Personal Statement

As a young child, I witnessed underserved communities in India and America that truly needed health care, but were deprived of it, due to high poverty. I was a casualty of this situation when I moved to America. I lived in a neighborhood that was poor, and there was a lack of proper healthcare, especially if one did not have health insurance. The neighborhood had only one hospital in its vicinity, and the wait hours were long. My experiences were never pleasant, for the staff and doctors were often rude. These experiences made me realize that my passion for helping would be most helpful in a health care career. However, I knew that if I were to become a doctor, I had to maintain my grades, as it is a highly competitive field. This desire to become a doctor led me to take classes at a community college while attending high school.

There are few certainties of what one will encounter during life. A common joke names two: death and

I was raised in a third world country where only few people living in major cities had access to health care, whereas the majority residing in suburbs and rural areas struggled to find a doctor. I believe that health care should be accessible to everyone regardless of his or her place of residence. I chose Morehouse College of Medicine because its mission resonates with my goals of serving the underserved populations and improving the well-beings of disadvantaged communities. Morehouse is a leading medical school in the nation in community engagement and public service. Its mission and vision intersects with the core values that I have been striving to implement and achieve since the moment I decided to become a doctor. Serving the community through education, volunteering, and community involvement are things I have been working on throughout my

The best way to learn about my future patients is to spend every day with them, recognize their needs, and form a middle-ground where they see that I am someone so far removed from understanding some of the struggles faced, especially in healthcare. As I want to treat children from these areas in the future, I believe a gap year investment is an immense opportunity for me to develop myself and assert the character of the physician I’m determined to become. I expect to carry this experience with me, not just throughout medical school, but into my every day

As a young girl, I vividly recall writing about being a doctor; this dream became more of a pressing desire as I aged and noticed the increasing needs of my neighborhood. As an African-American woman growing up in South Los Angeles, I am aware of the lack of educational, financial as well as health opportunities in my community. I want to become a physician-advocate who is sympathetic to the needs and circumstances of residents, as well as one who is active in the improvement of communal wellness. As a first year student within the Charles R. Drew/UCLA medical education program, I have been provided a foundation that will equip me with the tools needed to be an effective community-based physician, but it is my belief that participation in the GE-NMF Primary Care Leadership Program (PCLP) will offer a challenge and a gift that will mold me into a great doctor of service to the community.

I was born the fourth of December 1991 in Cranbrook British Columbia. I lived there for 18 years. Before joining the military I worked as a fry cook at a Burger King for three years and held part time jobs working for the College of the Rockies summer camp programs during the summer. My parents are currently living together in Cranbrook BC. My father works outside the province testing railway tracks for two months at a time, then returns home for two to three weeks. My mother acts as the main contact point of the family, she works as a financial clerk. I have a 22 year old sister who will be attending university in Calgary this September. I attended Mount Baker Secondary School in Cranbrook and graduated in 2009

Additionally, volunteering in medically underserved hospitals, working with organizations that specifically aim to help the most “at-risk” individuals, and now tutoring “at-risk” youth at my former high school sheds different light on the topic ultimately giving me a multidimensional perspective. In my opinion, with this understanding comes great

The Wayne State University School of Medicine has become a top choice medical school for myself due to their focuses on leadership in medicine, community mentoring and outreach, and service based learning. Centered within the urban and evolving city of Detroit, the Wayne State University School of Medicine affords its students the chance to receive their education in, and provide service within, a very rich and diverse patient population. Being immersed within, experiencing, and understanding the diversities of others allows for students and professionals alike to find their identities, meanings, and purposes through connections with people in all walks of life. In this way, Wayne State has the ability to offer its medical students an unparalleled

As I was finishing my last shift as a Health Leads advocate at Boston Medical Center I couldn’t help but think back to my first shift three years earlier. I was nineteen years old walking into the Pediatric Unit eager to make a difference. Being located in a poverty-stricken part of Boston many uninsured and low-income families would bring their children to Boston Medical Center. As an advocate, it was our responsibility to make sure they had everything they needed from food to shelter while working hand in hand with their physician. I expected to reaffirm my desire to become a physician by witnessing all the positive work that can be accomplished. What actually happened was something quite different, something that made me wonder, “Do I really want to go into medicine?”

I was born in a refugee camp in Kenya to escape war-torn Somalia. I was then raised in Atlanta, and will complete school in Madison. I’m the 7th daughter in my father 's line, the 8th in my mother 's line, and the 1st in my family to attend a University. My involvement in the Legal Studies and Criminal Justice fields allow me to understand the social and legal factors placed on our health care system. My African American background, my role as a 1st generation college student, my Somali culture, and my identity as a Muslim, have all contributed to the person I am today, and to the doctor I will become. Because I’m a linguaphile I casted away my comfort zone and immersed myself in a new culture, language, and land for three weeks and explored my foreign language studies in Deutschland. I’m an avid gym goer since high school, when I set a record in my weight training class. I consider myself an extreme foodie, and I’ve traveled to far places solely to try out new cuisines. My interests in social justice marked my college years with protests and causes I partook in, due to my passions in furthering equality and justice. I have considered a law career, but ruled it out because I desired a career in medicine too fiercely to ever walk away from it. I also understand that I face challenges in obtaining an acceptance, but I am hoping that the mistakes of my past do not cost me my future.

I was previously an Albanian citizen. I was raised surrounded by a violent civil war and civil unrest in the nation which is still nowadays plagued by corruption and extreme economic inequalities. Becoming a US citizen was for me an unimaginably great opportunity for which I feel in debt to my now fellow Americans. For this reason, my ultimate career goal is to give back to the great community that has taken me in as one of their own by tackling the problem of inequality between neighborhoods in New York. As a future physician, my goal will be to work in economically disadvantaged areas to not only treat, but also educate children, teenagers, and young adults about their personal health care. With the opportunities that the Summer Public Health Scholars Program can offer me, I plan to ultimately play my part in the nationwide effort of eliminating inequalities of populations in disadvantaged environment so that every American citizen of all ages may one day witness the great opportunities and true equalities that are promised to them under our great

Brian M. McKenna 4(2012) Medical Education Under Siege: According to the author, medical education is "mired in unhelpful rhetoric, unbecoming hubris, and reliance on an outmoded biomedical paradigm that ignores social, environmental, and psychological influences on health and health care.” (McKenna 2012) This article is a case study of a six-year, muli million project at MSU that dared this realism. The goal was to create community-oriented primary care. Commu­nity participation was a paramount goal in all areas of project life.

David sought to volunteer and/or job shadow at several medical facilities and was told by the HR departments that because of HIPAA laws and insurance regulations he had to be 18 years old. David thought if he had a name behind him to give him credibility in the medical world he could break down those barriers the HR departments had set before him as a teenager. Using skills from his 4-H background he formulated a plan and executed it. He started a 4-H Club, which is a 4-H club that has a specific interest, David chose medical careers. To get the program off the ground, David used his networking skills to enlist the help of the medical school at Southern Illinois University, where he is a student in the Physician Pipeline Preparatory Program (P4). Because of David’s position in the P4, he has been able to secure many speakers and offer up engaging hands-on medical experiences for the 4-H Club members. The club moved beyond David’s wildest dreams when he was interviewed for a newspaper article and a Physician Assistant read the article. The PA who was intrigued by the idea of teens getting a taste of medicine before spending a lot of money on education and realizing that medicine was not for them decided to give the group a try. Through that article 4-H members are now experiencing the practice of medicine first hand

Through improving my communication and social skills in school, I can be more responsible for the decisions I choose to make and remain focused on my goals for improving the lives of children both mentally and physically. Within the community, I can open up new opportunities to a much wider audience, where I can educate others in different states, and maybe in different countries about the medical attention children need at a young age. The importance of it all are the children who should have the medical attention they need to thrive in an advanced civilization. I want to be that advocate of children's well being, who can make a swelling impact on the community, where I can transform the young lives for the

In our lives, we have to make important choices, and sometimes our choices determine our happiness or sadness. As a Filipino, our families tell us to do well in school and to not make bad choices because they want us to be successful and to have ethical morals. Growing up as a Catholic, I was taught to be obedient and respectful to my family which has shaped who I am today. Yet, I too made some mistakes, and I learned from the consequences. From my failures, I learned to not belittle myself, but to grow.