Personal Statement

“I don’t believe you!” Hearing those words from my physician made me realize the kind of physician I didn’t want to be. Receiving that rejection after having trusted him with my personal health shocked me so much that I never went back to that doctor. This experience didn’t deter me from my goal of becoming a physician. It did, however, solidify my goal to believe in my patients and attempt to understand them no matter their background. Before this experience, medicine was not a priority for me or my family: I had no family members in the healthcare field, and we often avoided contact with healthcare due to financial concerns or mistrust of doctors.

Shortly after starting my undergraduate degree, I took a two-year leave of absence to pursue a volunteer opportunity in Tijuana, Mexico. During these two years, I spent my daily efforts serving the community through religious instruction, construction projects, assisting with addiction recovery programs, promoting healthy lifestyle changes, and improving the welfare of all who would accept my assistance. This service opportunity gave me experience in time management, leadership, and a focus on serving others. It also helped me learn more about Latino culture and how to best serve the Latin-American community.

As a dietitian, I have seen how patients struggle with the idea of taking medicine, and while working with internists, I have also seen the benefit that a nutrition background can have. What draws me to internal medicine is the opportunity to help those who don’t have the trust or understanding of their physician while in the hospital. In my communication with patients, I have seen their fear of being unable to cover hospital fees and misunderstanding the care that they are receiving. This fuels my desire to aid such patients by lessening the effects of language and cultural barriers between them and their healthcare needs. I believe this is necessary so that all will receive exceptional care and improved health education.

One of my notable extracurricular activities started this year. It began with a web development course that required me to create a webpage as the final project. I originally thought of creating a professional site that contained a personal statement and CV, but over time the idea evolved into something more fulfilling and useful, where I could post self-written, evidence-based articles that discuss nutritional therapy. I hope to eventually add discussions of nutritional and medical management for those with gastrointestinal disorders as well as telehealth opportunities. Once I become an internist, my long-term plan is to use this website to develop a practice that specializes in the medical and nutritional management of disease that focuses on a holistic, multidisciplinary approach based on lifestyle medicine.

Research participation has been one of my greatest accomplishments during medical. It has expanded my understanding of colorectal cancer screening in Hispanics and IBD treatment in the pediatric population. My perceived accomplishment through my research opportunities was the information I obtained about gastrointestinal disorders and cultural health literacy throughout the projects. As a result, gastroenterology has positioned itself as one of my leading areas of interest.

My focus has primarily been on punctuality, dedication, respect, compassion, and leadership in all my interactions with patients and colleagues. I believe that these qualities are evident in my patients’ satisfaction, the evaluations I have received from residents and faculty, and my research. I now realize that integrating these characteristics into my everyday life and discussing priorities with my family has helped increase my ability to serve others while preventing personal and work conflict.

Based on these experiences, I believe that I would be a great fit for an internal medicine residency program. In addition to my experiences shared above, my ability to communicate fully with patients, especially those who speak Spanish or Portuguese, and my patient interview skills will benefit the patients wherever I work. My experience in leadership, my management skills, and my qualities of dedication and respect will allow me to be an important addition to any team through commitment, collaboration, and accountability.

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