I heard the familiar sound of the back door closing gently. My father was returning from driving his dirty, green John Deere tractor in one of our fields. He begins his day at 5:00 a.m. every morning and usually returns around 7:00 p.m. I never really questioned his schedule when I was a child, but as I entered high school, I wondered how my dad could work so hard every day and still enjoy what he does. He works long hours, becomes filthy from dirt, oil, and mud, and can, worst of all, watch all his hard work go to waste if one day of severe weather wipes out our crop. There have been many years when our raisins were rained on, our cherries were hailed on, and our apples baked by the sun. It never ceases to amaze me when my father wakes up every morning to start work, he does so with gusto. The life of a farmer can be laborious and stressful, yet my father continues to do his job with passionate enthusiasm. His dedication and pride mystified me throughout high school. Only after I entered university did I understand how he could persevere and face the challenges of farming.
I entered XXXX University like a small child wandering through a park. Never had I been exposed to anything so grandiose and dominating. Born and raised in a rural town of three thousand people, I wasn't ready for Chicago's fast-paced life and crowds. However, I eventually grew into its lifestyle and learned to adapt to my unfamiliar environment. I found my bio-ethics class, in which we discussed key issues in health care, incredibly fascinating. The physician’s dilemma particularly intrigued me: Doing everything to provide the best health care possible but being constrained by limited resources when the funds are unavailable.
These frustrating situations significantly strain physicians, yet they persevere and continue to work long hours in hospitals, clinics, and HMOs, providing the best care they can. While thoroughly aware of the long hours a physician must work and the challenges they face, I choose medicine because of the unique rewards of helping a sick human being. As I think about a physician’s life, I also think of the many times I had watched my father sit silently at the dinner table, deep in thought, contemplating his options when our farm was not earning any income, and the bills continued to arrive. We don't hear him complain; we only listen to him leave early in the morning.
I also saw determination and tenacity in another setting while at XU: Dr. XXXX's neurophysiology laboratory. In collaboration with Dr. XXXX. At XU, I performed immunohistochemistry experiments to label metabotropic glutamate receptors. Research is intrinsically laborious and painstaking, but through my experience with Dr. XXXX, I saw the stress, frustration, and uncertainty involved in obtaining grants. Yet he continues his pursuit of knowledge. Despite limited resources, like my father and the clinical physician, he tries every day to do his best to achieve his goals. I used a similar drive in my research projects and am now co-author of an article. Inspired by Dr. XXXX, I will harness that determination in medicine. He showed me what it means to enjoy a career. I can enjoy practicing medicine — the same joy my father has enjoyed tending to his fields.
Becoming a physician is a goal aspired to by many. As a farmer’s son, I have awakened early and returned home late from the fields after long days with my father. I have been able to experience uncertainties, challenges, and plain old arduous work like that faced by physicians. But like the doctors in the hospitals and Dr. XXXX in his lab, I can find happiness and satisfaction in helping people through medicine. Despite all the hardships doctors face, I want to help people daily. Practicing medicine is something worth the stress and long hours. I finally understand my father. I now know how he can wake up every morning at 5:00 a.m. and drive his dirty, green tractor until 7:00 p.m.
Thank you for considering my application to medical school.
From Farm to Medical School Personal Statement