Personal letter writing and composition

Personal Statement

It is very clear to me the demands medical school has upon a person's time and character. Though I am well aware that nothing I do beforehand can fully prepare me for the experience of medical school, I have made substantial efforts to build my character as well as prepare my mind and body for the adventure of medical school.

One of the most valuable experiences a person can participate in is to volunteer, which is one reason why I have a variety of volunteer activities. Practicing medicine and being a licensed physician is, for me, a kind of civil service -- an overt dedication to one's community. I do not believe that any person, particularly a person who intends to be a doctor should wait until the formal training commences for the doctor's dedication to the community to begin.

As part of my discipline and preparation for medical school, I volunteer for an emergency medical service in my local community of New York City. As part of my volunteer service, I answer emergency calls at all hours of the day and night, just as a fully licensed physician does. Volunteering for this service, Hatzalah, not only augments my medical expertise, but also hones my communication skills with other medical staff as well as with patients. Medical expertise is obviously crucial to success in medical school, but being a practicing physician is very much about interaction with fellow human beings. Doctors cannot be unfeeling automatons as often we encounter people when they are most frightened and vulnerable. Therefore, sensitivity, awareness, and effective communication are also traits that effective physicians have. My volunteer experience with Hatzalah has exposed me to diverse members of my community regarding ethnicity, class, medical history, and medical emergency. In these ways, I know that my experience as a volunteer as provided some meaningful preparation for medical school.

Additionally, in my community, I provide instruction for CPR and First Aid to whoever in the community is interested in gaining those skills. Teaching is invaluable on both the professional and personal levels. My experience teaching CPR and First Aid solidifies the knowledge I already have and makes me available to improve as I learn from my students. I also feel good about spreading practical medical knowledge to my community. Thus, in case of emergencies, more members of my community will have confidence and accurate information that may keep a family member or other member of the community alive until trained medical professional arrive on the scene. This is more evidence of proactivity on my part to prepare for medical school. I take the endeavor of medical school quite seriously and have taken upon activities to not only distinguish myself among other candidates, but also to give myself as much preparation and close encounters with the unexpected before I formally enter my medical training.

My volunteer work at Kings County Hospital Center has had a particularly profound impact on me. During my time there, I observe critical care and critical trauma patients, as it is a Level 1 Trauma Center. My exposure to this center matured me and improved my ability to remain calm and productive during critical situation. My experiences as Kings County Hospital Center make me cherish and appreciate my own life as well as the lives of those close to me on deeper levels than before I volunteered there. Certainly, there are skills that can be learned from textbooks and classroom lectures, but there is also a great deal of value to experiential learning and that is what Kings County Hospital Center provided for me.

The final volunteer experience I will share is in a facility for elder care. I spend time with residents in the Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia ward. I do my best to just have fun with the residents. My primary goal is to induce smiles. We play games and chat. I listen to stories and share laughs with people who truly need more happiness in their lives. Again, doctors need to have people skills because patients are way more than the information on their charts -- patients have entire lives of which we are unaware, yet we become a part of to provide quality care.