In their shoes - Duke - Example medical school application essay
Example medical school application essay
It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment I chose to be a doctor - since childhood, I’ve felt called to the medical field. It’s a part of who I am, woven into the fabric of my being. I’m named Mary, after my brave grandmother who fought cancer for nearly twenty years. The disease struck first – and then again - in her breast, later in her brain and bones. She succumbed to the illness before I had a chance to meet her; my parents found out they were having their first child on the anniversary of her death. In early childhood, I lost three more grandparents in the course of three years: to a two-decade battle with leukemia, to lung cancer, to staph infection. While I was much too young to understand the diseases themselves, I could see the impact it had on my parents, unrestrained, unfiltered. The burden of raising two young girls while constantly traveling to be present for their parents’ treatment was heavy. Cancer forced my parents, barely adults themselves, to be caretakers – as it does for so many families across the world. Memories of my grandparents resurfaced emphatically last spring. I felt a large, unusual lump developing in my breast and, recognizing my family history, began to expect the worst. I spent days on the phone with my insurance company, attending ultrasounds, and consulting with a breast surgeon to determine a diagnosis. In July, I decided to have a surgery to remove the walnut-sized tumor. While tests confirmed that the growth was benign, my family’s fear of the unknown over those few months were nonetheless just as salient. I returned to school this fall with an enhanced perspective on medical care. After experiencing first-hand frustrations with medical bills and anxiety about my treatment, I now feel especially well equipped to empathize with patients and their unique stories and fears. Being a doctor requires far more than understanding disease; a physician is a comforter, an educator, a motivator, and above all, a friend through months and years of longitudinal care. I am confident in my ability to navigate these many roles as a doctor. Balancing time-demanding extracurriculars, high performance in a rigorous academic schedule, research, and a part-time job has fortified my mental stamina and my ability to function under situations of high pressure. Leading campus tours and directing an a cappella group has taught me to answer questions respectfully, to listen with intent, and to make others feel immediately comfortable in any interaction. I believe these skills will translate into medical scenarios where I’ll need to carry the burden of many patients’ suffering while remaining calm, composed, knowledgeable, and welcoming each time I walk into a consultation room. I aspire to work as a physician-scientist, uniting my passion for science with my desire to make meaningful and lasting personal connections with the patients I treat. A combined career in translational science and clinical care will allow me to directly develop and apply innovations at the forefront of medical discovery to my own patients, with the unique opportunity to monitor firsthand their improvement and recovery in response to new treatment.
For all the lives that have been cut short, for the families torn apart by suffering, for the kids trying to get by without parents, for the moms and dads who watched their children fade away far too soon, I am determined to ensure that cancer becomes a manageable illness and not a terminal condition. I firmly believe that many, if not all, of the keys to solving human disease are encrypted in our DNA. Scientists’ new ability to translate and make sense of the entire genetic code gives me immense hope for the development of effective and harmless targeted therapeutics in the near future. In the midst of a Renaissance era of genetics and cancer discovery, there is no better time to pursue a career in academic medicine and research in these fields. I am ecstatic to walk alongside patients, to give them hope, and to return them to a state of normalcy that they could not have dreamed of even a decade ago. With my many guardian angels watching over me, I am ready to jump head first into a lifelong pursuit of discovery and patient care, to change lives and to change the world for the better.