London, New York, Bombay, and the Caribbean: Upon careful inspection of my worn-out passport, I am amazed sometimes, by how global and multidimensional my medical education has been. Three years ago, I set sail from cornfields in Ohio, the console of my home, for an unknown adventure on the seas.  The Caribbean would be my place of study to pursue my lifelong dream, to serve, care for the needs of others, and to pursue scientific knowledge that set me in this direction. And so, Grenada, pristine and unspoiled by the multitude of tourists and commercialization, became my home, my island in the sun.

Upon starting my clinical years, the sunshine soon became a distant memory.  I abandoned the warmth and solitude of paradise for the commotion and grey skies of London.  Besides the agonizing British winters, a Large UK City too proved to be a paradise for a medical student. My hospital located in one of the rough poorer boroughs of Large UK City has the most ethnically diverse immigrant populations. I have seen fungating phyllodes carcinomas that have penetrated the skin, huge vulvar carcinomas, and marasmus in a child.  Malaria, TB, brucellosis, and hydatid cysts are weekly occurrences in my hospital.  Working for the National Health Service has also been rewarding.  I have learned to make diagnoses and formulate treatments based more on clinical impressions and history rather than tests and investigations.  I believe this to be the foundation of medicine and good practice
I have spent over a year in a Large UK City, studying General Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry. I obtained to most pleasure, excitement, and fulfillment in Obstetrics and Gynecology.  It is a special field because it allows one to care for a woman from adolescence to old age, and incorporates both medical knowledge and surgical skill.  It feels so exciting because I will be faced with a spectrum of different challenges. I want to be a physician, who gives contraceptive advice to young girls, manages women with medical conditions through their pregnancy, and helps elderly women through periods of change such as menopause and incontinence.   I want to be a

surgeon. I enjoy being in the operating room, doing manual skills, making firm decisions, and acting as a leader.   In this field, one is faced with acute emergencies, and judgments made can affect the outcome for both mother and baby. I embrace this challenge.  At the same time, when things are well, it allows me to counsel and educate women, and give them choices about the course of their medical care. This too is a pleasure.  

My decision to pursue a career in Obstetrics and Gynecology solidified after an elective in Emergency Medicine.  Here I gained the most satisfaction from my OBGYN patients.  I started understanding how sensitive an area of medicine OBGYN is and, to my surprise, I realized I have a natural ability to comfort and reassure women in acute distress.  In the ER, I would see women who had STDs, who were miscarrying, or who needed reassurance for a gynecologic problem.   Many would-be tearful and distressed. I would listen to their problems and quickly build a rapport.  They would trust me, disclose personal issues, and allow me to perform intimate internal exams.  By the end of the consultation, I would make sure they are calm and reassuring.  It was at this point that I realized what a privilege it is to be a doctor of women’s health.

I have all the qualities to be successful in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology.  I have a love for medicine, the personality to be a leader, the desire and skills to be a surgeon, and the compassion to care for and understand a woman’s needs. I know that by choosing this profession, I will be able to excel and make a difference in people’s lives.

My plans are to finish my third year of medical school at North Large City Hospital in the UK. To better prepare me for a US residency, I am planning to complete my fourth year in the United States, doing placements in Medicine, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics and Gynecology.   I also plan on doing a short OBGYN elective in India so I can see the diversity of the field before my career begins anew next year as a resident in OBGYN.