Sample 2
During my third-year surgery clerkship, a patient in the ICU was scheduled for a Whipple procedure. As an eager medical student interested in surgery, I inquired if I could scrub in. Unfortunately, since I was not involved in that patient's care, my request was denied. The next morning during rounds, I received an urgent page to report to OR 11. I donned a cap and mask and sprinted there. As I entered, I saw the attending, the Chief Resident, and an intern capped and gowned over a sterile field. I was shocked -- I had been summoned to the Whipple.
Over the next nine hours, my mind and body were stretched to their limits. Thoughts raced through my mind. Can I stay focused through the entire procedure? Do I really want to be a surgeon? Pain crept into every muscle, and my body hurt from contorting like a pretzel as I held the various retractors and tried to watch and understand the complex operation. I found myself captivated by the precision with which the attending maneuvered inside the patient's abdomen, a sea of red, yellow and green to me. I longed to have the ability the Chief Resident and attending so masterfully exhibited. This experience cemented my aspiration to become a surgeon.
What truly draws me to surgery is its hands-on nature. The opportunity to work with my hands to fix a problem is what drove me to pursue a surgical residency. I feel most satisfied when I am in the OR and being in the OR gives me a mix of adrenaline and excitement. I simply cannot see myself doing anything else.
I plan to excel during my residency as both a student and a teacher. As an anatomy and physiology tutor during my second year at Semmelweis, I saw first-hand how a teacher who spends extra time can make a difference. The look of clarity and understanding that washes over a student's face when suddenly grasping a difficult concept is something I hope to reproduce many times in the future.
I currently plan on a career as a general surgeon, but Trauma/Critical Care and Cardio-Thoracic surgery are two areas I would like to explore, with the possibility of advanced training following residency. As a medical student, my experiences in surgery were the most rewarding, and the precision and technical expertise that a surgeon requires are traits that I strive to master. My selection of surgery is not simply a realization of what I find to be intellectually challenging, but a declaration of the role I want to play as a physician. This is how I want to connect with patients. My goal in pursuing a surgical residency is to be both a skilled surgeon who excels in his field, and an educator who has the honor of participating in the development of future generations of aspiring surgeons.
