Why i want to become a physician

On the final day of my anesthesiology rotation, my preceptor left me with some advice for the rest of medical school as well as my career: “ Never stop being curious, never stop asking why.” I did not know at the time that this piece of career advice would spark a fire that would lead me towards pursuing internal medicine as a career. During my internal medicine clerkship, my inherent drive to problem solving and think logically was encouraged. Every patient required an intricate thought process to assess the interaction between acute and chronic disease processes. I was lucky to find a mentor that encouraged my growth as an internist. His dedication to medicine, education, and his patients displayed what you need to become a great internist. I was taught the importance of evidence-based medicine and how it takes more than medication to treat a patient.

I began to look at my patients as more than a collection of signs and symptoms of disease. I cared for a 57-year-old man who was so concerned about physical therapy for his stroke because his career as a mechanic required him to use both of his hands. I cared for a 63-year-old man who presented with bleeding that was not from his anticoagulation, but ratheracute promyelocytic leukemia, who was so keen on his prognosis because he wanted to attend his daughter’s wedding. What I found during this clerkship was what I had been seeking. I found a career that would always fulfill my thirst for knowledge, challenge me as a diagnostician, and allow me to have strong patient relationships. I finally found the specialty that made me feel like a doctor.

Following my decision to enter internal medicine, I decided that I wanted to spend an additional year in school. I spent the year as a clinical anatomy fellow at my home institution. During that year, I was able to hone my skills as an educator and a researcher. The clinical anatomy fellowship allows its participants to take formal didactic classes on research methodology and educational theory. We then applied these skills through hands on teaching in the anatomy lab and development of our own research projects. As physicians we are constantly educating our patients and sometimes residents and students. This was an opportunity to become a better teacher as there is no formal training in education in the medical school curriculum. Concurrently, I was able to develop numerous research projects surrounding my career interests. Through these, I experienced the research process first hand and made contributions to evidenced based medicine. I believe this experience will allow me to become a more well-rounded resident and attending physician.

In the future, I would like to practice a subspecialty of medicine. I am looking for a residency program that will allow me to have the opportunity to achieve this goal and will present me with a broad range of exposures, so that I can become a competent physician. In exchange, I will bring my drive, diligence, and promise to never stop being curious.