My Personal Statement

Reading this makes me cringe. But it may help you formulate yours, so here goes:

Use the space provided to explain why you want to go to medical school.

"Pbttttttttttttt!" The elderly gentleman forced out air and fluttered his lips. He grinned with satisfaction as my eyes widened with disbelief. I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Even the exhausted neurologist was chuckling. But the situation was nothing to laugh about. Anthony was suffering from a massive stroke and he could no longer talk. Working for the Stroke Team in the UCLA emergency department, I have seen numerous patients with motor and speech deficits. After many such encounters, it was easy to view every patient as just another body across a gurney. But Anthony had channeled his frustration into such a playful act that he startled me into realizing that there were still potent minds living inside these weakened and sometimes aphasic bodies. Later that night, an artery ruptured in Anthony's brain and he fell into a coma. Never to regain consciousness, he passed away two days later.

Anthony taught me that treatment requires not only attention to the disease, but caring for the person behind the disease. With this in mind, I decided to become a caseworker for the UCLA Mobile Clinic, an organization that would allow me to work directly with members of the most marginalized populations in the city. There, I met Candy.

"Do you have sex with men, women, or both?" I asked, trying to keep a straight face.

Sitting at a street corner in West Hollywood, Candy crossed her legs and raised an eyebrow. It is my job to obtain detailed social and medical histories so the attending physician can provide expedient care. I learned that Candy is a chronically homeless, HIV positive transgender prostitute. At first, she acted cautiously towards me, labeling me the "college brat." But as the weeks passed, we began confiding in each other. One evening she was in such high spirits that she turned up Britney Spears and invited me to dance. How could I refuse? Anthony probably would have approved. On other nights, though, Candy was so weak from sepsis that she could barely stand. I wanted to pull her away from her destructive path and personally escort her to the county hospital. But I knew that the next night she could very well be back on the streets, making a living the only way she knows how, by turning tricks.

Candy shared with me her life as an IV drug user, about being gay, about her battle with AIDS, and about being forgotten by her own family. Most people probably see her as a dirty vagrant cluttering the sidewalk. Luckily for me, I got to see a different Candy, a person who experiences loneliness, pain, and joy. It was not easy for her to open up and share her experiences. I am delighted to have earned her trust. As Henry Ward Beecher said, “To array a man's will against his sickness is the supreme art of medicine.” My presence has helped Candy find that will. In her consistent use of clinic’s services, Candy’s showing me that she is caring for herself. My efforts have not been in vain.

I have always loved listening to people’s stories and sharing my own. I was born in a rural Western Chinese town at the foot of the Himalayas. As a young girl, I spent a lot of time in the hospital where my mother worked as a pediatrician. My intimate relationship with the hospital staff was like simultaneously having many aunts and uncles. We are a product of our environments. My upbringing was unusual, but my nurturing surrounding was instrumental in shaping me into a person who sincerely values and enjoys personally getting to know others. Applying my love for listening to the infirm will not only help me understand them, but it will put me in a position of healing.

It has been a decade and a half since my family has relocated to the US. Throughout my life, from growing up with my mother, to my experiences in the ER, to my work with the homeless, I have been fortunate to have role models who have taught me strength and compassion. In their daily acts of courage and their incredible power to keep going, individuals like Anthony and Candy have shown me that it is possible to face even the most terrifying things in life and remain stubbornly, and miraculously, unbroken. Empowered by Anthony’s spirit and Candy’s trust, I am prepared to do whatever it takes to face the challenges of medical school. I am committed to make supporting others through their illnesses a lifelong effort.