AMCAS Personal Statement

Working as part of a collaborative patient care team as an EMT has given me the pivotal experiences that catapulted my interests from serving my community as a firefighter to something more clinical in nature. The satisfaction gained from such experiences as well as the enrapturing complexity of the human body and myriad of diseases which insult it have directly illuminated my path to medicine. Culminated together, I learned that I not only want to treat patients directly, but also contribute to the advancement of medicine. My quest began with volunteering at the Central Warren Fire Department.

I recall a muggy summer afternoon when I responded to a seemingly lackluster medical call described by dispatch as “generalized anxiety.” I along with two other volunteers proceeded to venture into the remote corn country of Illinois with the expectation of a routine medical call. Upon arrival, the patient’s wife was frantic and led us to her husband. We were surprised to discover that the elderly man appeared diaphoretic and unconscious on their couch. It was evident that he was in full arrest after not finding a pulse. Being the only EMT on scene at the time, I started CPR while I signaled my partner to prepare the AED. Protocols dictated our actions while practice dictated our efficiency. Having had similar calls, I was well rehearsed in situations of these sorts. This allowed me to act quickly and without hesitation. However, the limiting factor was lacking higher medical knowledge outside of basic life support. I was oblivious to what was occurring physiologically, so all I could do was follow the protocols I was taught and hope that would suffice until we could transport. Later, following an insurmountable volume of sweat and compressions, an ambulance arrived and we were able to transport the patient. His fate remained undetermined as he held on to a weak pulse enroute to the nearest available hospital. Reflecting on this, I realized that with limited medical knowledge, I was able to help this man as much as I could. That experience made me see that I had a lot to learn. And the rigor of a career that requires lifelong learning excited me. I went on to pursue work in an emergency room so as to explore this interest.

As I transitioned into a hospital environment at OSF St. Francis, I was initially frustrated when caring for certain types of chronically afflicted patients such as those with severe psychiatric comorbidities who would often not adhere to their medication regimen. These types of patients recovered very slowly and sometimes not at all. Hence, I saw these same patients in the emergency room quite frequently because of their deteriorating conditions. I wondered whether these kinds of experiences would deter me from pursuing medicine. Therefore, I was surprised when the opposite occurred. Countless times, I observed physicians’ unwavering dedication to their patients: and as a result families expressed their gratitude to the physicians. It had been beyond satisfying to watch these patients heal and make progress, even if their progress was slow and not always readily apparent. This provided me with more than enough confirmation that medicine was the path that I should pursue in order to make a similar impact on people's lives.

While I gained patient experiences in the field, my academic path led me to advanced sciences. I developed a stronger desire to become a physician. Moreover, I gained an appreciation for exploring the unknown and a curious investigative nature. This led me to conducting research under Dr. Sturgeon where I explored the chemical mechanism behind Acetaminophen induced hepatotoxicity during an overdose. Here, I was able to design and implement methods to characterize these reactions with my advisor’s guidance. In doing so, I gained an admiration for mechanistic chemistry and its relation to disease and pathology. While interpreting the results and trying to decipher the chemistry behind Acetaminophen overdose, I discovered a hard to describe feeling as a result of scientific exploration -- similar to the anticipation and excitement prior to riding a rollercoaster. In essence, I did not know what I was going to learn as a result of experimentation, but I was eager to piece it all together. Outside of our findings, this work allowed me to come to some very insightful conclusions about the nature of research in medicine and its role in my future. For instance, I realized that wet lab research on issues such as Acetaminophen overdose provides a foundation for improving clinical interventions at the patient bedside. This further excited me because I could directly connect my discovery-centered curiosity to my interest in treating and improving patient outcomes.

As a result of these experiences, I can assuredly say research has a place alongside my future as a clinician. After all, the bench is where the bedside begins. And I am determined to become a lifelong learner in an intellectually stimulating field that both quenches my scientific appetite and unrelenting curiosity while also allowing me to interact with and give back to those in need through a career in medicine.