Medicine Personal Statement
As I grew up in Saudi Arabia, my home country, I saw the need for highly trained professionals in medical care everywhere, especially public health care and awareness, as the public health care system is rapidly developing. When I was a child, my father was involved in a car accident. Because of his cardiac situation and the lack of trained staff, my father died from his injuries despite the physicians' best efforts. Sadly, accidents like my father's are shockingly common. According to the General Directorate of Traffic in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia has an average of 19.1 road fatalities per day. For the rest of my childhood, I was raised as an orphan, and was motivated to pursue medical training so that incidents like this could be properly treated in the future and I am always thinking about how patients can receive the fastest possible access to public health care.
Motivated by my father’s accident, as an Undergraduate student, I thrived in medical school, being honored as the Active Student of the Year from the Deanship of Student Affairs at my university and being the regional representative at the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA). I also was interested in teaching, and authored Clinical Surgery Review Mind Maps Cards with an ISBN to help my younger classmates. My appreciation of education manifested itself in my love of travel, so I took on electives that exposed me to the North American and European public health care systems. My work there taught me invaluable lessons about teamwork and communication that have stayed with me, and how that the effective communication skills is the golden key for saving patients’ lives. I also traveled to work in tertiary care centers as well as small community centers in different cities around the country. Seeing how public health care work in my culture and other cultures was fascinating, I have maintained a multicultural approach ever since.
During my fourth year, my love of medicine was strengthened. I volunteered with a physicians’ team during Hajj, the pilgrimage for Muslims to Makkah. Although the work was long and strenuous, I enjoyed it immensely. I worked night and day without any desire to stop. I appreciated the constant activity and thinking quickly on my feet. I found that I could make good decisions efficiently, and stay calm even under very stressful situations. In public health care, we would see patients with chronic and acute conditions, requiring these skills. Even though the environment was hectic, I kept good interpersonal relationships with my patients. I remember a young man, sufferer of sickle cell anemia. Because of the recurring pain and chest crises, like many other people with this disease, he was constantly under medical attention. He got to know my personality as I got to know his, and as a result, our dedication to him was strong, and the relationship we developed improved our ability to treat him. I have volunteered since I was a medical student in a lot of awareness campaigns, such as “Live with Us” HIV Awareness Campaign, “Sugar in My Life” Diabetes Screening Campaign among others.
After I graduated, I was selected by King AbdulAziz University, the largest university in the region and the second largest in the country, as a teaching assistant and I was guaranteed a scholarship abroad to expand my training and achieve my career goals. Saudi Arabia has a need for strong public health care physicians, and not only do I want to become one myself, but I want to teach others in this field as well. Teaching is immensely important to me, and in addition to my work at the university, I have taught basic cardiac life support for the last six years.
Along with my dedication to patient care and teaching, I am also deeply interested in research, this interest had been inflected in driving me to win the best presentation at the Microbiology and Epidemiology Session In the 5th International Medical Student Congress Novi Sad, Serbia, and I am eager to continue working to expand the field of medicine. To achieve my goals, I chose to come to the United States to pursue the scholarship provided by my university. The US has well-structured Master of Public Health programs, and I am eager to take advantage of all opportunities. I believe that my aptitude and past experiences make me an excellent candidate for your Master’s program. My love of travel has honed my ability to interact with varied backgrounds and cultures.
I am committed to focusing on getting the most out of education and to pursue a master’s degree. I seek a program with a friendly, supportive environment that will enable me to hone my public health care skills, along with providing opportunities to teach. My direct career goal is to become a professional, majoring in public health that would eventually lead me to unlimited challenges and growth opportunities. My long-term achievement would be trying to resolve some of the most crucial public health issues. At present, I see my involvement in the professional world that has to do with the issues, such as accessible medical services for everyone during epidemics, and educating of population on a healthy way of living. Based on my ongoing keen interest in educational programs and workshops, I am looking forward to connecting with public health practitioners and academics. It would help me better understand the factors that determine the health of population in the country.
My ultimate goal is to get accepted at Emergency Medicine Residency Program. After my Master of Public Health Program, I want to complete a Trauma and ICU Fellowship before returning to Saudi Arabia and improving the education system there. I am looking forward to a career of public health teaching in Saudi Arabia. The valuable knowledge and crucial skills I gain from the program will open a door to me to become a good professional in public health sector - abroad and in my country of origin. At the same time, a practical approach and hands-on experiences are equally important. Moreover, I strongly want to ensure that no child loses a parent because of inadequate knowledge and medical assistance, and I know that your program will allow me to help a generation, a country, and a vision, not just myself.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Work Cited
Aalam, Ahmad. Curriculum Vitae. May 2013. PDF file.
