Psychiatry Residency Personal Statement #2
My interest in psychiatry began during my practice of internal medicine as an attending physician. I encountered many patients with psychiatric conditions who tended to seek help from internists instead of mental health professionals because of the cultural stigma. [ad#bannermain-plain]
During the course of treating these patients, I expanded my psychiatric knowledge, learned how to address the mental health concerns of patients and deal with very personal and sensitive topics. I was gratified helping these patients and always passionate to learn about the pathology and treatment of psychiatric diseases.
I came to the United States to pursue further postdoctoral training at NY Medical Center. These were challenging years, but at the same time were inspiring and rewarding. I was learning not only careful problem solving, but also rigorous scientific thinking and openness to new ideas. In 2006, I won the NYU School of Medicine Gerald Weissmann Award for Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellow. During these years of research, I yearned to return to clinical practice and decided that only psychiatry can satisfy my desire to succeed.
My cancer research experience at US University reinforced my interest in psychiatry. I realized that many patients with cancer often suffered mental distress and the suicide rate among oncology patients is higher than that in the general population. Another interesting phenomenon is that some patients with cancer present with mental disturbances long before the cancer is diagnosed. This revived my previous interest in psychiatry, and my curiosity in the relationship between the body and mind. There is still so much unknown patho-physiology of psychiatric disorders in the patients with cancer. All of these have helped me devote myself to the field of psychiatry.
To further broaden my knowledge in area of psychiatry and enrich my clinical experience, I was accepted to the externship program in psychiatry at Large Community Hospital of the Religious Health System for one year. I have learned to approach psychiatric patients with different interviewing skills, monitor the daily progress of my patients and observe the remarkable changes in patient behavior as a result of psychotropic medications and psychotherapy. I saw firsthand how underserved mental illness is in our community and the chronic nature and degree of mental illness. It has been a professional experience for me to communicate patients with passion and empathy. As I pursue psychiatry as my future career I feel much better prepared for challenges in my future residency.
Since my externship, I continue to participate in the psychiatric studies at Tree Hospital Center. As a research associate, my job is to investigate the impact of stigma on the immigrant community. I discovered that such prejudice has substantial negative social and psychological consequences. In addition to clinical psychiatry, I hope to make a significant contribution to the research field with the knowledge and skills I mastered.
I possess traits which will help me succeed in residency: a positive attitude, excellent communication skills, compassion, and a strong work ethic. Moreover, my years of medical practice taught me self-discipline, flexibility, and how to remain calm in even the most chaotic and stressful environment. My success throughout my past medical experience demonstrates my drive and self-motivation. My training in internal medicine will help me become a good psychiatrist where I will rule out underlying medical diseases or drug reactions before diagnosing and treating a psychiatric illness. In addition, my training will allow me to understand and manage patients with multiple medical co-morbidities. Finally, understanding multiple cultures and knowing another language give me a unique chance to relate to people of diverse backgrounds. My professional interest includes a good balance of psychopharmacology with psychotherapy, psychiatric research and cross-cultural psychiatric training. I am thrilled to embark upon the next stage in my medical career as I pursue psychiatry. I greatly look forward to joining my program and hope to gain the proficiency I need to become a strong, well-rounded psychiatrist.
