Can I please be one of your doctors?

vomit

Personal statement (submitted Sept 15)

                A distended bladder was the first human internal organ I ever saw.  I was pre-med and observing a diastasis symphysis pubis repair with my orthopedic resident sister.  I didn’t know that I was seeing a bladder and didn’t know until long after that it had no place in being distended.  However, I did have a strong feeling about seeing that first clean incision and dissection- the capabilities of surgery are miraculous, and a particular word wouldn’t leave my mind as I stared down at that shiny, red surface: beautiful.

                Surgery has long since been the only direction for my medical aspirations and the vast array of specialty options were daunting.  Urology was long off my radar.  Becoming familiar with urology almost happened by accident.  I was on a colorectal service in the fall of my third year and we had a patient with advanced colon cancer, whose pelvic anatomy was essentially obliterated from surgery and radiation.  Urology was consulted to find the urethra for catheter placement before a palliative resection.  After having become accustomed to being a neglected medical student on a surgery rotation, it meant a lot to me that the attending and residents from the urology team had such an assertive and positive enthusiasm to teach and interact with me.

                Since meeting those surgeons and subsequently studying the nature of the specialty, I have come to feel as if urologic surgery is the best kept secret of surgical specialties, by far.  Doing a career exploration, I was enthralled by possibilities and range of this specialty.  As a urologist, I will be able to perform many minimally invasive procedures and still have ample opportunity to perform open procedures.  I will be able to serve many patients seeking a better quality of life, and still see many who need life-saving treatments.  Another great feature of urologists is that they must maintain interdisciplinary knowledge to collaborate with other specialists, not taking for granted the medicine learned during a pre-residency education.  Finally, the patient population, ranging from patient gender, age, chief complaint, and history: the possibilities offer little room for redundancy.

                Urology has so many directions of potential that I already know that I am destined to make a difficult decision down the road: which subspecialty I will want to apply to.  This is because for far longer than I have loved urology, I have had an unwavering intent to enter the field of academic medicine.  The idea first occurred to me while group tutoring Introduction to Biology for two years at my undergraduate university.  The challenge of teaching and working with students gave me a heart-racing rush from week to week.  This type of excitement was similarly revived in my first projects doing clinical research during early medical school, alongside my incredibly enthusiastic academic surgeon advisor.  And finally, I could never take for granted the stable, honest, and committed mentorship of my now-attending physician orthopedic surgeon sister.

                As I enter the application process, I am optimistic that I will find a program in which I can be a great asset.  There is a distinct set of values that I bring to the table.  I practice honesty, humility, and respect in my relationships with all types of people.  I commit to diligence and perseverance in working efficiently, proficiently, and professionally.  I’ll strive to practice the utmost dedication to academic responsibility and progressive research. 

                Now that I have proclaimed all of these formal dedications, I will say that I hope more than anything that I end up somewhere that my coworkers will have the warmth to make me laugh.  Not that it’s hard to find opportunities for that in urology.