the skills I mastered in many aspects of my life, such as my rigorous education, volunteering, mentoring, and research experiences, towards treating patients and contributing to medicine. While feeling helpless through my grandfather’s sickness initiated my interest in medicine, my ensemble of experiences and my passion for science and engineering have brought me to pursue medicine where I can wholeheartedly give and be part of the profession I so admire.

Analysis

Omar explains how his strong interest in helping others draws him to medicine. He opens the essay with the painful personal experience of losing his grand father, which he frames as the spark for what inspired him to become interested in becoming a doctor. From this experience, he then outlines the path that he followed to discover more about the field. He shows how he has grown from hardship, taking initiative so that he no longer feels helpless. The detail with which he describes the operations he observed makes it clear that he is fascinated by surgery.

For Omar, the personal relationships and interactions he makes with his patients are what makes medicine so meaningful. He exemplifies this by describing experiences directly related to medically treating others as well as experiences where he mentored underserved children. Through this breadth of experiences, he shows the reader that he is not only truly dedicated to serving others but also a well-rounded candidate, who has both the hard and the soft skills to thrive in medicine. That he addresses advanced surgeries, allergic reactions in his college dorm, and service to middle school students with the same urgency and passion demonstrates that he has what it takes to become a doctor.

From 50 Successful Harvard Medical School Essays edited by the Staff of the Harvard Crimson. Copyright (c) 2020 by the authors and reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Publishing Group