Medicine Personal Statement
As I grew up in Saudi Arabia, my home country, I saw the need for competent, knowledgeable professionals in research everywhere, especially emergency medical care, as the health care system is rapidly developing. As a full-time medical student, my dream is to become an advanced researcher, specializing in Emergency Research. 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 medical 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 health care systems. My work there taught me invaluable lessons about emergency practice among others that has stayed with me, and how effective medical research is one of the golden keys for saving lives. I also traveled to work in tertiary care centers as well as small community centers in different cities around the country. Seeing how emergency practice in my culture and other cultures was fascinating, I have maintained a multicultural approach ever since.
During my fourth year, my love of clinical research was strengthened. I volunteered with an emergency 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 ER, 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 frequently in the emergency room. 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. After I graduated, I was selected by King AbdulAziz University, the largest university in the region and the second largest in the country, as an emergency medicine 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 Emergency Medical researchers, and not only do I want to become one myself, but I want to teach others in this field as well. In addition to my work at the university, I have taught basic cardiac life support for the last six years.
I am deeply interested in scientific research, along with my dedication to patient care, and 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. 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 research and residency 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 Emergency Research Fellows Program. My love of travel has honed my ability to interact with varied backgrounds and cultures. I seek a program with a friendly, supportive environment that will enable me to hone my present research skills.
During the program in the United States, I am determined to research at a non-profit organization. My career goal is to become a competent physician-scientist in the field. I believe to benefit from the program and to gain primary training experience in innovative emergency research. My secondary research interest, however, is focused on ultrasound emergency and operational emergency. My future as a physician-scientist most likely will be part of solution-finding to emergency problems. I regard the future opportunity of gaining an insight into emergency medical science very promising and beneficial. Moreover, I would be honored to work on my research proposal with a senior mentor. After my research, I want to continue a residency program in Emergency Medicine and after that complete a Trauma and ICU Fellowship before returning to Saudi Arabia. I strongly want to ensure that in future no child loses a parent because of inadequate knowledge, and I know that your Emergency Research Fellows 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.
