The first thing I do when I meet a new person is shake their hand. There’s nothing special about that. However, when I meet a surgeon or a physician and shake their hand, I feel something different. The hands that I just touched have cured countless diseases. Those hands have saved countless lives. Those hands have changed the future of families. I want to have those hands.
These are the same hands that I have used every single day of my life. They have done everything from hitting a serve on a tennis court to circling an answer on a test. I would never have thought that those same hands would be able to also save lives. But one day I realized that every time I met a surgeon, I was shaking a hand that might have saved a life merely hours before – and some day, my hands might do the same. I want to help the mother of four be able to take care of her children again. I want to help the basketball player recover from his torn ACL and see him play again. When he makes the final basket in his championship …show more content…
I volunteered at a hospital for about 100 hours to get a firsthand taste of life in a healthcare setting. I performed health policy research at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Medical School, which greatly increased my knowledge of the ins and outs of the healthcare system. My greatest experience was shadowing Dr. Mark Valente, an orthopedic spine surgeon, which finalized my decision to become a doctor. We saw patient after patient, MRI after MRI, over and over again. I observed the stresses, the hectic work schedule, and the pressures of becoming a doctor. But I also saw his leadership skills, his passion for caring, and his ability to solve problems. Additionally, I have observed surgeries inside the operating room, a rare treat for a high schooler, and loved every second of it. There is a feeling I can’t describe when in an operating room. I can see someone’s life being changed right
These are the same hands that I have used every single day of my life. They have done everything from hitting a serve on a tennis court to circling an answer on a test. I would never have thought that those same hands would be able to also save lives. But one day I realized that every time I met a surgeon, I was shaking a hand that might have saved a life merely hours before – and some day, my hands might do the same. I want to help the mother of four be able to take care of her children again. I want to help the basketball player recover from his torn ACL and see him play again. When he makes the final basket in his championship …show more content…
I volunteered at a hospital for about 100 hours to get a firsthand taste of life in a healthcare setting. I performed health policy research at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Medical School, which greatly increased my knowledge of the ins and outs of the healthcare system. My greatest experience was shadowing Dr. Mark Valente, an orthopedic spine surgeon, which finalized my decision to become a doctor. We saw patient after patient, MRI after MRI, over and over again. I observed the stresses, the hectic work schedule, and the pressures of becoming a doctor. But I also saw his leadership skills, his passion for caring, and his ability to solve problems. Additionally, I have observed surgeries inside the operating room, a rare treat for a high schooler, and loved every second of it. There is a feeling I can’t describe when in an operating room. I can see someone’s life being changed right