What Inspires Me to Become a Physician

Medicine as a career, presents an intriguing sense of accomplishment in a day’s work. It is this amazing sense of gratification which you get when treating someone through a difficult illness that inspired me into becoming a physician myself.

I still vividly remember the happy moment when I got matched at Sargodha Medical College. The satisfaction and sense of achievement associated with it was absolutely amazing. Deciding a specialty posed a totally different proposition. The clinical rotations that started from 3rd year onwards at medical school provided me with an ideal opportunity to determine which field among the clinical sciences matched my talents and interests. I always, had a liking for solving analytical problems, and the field of Internal Medicine stood on the very same premise. The connection that I made on the Medical Floors as a student was instant as it allowed me to translate the concepts of Pathophysiology into the realm of real life medical problems. I loved to spend my free time at the Medical floor with the team on call discussing cases and monitoring patient with the Interns and Residents. This hands-on clinical experience was critical in broadening my horizon and my personal growth as an aspiring physician.

I chose my first Internship in Medicine at Allied Hospital, and those three months really helped in sharpening my clinical acumen. On the first day of my internship, when I managed a diabetic patient who presented with acute exacerbation of COPD, I saw the holistic aspect of Internal Medicine. It wasn’t too difficult to see that the immune compromised status predisposed the patient to a respiratory infection. After this, I didn’t consider the long hours on call as work at all. Apart from the intellectual aspect of medicine, I was able to appreciate the human aspect as well which made me come into this noble profession in the first place. It was an honor to be trusted for giving advice, and this gratitude made me a better person.

My Family came to USA in 2012. Here, I entered a world of immense possibilities and cutting edge technology. The rigorous training and high standards of American residents impressed me, and I decided I wanted to be one of them. I like how the American residency system is built around the principles of mentorship, moral integrity and evidence- based medicine. It was a tough call leaving my career back home, but that leap of faith was necessary for going for the best. The concept of supervised autonomy and critical thinking is what drives me to this country, and your program. Having once adapted to a new culture and a code-of-behavior to survive and fit in, I have gained confidence in my own ability to calmly look for solutions even in unexpected scenarios, taking in cues from my surroundings and finding ways to contribute. Shadowing under different physicians supervision has helped me understand the significance and importance of health care and quality treatments provided by family physician. It has also refined my interactive skills with different patients, my work ethic, and has helped me in developing rapport with ancillary staff. From volunteer to clinical observerships, my relationships have enriched and educated me, and by observing and exploring the different relationships in health care, I have gained a more comprehensive view of medicine.

Through my experiences, I have proven to myself that I will fight alongside my patients through their ups and downs because I have overcome my own. With your guidance, I see myself as a well-rounded physician, inculcating a culture of humanism to serve the less fortunate of the world. Under your wings, I see the foundations of strong academic growth, something I intend to borrow and impart in a land thousands of miles from here. I realize I am aiming for the stars, but at your institution, the journey will be worth it.