User:Piercesony

My first exposure to medicine started when I was in high school. At the time, I was not sure what I wanted to do in life, but the idea of making a difference in people’s lives excited me. During my junior year, I volunteered at an inpatient facility, where I saw firsthand how a doctor could save lives and make a difference. The smiles the doctors left on the patients had a lasting impression on me. I knew that medicine would give me a rewarding life. This desire continued on in college, where I also developed a fascination with the biological sciences. Combining these two strong personal interests confirmed in my mind that medicine would be the right choice for me. Entering my third year of medical school, I was eager to start my clerkships, as it was my first step into clinical medicine. While I valued many of my rotations, my first rotation, internal medicine, left the deepest impression on me. I enjoyed learning about everything from a common cold to advanced stages of cancer and treating a large scope of patients who span all age groups. The one component internal medicine had when compared to the other specialties, was the deep connections I made with each and every one of my patients. I love this aspect and want to experience this when I am a physician; thus, I decided early in my clinical rotations that I wanted to specialize in this field. Working in a diverse socioeconomic area during internal medicine allowed me to see a variety of patients. Many of these patients suffered from severe conditions and the interactions they had with Dr. Verbitsky, my attending, was unforgettable. We would often make house calls, as some of her patients were unable to travel to the clinic due to their illnesses. One patient I distinctly remember was Helen, a 75-year-old with advanced breast cancer. Helen treated Dr. Verbitsky as a part of her family, which taught me the importance of interpersonal skills in developing a long-term, productive doctor-patient relationship and continuity of care. As an internist, I also want to educate my patients about their health and establish trust with them. I had the opportunity to meet a 54-year-old patient who came in for a routine checkup and blood work. As I performed the comprehensive history and physical examination, he expressed concerns about weight gain and fatigue. I suspected hypothyroidism based on his symptoms, which were confirmed through appropriate laboratory tests. When I notified the patient of his results, he was reluctant to start any medical treatment; however, I educated and explained to him how the medication would improve his quality of life, and he eventually agreed. It gave me great pleasure and a sense of satisfaction to know that I was able to positively impact his health through my knowledge of medicine. Throughout my career as an internal medicine physician, I will strive to empower and equip all of my patients with knowledge, as I did with this patient. My ability to listen to others and to treat their feelings with the utmost respect and concern allows me to build these relationships. After graduating medical school, I found an amazing and challenging opportunity as an extern at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, in the outpatient clinic. Working here full time for an entire year I am further honing my history taking and physical examination skills and knowledge. In addition to having direct contact with patients, I participate in many spinal and intra-articular injection procedures. Much like an intern, I present my findings to my attendings and learn how to extract useful information to help better treat my patients. In this externship, not only am I involved with patient care, but also I have been able to contribute my medical skills and knowledge to three academic papers, which have been submitted for publication. Having connected patient information with the latest medical literature, I realize the usefulness of research and its importance in patient care. I hope to further contribute to academic literature in my residency. Last year, I applied to internal medicine residency programs, in spite of my USMLE scores coming in late. Despite my attempt, my passion for internal medicine remains unchanged. I responded with resilience, finding this externship where I have become a more qualified and confident clinician. The externship year has allowed me to hone my clinical skills and knowledge to the point where I am far better prepared for internship and residency than would be possible coming straight out of medical school. I look forward to achieving my goal of becoming a primary care practitioner and using the skills I have garnered during my residency. This year has been immensely productive and gratifying. I have come to realize that medicine is about compassion, service, altruism and trustworthiness, values that will continue to guide me. I am eager to train at a program that caters to a wide demographic and provides teaching opportunities, as I have always found this to be a good way to reinforce material. As a result of the experiences I had during my clinical clerkships and am currently having as an extern, I am a strong candidate for your residency program. I intend to use the skills I have gained to become an excellent internal medicine physician.