Sample Internal Medicine Residency Personal Statement #6
My strong interest in how the human body functions and how medicine can be used to improve life initiated my desire to pursue medicine. I was admitted to the seven-year M.D. /M.S. program of China University, a medical scientist training program including four years of medical school study taught in English, one and a half years each for internship and medical research.
[ad#bannermain-plain]
My interest in internal medicine grew during my 18 month internship at International Hospital, a teaching hospital serving more than 7 million people each year in Northeastern China. I realized that this specialty offered me the greatest opportunity to integrate basic science knowledge with patient management. Sheng-Jing provided me with solid clinical skills and ignited a passion for evidence based medicine and information mastery. I chose to finish my six month elective rotation during internship in the Hematology-Oncology wards and medical ICU. From my time in taking care of those critically ill patients, I gained valuable hands-on experience in internal medicine. I became familiar with procedures such as paracentesis, arterial line and central venous catheter insertion. I also had the opportunity to carry out ventilator management for respiratory patients and bone marrow biopsy for hematological patients. Through the close interactions with my patients, I became conscious that an earnest understanding of their situation can make a big difference, because those patients are not only critically ill but also emotionally vulnerable. Most importantly, I came to realized that the holistic approaches and team work to patient care made a residency in internal medicine a clear choice for me.
My last one and half years in medical school were designated for research and carried out in a virology lab in the field of infectious diseases. The experience as an independent researcher opened my eyes, and made me believe that the curiosity, precision and patience that I acquired by performing medical research would help me become a better clinician. After graduation, I made up my mind to maximize my opportunities and incorporate clinical research into my practice of medicine. I moved to the United States to pursue my Ph.D. as a Research Assistant in Microbiology and Cancer Biology at Eastern University. I worked in the field of developing new therapeutic approaches in Oncology and Cardiology at the Large Cancer Center. From 2001 to 2006, I completed several research projects on angiogenesis mechanism in tumorigenesis and vascular diseases and published 9 peer-reviewed journal papers. My Ph.D. research experience fostered my exploration interests and solidified my problem solving ability.
[ad#bannermain-plain]
However, no matter how much I enjoyed medical research, I knew better that nothing is more rewarding than direct patient care. To keep myself up-to-date on clinical activities and recent developments in medicine, I attended internal medicine grand rounds and within 8 months after my graduation with Ph.D. degree, I was ECFMG certified with the scores of 230/93 and 229/93 for USMLE step 1 and step 2 respectively. Due to my academic records, I was chosen to serve as a clinical observer in the Critical Care Medicine Department of the University of Inner City Medical Center. This helped me gain insight into the U.S. health care systems as well as familiarized me with training programs in the U.S. My knowledge on the management of patients with hemodynamic and respiratory instability, sepsis and gastrointestinal pathophysiology was invigorated.
From China to the United States, from a medical student to a Ph.D. graduate, I saw my growth in both clinical medicine and medical research. I feel very lucky that I found a career that I am still so enthusiastic about. I eagerly await the involvement in a well-rounded residency program and I look forward to my contribution to the exciting and rapidly growing fields of both patient care and medical research. I will consider completing a fellowship after I have accomplished my training as a successful internist. Critical care and Hematology-Oncology are two areas where I wish to further explore my advanced training. Making a difference in internal medicine by combining my clinical research with competent patient care is my future goal.
