Even as a small child in Brazil, I dreamed of one day working in a profession where I would have the opportunity to help people on a day-to-day basis. When my family moved to America and my mother began working in Dermatology, my passion for the medical profession truly came out. I worked in her office as a secretary and a physician’s assistant and began to grow my experience in the profession. I found it rewarding and fulfilling to interact with the patients and to find solutions to their problems that were right for them. I learned about the responsibility of being a doctor, the time and effort that needs to be put in so that patients feel gratified and well-cared for, and how you cannot put a price on having helped a patient. And I was able to learn this all from my own mother, which surely increased the value I place upon it.
Sadly, my family and her practice lost her to a tragic car accident in 2007; but I keep her and what she taught me with me in my thoughts every day and in everything that I do. Her hard values were never lost on me, and I cherish every day all that she was able to give me, including getting me to the United States and helping me to become an American Citizen, one of my proudest accomplishments.
My experience in the clinic was varied, affording me the opportunity to get to know many different areas of the operation. I then went on to become a Surgical Technician at Aventura Hospital, where I took on more duties and learned the ropes. I was afforded the opportunity to be present in the OR during surgical procedures, passing the doctors supplies and equipment during surgery. This gave me a first-hand look at how things are conducted in these situations. I was able to be present for over 80 different kinds of procedures in departments such as General, Orthopedics, Otorhinolaryngology, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Genitourinary, Cardiothoracic endoscopy, Ophthalmology, Oral and Maxillofacial, Plastic and Reconstructive, Neurosurgery, Cardiothoracic, and Peripheral Vascular. I was lucky to gain firsthand experience in such a wide variety of fields. I loved being in the OR, and my experiences there inspired my dream to become a surgeon.
As I finish up my Bachelor’s degree in Biology at Florida Atlantic University, I am now looking to focus on that dream. I look to study medicine at [Name of Institution]. I also love to travel, and know three languages. I love to spend time with family and friends. But more than anything else, I love to make people happy. This was a value and a skill that I learned firsthand, from my mother, in her dermatology office. It is one that is ingrained into my soul and entwined in my spirit. I truly hope that I will be given the opportunity to attend medical school and further my dream of becoming a surgeon, because I know firsthand how rewarding, exciting, and fulfilling a career it can be, and how it is a career in which I can make people happy every day.
