A life worth living

This may be my most revealing post yet...

I've been trying to write my personal statement for medical school (going nowhere by the way), and I've been thinking deeply about what draws me to the medical profession. Here are some of my thoughts.

To me, the essence of medicine is to help a person live a life worth living. In a perfect world, we would not need physicians. We would not have sickness or disease. Each of us would be able to pursue our dreams and passions with full vigor. This is not the case. There is disease, there is cancer, there are eating disorders, diabetes, alzheimers. To me, the role of a physician is to do the best she can to help a person through a vulnerable time, help them navigate our health care system to obtain the highest and most comprehensive care possible. To help that person get back to their lives, contribute to their family, community, and society. The work of a physician is at the level of individual person, and a physician is morally bound to be fair, to be honest, to be thorough in her treatment of each individual she sees. I am drawn to this duty of a physician, to help each person I care for live a life most worthwhile for them, to treat all of the people I see with dignity and respect. This ground-level work of a physician is appealing to me at my most basic level, as a person of compassion, as a member of society myself, to help those around me when they are often left vulnerable.

A second aspect of medicine that appeals to my character is the need for strong leadership in the profession. The issues of medicine that interest me, continuity of care, disparities in care, costs of care, patient-centric care; are difficult problems facing the medical community, and it is my goal to pursue these problems as a physician. To me, leadership involves an ability to listen, a vision, and most importantly a strong inner moral compass. I think one of my most unique qualities is that I am willing to take on the responsibility of being a leader, and with that responsibility I have a very big respect for the power that comes with it. The idea of being in charge of a clinic, helping to improve all aspects of its systems, helping empower other health care providers, and most importantly, helping to empower and enable those who need our care, is exciting and invigorating to me...

to be continued.