2000 characters

Briefly describe your exposure to medicine: *

My desire to help others has been demonstrated by my involvement with volunteer work and internships
that have taught me that dedication and commitment to patient care are essential to becoming a good physician.
As a volunteer at St. David’s South Hospital’s operating room, I had the opportunity to assist nurses with
patient care while observing physicians perform surgical procedures. I interacted with doctors, nurses, and patients
to ensure that the OR ran efficiently and smoothly and that patients’ needs were being met. I derived great
satisfaction from this experience which inspired me to want to pursue a career in the healthcare field.
While on a medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic, I served an indigent patient population that
had little access to healthcare. The impact that our services made on this community left an indelible impression on
me. Through assessing symptoms, collecting vitals and evaluating patient history, I was able to work closely with
local physicians in helping diagnose and properly dispense medication to treat illnesses. Establishing clinics in
underserved, rural areas, and seeing the extent our services benefited the community was extremely gratifying.
These experiences helped cultivate my passion for the medical field and reflect my ability to work well with both
doctors and patients.
Currently, I am interning at the University of Heidelberg Hospital focusing on research and clinical
experience related to laparoscopic surgery. I help assess an elective course by judging the quality and proficiency of
cholecystectomies of medical school students. This has provided me an invaluable hands-on experience with box
trainers, laparoscopic simulators, and the daVinci simulator to better assess the quality of each surgery. Finally, I
am writing two systematic reviews over skill transferability. This internship is providing me invaluable insight and
clinical experience into how to improve patient outcome using laparoscopic techniques.

What do you think you will like best about being a physician?

The best part about being a physician is being able to make a difference in the lives of patients and
witnessing the impact I can make on their health and well being. Being a resident assistant (RA) taught me the
importance of responsibility and provided me the satisfaction of helping others to the best of my ability.
As a RA at Kinsolving, a University of Texas dormitory, I was given the responsibility of overseeing
residents and promoting an optimal experience for residents transitioning smoothly into college. I enjoyed the multi-
faceted aspect of the job because it helped me cultivate social awareness, refine my interpersonal skills, and further
develop my leadership skills. More importantly, I helped residents resolve interpersonal conflicts and personal
issues while also learning to respond to situational emergencies. In one particular situation, I used the skills I have
developed from being an RA to making a profound difference in my friend’s life. One late Friday night, I found a
close friend severely intoxicated with a gashed forehead, resulting in profuse bleeding. Her boyfriend and some of
her friends wanted me to help her in her dorm because she was under-aged and as an international student, could
potentially face stricter penalties. Despite mounting objections, I decided to call emergency services recognizing that
head injuries are potentially lethal, which along with the combination of alcohol could result in serious
consequences. Fortunately, she ended up being fine, but knowing that she went to a medical professional to ensure
that there weren’t any more serious complications regarding her health was the ethical response.
I learned that remaining calm in a situation of chaos is crucial when making important decisions,
particularly if the situation requires me to think clearly and independently. Being able to make a profound difference
in my friend’s life gave me satisfaction that I can make a difference one patient at a time.

What do you think you will like least about being a physician?
The thing that I will like the least about being a physician is accepting the fact that I may not be able to
save every patient’s life or spare them pain and suffering. I had experienced almost losing a life when I worked as a
lifeguard and aquatics instructor for my local community pool.
As an aquatics instructor, I usually had a class of eight students. I sat all of the children on the pool’s wall,
so that I could give one-on-one attention to each student for learning how to swim. Being entrusted for these
children’s safety by their parents made me extra careful to ensure that no accidents or dangerous situations occur. I
instructed all the children to stay on the wall and not leave until called upon, but like most children, listening is
difficult when the water looks enticing to play in. As a I was holding one student to practice basic swimming
techniques, I heard a splash and commotion behind me where I set my students on the wall. I turned around to see
one of my students in the pool with a face of sheer panic on his face. Both the lifeguard and I got to the other child
in time before anything drastic occurred. He ended up being okay, but his face filled with fear will forever be
ingrained in my memory. After work, I drove home tearing up, just thinking that I could have been at fault for losing
a life, especially such a young life filled with hope and promise.
As a physician, I know that I will be routinely facing death and despair. From my experience as a lifeguard,
I realize how precious life is and to take every precaution and responsibility necessary to preserve life. I intend to act
responsibly and exhibit cautiousness to ensure that I can be the best physician to my patients. This is in spite of the
fact that I know that I still need to face the reality that I can’t save everyone.

Describe yourself and your medical career as you see it ten years from now:

Ideally, my vision would be to bring medical care to underdeveloped and underserved communities both in
the United States and abroad, specifically in places where there is a dire shortage of physicians. During my travels
and medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic and Sri Lanka, I recognized the urgent need for healthcare
professionals and the impact that a competent physician can have on a patient’s life. This combined with the
satisfaction of helping people is what motivated me to pursue a career as a physician. Through my experience of
shadowing various physicians, a couple of medical fields have drawn my interest. After shadowing both a cardiac
surgeon and a cardiologist, I became intrigued by how seemingly simple procedures could return blood flow into
previously ischemic areas of the body. Seeing an open-heart surgery made me realize the value and importance of
the heart. Also, because I am an athlete, orthopedic surgery and sports medicine interest me because I would enjoy
helping athletes and patients with bone injuries to regain their mobility and achieve optimal performance. As an
intern at the University of Heidelberg Hospital, I have been introduced to new and exciting technological advances
in laparoscopic surgery that optimizes patients’ recovery time and improve outcome. I was impressed with the
sophistication of surgical techniques and recognized the drastic difference a skilled surgeon can make by using
laparoscopic procedures while causing minimal tissue damage. My research in surgical skill transfer between
robotics, laparoscopic, and open surgery has made me strongly consider the possibility of being a surgeon. Although
I have been exposed to a variety of fields I am fascinated with, I continue to be open to other options. Simply having
the opportunity to make an impact on patients’ lives as a physician is ultimately my objective and what I would
consider to be a great privilege and honor.

Please indicate your reasons for applying to EVMS:

I applied to EVMS due to its extensive training curriculum that gives students the unique opportunity to
gain hands-on experience, the plethora of organizations that work with the local community and public schools, and
the Global Health Equity program.
EVMS’s ModSim technology and frequent clinical interventions is a unique opportunity for medical
schools students to gain hands-on skills. I am excited and interested in the AIMS program to allow medical school
students to constantly improve and perfect techniques before applying the skills on real patients. Through both
volunteering at St. David’s South and interning at the University of Heidelberg Hospital, I have been introduced to
simulators and realized that I enjoy working to improve my surgical techniques both laparoscopically and
robotically. I would like to continue to refine my techniques through EVMS’s extensive training program that
integrates simulated clinical interactions throughout its curriculum.
EVMS also has extensive student organizations that are involved with the community, more specifically
local elementary schools to educate and improve the health of the population. Because diabetes and obesity are
prevailing health risks in South Texas, a group of students and I co-organized non-profit organization to promote
healthier habits in the local community as a form of prevention through an annual 5k race and other events. We also
reached out to elementary schools in underserved communities implement educational programs and exercise
programs to promote lifelong prevention of future chronic diseases. Through EVMS’s student organizations, I will
be able to continue my work of supporting the local community.
Additionally, EVMS’s global health equity program that includes smaller programs of medical Spanish and
refugee health would be a program that I would definitely want to be involved with. Through my medical mission
trip in the Dominican Republic, I would like to continue to bring healthcare to underserved populations around the
world and improve my Spanish.
 Intensive knowledge & extensive
training
Only perfect practice makes perfect. EVMS students master critical skills
through the use of cutting-edge ModSim technology and frequent simulated
clinical interactions. EVMS is:
Our modeling and simulation curriculum
·       Home
to The National Center for Collaboration in Medical Modeling and
Simulation
·       A
national leader in the standardized patient program — training
students, residents and mid-professionals from over 40 well-known
institutions and organizations including Duke University School of Medicine,
George Washington University and the American College of Physicians
·       The
creator of the Automated Intelligent Mentoring System (AIMS)
which helps students learn and practice clinical procedures without the
need of a trained teacher to oversee the student and critique performance.
This means that our students can practice as often and whenever they want
in order to perfect their techniques.

Global Health Equity

Global health inequities are community issues around the world, and
these challenges have an impact on Hampton Roads. These initiatives
focus on addressing these inequities.
Medical Spanish: Students work with Spanish-speaking patients and
earn a Spanish Bilingual Clinician Certification.
Refugee Health: Students partner with local resettlement agencies to
improve the health of refugees and health-related systems they
experience.
Medical French: Students work with French-speaking patients and
earn a French Clinician Certification through Alliance Française.