¶ … career in medicine, I almost feel compelled to state that for myself, it is past considering a career in medicine, rather, I already have had several 'lives' in the medical field, although not one coherent career. My preparation has not only been academic. It has also been personal and work-related as well. Most of my existence, in addition my schooling, has been wrapped up emotionally and practically in the pursuit and practice of the field of medicine. I have a passion not only for the more arcane aspects of organic chemistry and biology, but also for the daily interactions of a primary medical care that comes from working with actual patients. In my experiences at the Atlantic Medical Center in Chicago, I worked in an administrative capacity as well as conducting blood tests, blood pressure exams, EKGs, and also measured the height, weight and temperature of patients. I did this not only because it was an occupation I was qualified for the medical field and could supplement my academic fields of premedical study. I also wished to experience what life was like in various capacities for an individual working in a large treatment center. I grew in appreciation not only of the impact various administrative snafus can have on the life of a patient. I...

Also, through my own mistakes and successes behind the desk, I gained a greater appreciation of the need for an effective support staff for a doctor. I will never take my support staff for granted when I am a student, resident, or doctor, because I know the efforts involved in such work first-hand.
In my work at the Atlantic Medical Center, I also began to understand how easy it was to make mistakes that made a patient's life more difficult in navigating the confusing system of medical care and referrals. I learned how difficult it was to run such a center effectively and effectively -- yet also how ultimately rewarding for patient and doctor was when all went smoothly.

From a future doctor's perspective, I began to understand how to make a patient feel more at ease while gaining a better understanding of his or her 'vital statistics.' These often only included blood pressure and height and weight, but even when obtaining such basic information one must be careful not to cause the patient to feel any undue alarm or embarrassment about any potential irregularities. Doctors are often criticized for their insensitivity to a patent's feelings, when pressured, particularly at such a large facility as Atlantic. From my experiences I have a better comprehension of showing a bit of human interest' in my patients and maintaining an easy sense of social interaction during an exam. Even from a health, rather than a social standpoint, I saw how the most involved physicians showed interest in patients' diet and exercise habits. I experienced firsthand how issues of patient care and 'wellness' education (as well as the diagnosis of illness) are often forgotten by attending physicians and remembered by the most effective health…