When I picture my future, I have always pictured one in which I can help ordinary people navigate extraordinarily difficult times. After extensive shadowing and experiences in the medical field, I have determined that I can best do this for other by becoming a physician. Currently, I have a strong interest in pediatrics and have centered many of my extracurriculars around supporting sick kids and their families. I am entering my second year serving as the Director of Miracle Family Relations for my university's chapter of Dance Marathon, meaning I work directly with families whose children have been treated at the very same hospital that I volunteer at every week. As a family director, I am tasked with making every child, regardless of age, ability, or illness, feel welcome and supported at our events. In meeting all 16 of these families, I have heard their unique stories about the physicians that supported them during times of illness. In hearing the stories of our Miracle Families and of other families that I meet in the children's hospital playroom, I have seen just how suddenly a family can be thrust into a hospital; ordinary days turn tragic, and they are instantly forced to adapt. These families are exposed to a whirlwind of medical terms, medications, treatments, and procedures that turn their lives completely upside down. They rely on an excellent care team to uplift them - not just with the proper medical treatment, but with unrelenting empathy and understanding. The physician role specifically calls to me because it will give me the most knowledge and scope to be able to help families. I want to have the most extensive education so that I can play an active role in creating treatment plans, exploring alternative therapies, and helping families make difficult decisions that directly impact their child's health. One of my most impactful shadowing experiences occurred last summer on the pediatric hematology and oncology floor, where I met a six year old boy with B cell lymphoma. His family was mennonite, meaning that their faith gave rise to many concerns about the treatments ahead, even causing them to doubt the physician. In that room, I watched as the attending physician heard their concerns and addressed them with the utmost respect. Instead of talking down to them for having doubts, she validated their worries and took the time to go over the exact treatments, their risks and benefits, and the expected outcomes for their son. Immediately, I knew that this was exactly the type of healthcare provider I wanted to become, and that the physician role would best empower me with the knowledge to do so. As I begin to apply to medical school this year, the mounting costs of applications and worries of rejection have made me admittedly anxious. However, whenever I begin to doubt myself, I think of the children that I work with every single week. I remind myself that they need excellent providers, especially those that will pursue the understaffed specialty of pediatrics. When I remember their stories and the ways I have seen physicians make a positive impact on them, I am motivated to keep pushing. Becoming a physician would allow me to support these families and stand by them as they fight to secure their child the future they deserve.

When I picture my future, I have always pictured one in which I can help ordinary people navigate extraordinarily difficult times. After extensive shadowing and experiences in the medical field, I have determined that I can best do this for others by becoming a physician. Currently, I have a strong interest in pediatrics and have centered many of my extracurriculars around supporting sick kids and their families. I am entering my second year serving as the Director of Miracle Family Relations for my university's chapter of Dance Marathon, meaning I work directly with families whose children have been treated at the very same hospital that I volunteer at every week. As a family director, I am tasked with ensuring that every child, regardless of age, ability, or illness, feel welcome and supported at our events. In meeting all 16 of these families, I have heard their unique stories about the physicians who supported them during times of illness. In hearing the stories of our Miracle Families and of other families that I meet in the children's hospital playroom, I have seen just how suddenly a family can be thrust into a hospital; ordinary days turn tragic, and they are instantly forced to adapt. These families are exposed to a whirlwind of medical terms, medications, treatments, and procedures that turn their lives completely upside down. They rely on an excellent care team to uplift them - not just with the proper medical treatment, but with unrelenting empathy and understanding. The physician role specifically calls to me because it will give me the most knowledge and scope to be able to help families. I want to have the most extensive education so that I can play an active role in creating treatment plans, exploring alternative therapies, and helping families make difficult decisions that directly impact their child's health. One of my most impactful shadowing experiences occurred last summer on the pediatric hematology and oncology floor, where I met a six-year-old boy with B-cell lymphoma. His family was Mennonite, meaning that their faith gave rise to many concerns about the treatments ahead, even causing them to doubt the physician. In that room, I watched as the attending physician heard their concerns and addressed them with the utmost respect. Instead of talking down to them for having doubts, she validated their worries and took the time to go over the exact treatments, their risks and benefits, and the expected outcomes for their son. Immediately, I knew that this was exactly the type of healthcare provider I wanted to become, and that the physician role would best empower me with the knowledge to do so. As I begin to apply to medical school this year, the mounting costs of applications and worries of rejection have made me admittedly anxious. However, whenever I begin to doubt myself, I think of the children that I work with every single week. I remind myself that they need excellent providers, especially those who will pursue the understaffed specialty of pediatrics. When I remember their stories and the ways I have seen physicians make a positive impact on them, I am motivated to keep pushing. Becoming a physician would allow me to support these families and stand by them as they fight to secure their child the future they deserve.

1. Throughout my entire life, people have described me as energetic. As a child, I never recognized how much of a strength this could be; now, I believe it is one of the qualities that makes me suited for healthcare. Many people underestimate the importance of energy in medicine, but through my time working as an EMT, shadowing, and volunteering in a children's hospital, I can confidently say it is what will make me a good physician. As a provider, it is your job to set the tone of an interaction, even if the patient is upset or aggressive. My positive attitude and engagement have shaped every single patient interaction I have had, and have helped me get through to patients who are "hard to crack". I want to pursue a career in medicine because I want every patient to feel that their physician sees them as a real person worthy of respect and engaging conversation that goes beyond convoluted medical terminology. Compassion and personality have the chance to change the trajectory of a patient’s experience in a way that hard science cannot. I hope to bring those qualities into every future clinical environment I work in. 2. "Mr. Brown, you were a lawyer?" I asked this question to my patient in the back of an ambulance on the way to his dialysis appointment. Mr. "Brown" had always been seen as one of our most detached and sometimes difficult patients by many of the EMTs I worked with at my inter-facility transport job. He spoke very little except for his cries of pain, and I always had trouble getting through to him, even with my bubbly personality. One day, while transporting him, I noticed in his patient binder that his former occupation was a lawyer. Asking him about it was the first time I was able to get a full conversation out of him, and the first time I got a true glimpse into who he was as a person. In that moment, so many things about healthcare clicked for me. I was reminded of how important it is to see your patient outside of their illness and the ways it has shaped their personality; that every single patient has a rich past filled with passions, achievements, and struggles. To me, empathy is the ability to zoom out of a single moment and view it in the context of a full life. In medicine, patients place their trust in you during their most vulnerable, painful moments; it can be easy to see this as their entire identity, when in reality, it is often one of the worst days of their life. Empathy is what makes the difference between a good physician and a great one. Treating a patient's disease is important, but quality care demands the consideration of their entire personhood outside of illness. After this interaction, I began to ask my patients more about themselves and their lives outside of their short ambulance ride with me. I found that it made them more receptive, cooperative, and comfortable even on hard days. As a physician, I will deal with a much higher volume of patients and a much busier schedule, meaning it may be hard to make these kinds of connections. Nevertheless, I plan to always work to see my patient as the culmination of their life instead of their hospital visit. Empathy is especially important in my dream field of pediatrics. Pediatric patients span wide ranges of development and maturity, meaning that their care requires nuance. During my time as a children’s hospital volunteer, I learned the importance of taking vested interest in a child’s life. Treating a child involves understanding their home life, parental consent, and even their favorite superhero - these small parts make up their whole world. To me, practicing with a human-centered lens means seeing every patient, pediatric or not, as a whole person beyond their diagnosis. This level of connection does not happen by accident - it must be forged intentionally and come from a place of true passion. I am called to pediatric medicine because I believe it is where I can make the most meaningful difference in healthcare.