Spoken by my late grandfather, “If you are driven by compassion and hope for the human race, medicine …show more content…
is your route; for a physician is both a bearer of bad news and an executer of hope.” Although his life ended before mine began, I find his words have subconsciously steered me along my career pathway. A desire to improve the lives of others in an appreciable manner is arguably the most important professional goal. Growing up, my family instilled the value of helping others. Humbly nicknamed ‘Mother Theresa’ in high school, I find great pleasure in helping those in need. For example, in college, I volunteered at Hope Lodge Center in Nashville, TN, coordinating prepared dinners for patients and their families during their cancer treatments. In medical school, I traveled to Hawaii with the American Medical Association for a National Convention to vote on legislation to improve the processes we use everyday. I consider it essential to express my perspective on policy decision and advocate what is right for my profession. Such experiences as well as many others established the groundwork of initiative that I plan to build on in Radiology.
Knowledge and experience are critical components to mastering the skills of any profession. Radiology, in particular, requires intensive study and training to integrate the skills into an evolving practice. At a young age, I fell in love with gymnastics and wanted to become a national competitor. I spent forty hours per week in the gym and countless hours outside of the gym reviewing tapes of myself from prior competitions. Overcoming the fears of soaring between the uneven bars and above a four-feet tall, four-inch wide balance beam in addition to the injuries, I accomplished my goals. Although becoming a radiologist is a drastically different pursuit, the foundation is the same. Through dedication and commitment to extensive study and practice, I plan to become an evidence-based radiologist that formulates a thorough differential to accurately diagnose and recommend necessary follow up.
As an ever-changing and technologically advanced specialty, radiology offers extensive opportunities to further my passion for research.
My interest in research began during a summer internship at Vanderbilt University, where I worked with intellectually underserved students from rural Arkansas to identify the presence of the novel Sulfilimine bond in various animal species. The excitement from the results of the study and future publication in addition to the gratification from educating younger students captivated me. During medical school, I sampled more areas of research by becoming involved in multitude of projects. I followed the footsteps of my late grandfather by spending the summer after first year of medical school in a pathology lab, where I investigated the role of HIF-1α in the regulation of tumor-initiating cells in triple negative breast cancer using a mice-model. During my third year of medical school, my research interests transitioned from pathology to obstetrics & gynecology, as I worked with baboons to establish a model of ethanol exposure during second trimester of pregnancy. The groundbreaking findings from this study will hopefully provide acute and chronic responses to ethanol consumption in pregnancy. As my career interests changed, so too did my research pursuits. I am excited to begin my final research project of medical school in the field of radiology. This project compares CT versus MRI for non-contrast evaluation of abdominal pain in the ER. Ultimately, I want to continue to do research in the field of radiology throughout my career. It is through such exploration that we advance medicine and improve the quality of care for our
patients.
Perhaps most importantly, I choose radiology because of the people. After working with the faculty and residents, I conclude that radiologists are genuinely happy people and that my personality is fitting for the specialty. To better illustrate this point, I have included a few of my qualities: my character is vibrant; my strength is determination; my weakness is perfection; my pursuit is humility; my approach is focused; my favorite trait is humor; and my love is family. My personal ambition is to enjoy every minute of life; my professional objective is to become a humble, esteemed physician. I believe that radiology is the perfect specialty to integrate both goals. I am very excited to start radiology residency.