There have been many moments in my life that inspired me to continue my education despite many obstacles in my way. And I’ve met many physicians and healthcare professionals that motivated me to study hard so I can one day practice medicine in a very specific way. I was sixteen the first time I saw death. I was a high school student shadowing physicians in my local hospital as part of a school program teaching students about different healthcare careers. Baby Valeria was a micro preemie, only twenty-one weeks along when her mom experienced preterm labor and lost her. The physician I shadowed told me her story, and we had a moment of silence before we went to visit her mother. The anguish in the room was palpable, but Dr. Reece knew exactly what to do to lessen her pain. The way she communicated with a family experiencing such a devastating loss taught me more about medicine than viewing a procedure ever would. Dr. Reece was the first person who inspired me to enter the medical field. She taught me that dying and death are such important parts of life and should be treated with the utmost respect for both the patient and their family. Dr. Reese’s emotional maturity and ability to connect with her patients and build trust with them while making critical decisions for their health and well being is exactly how I wish to provide care and compassion as a physician. My next experience in medicine was actually with a different kind of doctor, one I’d never heard of before. Dr. Vue, my sister’s OB/GYN, was an osteopathic physician, and she delivered my niece. I remember standing in the delivery room beside my sister, holding her hand as she pushed for what seemed like forever. When my sister’s epidural failed, she was in an immense amount of pain. Dr. Vue performed osteopathic manipulative treatments (OMT) on my sister’s lower back during labor and gave her enough relief that she was able to finish delivering her baby girl. The compassion and knowledge that Dr. Vue demonstrated was eye opening and inspiring. Despite common beliefs about the pain of childbirth, observing how my sister's physician prioritized her well-being and took measures to mitigate her pain was the perfect example of how I want to treat my patients as a physician. I went along to speak with Dr. Vue about her journey into medicine, and I was inspired to apply to only osteopathic medical schools last year. Now, I am currently enrolled in an osteopathic medical school in Central California. Learning OMT and being able to perform it like Dr. Vue did with my sister is important to me because I want to master this hands-on approach that will enable me to offer comprehensive and patient-centered care. I am excited to continue my education throughout medical school so I can become more like the women that inspired me to study in the first place. Specifically, I want to become an OB/GYN, and I hope one day to become a strong, caring physician that will make my role models proud.

I grew up as a second generation Mexican American who was not taught to speak Spanish. My community has a large demographic of Spanish-speaking people, but my mother was raised split between two different countries when ESL was not common. Because she didn’t want my siblings and me to experience the same troubles she did when learning a second language, she decided not to teach us Spanish. I didn’t understand until I got older, but this created a rift between myself and my heritage. As I matured, I realized I couldn’t fully be involved in conversations with my family or a lot of my community. As a result, cultural preservation became a deeply personal mission for me, and I realized the Spanish language was a key to understanding my heritage and connecting with the people around me. This was the exact reason why I began learning Spanish as an adult. I will admit, it has been a tough journey, but I am proud to say I’ve made a lot of progress, and I attribute that success to the help I’ve gotten along the way. Before applying to medical school, I worked as a medical assistant at a non-profit community clinic near my hometown. Many of our patients were agricultural workers or from low income families, and every day, I would see people make the decision between seeing a physician and possibly losing their job due to missing work or not receiving healthcare at all. My community is historically underserved. We are feeling the impact of the severe primary care provider shortage, and I see every day how that affects the people in the community. It causes delays in care from appointments booked far in advance, long wait times at walk-in clinics, and it puts a heavy burden on our small emergency rooms that are not equipped to handle the number of patients they receive daily. As a medical assistant, I did what I could to address these health disparities. I led multiple community outreach programs including scheduling preventive healthcare appointments for postpartum visits, childhood vaccines, and cancer screenings, and throughout the past two years at my job, the programs were so successful that my clinic won the Clinical Quality Leader Award. Seeing the way these small scale programs changed the health outcomes in my community made me realize how much more can be done. Now, as an incoming first year osteopathic medical student at California Health Sciences University, I know what more I can do for my community. I can continue to learn more about the disparities here, more about the community and their culture, and learn how to address those needs in a culturally sensitive way. The majority of the patients at my old community clinic spoke Spanish as their primary language, so learning more Spanish and being able to communicate with them in their native language will help build connections and allow for more meaningful interactions. I’ve had plenty of opportunities to learn and practice with my co-workers and patients in the past, and it has been a wonderful experience growing closer with my community. Seeing the happiness and gratitude on someone's face when I communicate with them in their native language has been priceless. My main goal in attending medical school is to ensure individuals living in underserved and rural areas, like my own, can access quality healthcare without unnecessary delays or hardships. I hope to become a primary care physician that forms lifelong relationships with my patients that are built on trust and understanding of the community and the people who live there.

I blinked wearily at my silently buzzing phone, the light almost blinding me from the darkness of my bedroom. After a moment of confusion, my stomach dropped as my sleep-addled brain realized what this notification meant. “Hello?” Emily and I had been each other's only friends since childhood. We were inseparable and each other's only support system. Once we became teenagers, I branched out and made new friends, but Emily didn’t. I feel terrible admitting this, but I didn’t notice anything was wrong until her first suicide attempt. I didn’t notice when she began to pull away, or when I spent more and more time with other people. After Emily’s first attempt, I realized what an active role I had in her spiraling mental health. I began trying to be there for her more, and I tried to understand what she was going through. I told her that if she ever needed anything, I was just a call away. I also encouraged her to talk to her parents about what she was going through, but she told me they had a strained relationship and she didn’t have any support from them. For a while, I felt like things were starting to get better, like things were going back to normal. But when I received her frantic phone call in the middle of the night, I felt completely lost. I was terrified, but somehow had the right state of mind to contact the police and got first responders to her immediately. Her second suicide attempt was a hard blow. I knew that she was going through a hard time, and despite all the effort I took to make her feel better, It seemed like none of it made a difference. I felt like a failure. I felt guilty for not being able to help her feel better and for not having noticed the signs sooner. I began to question whether I could even call myself her friend at all. It was at that point that I realized I had to try something different. I couldn’t continue to sit back and offer the same words or support that obviously weren’t working, so I began searching online for resources. I gave Emily information for suicide hotlines, and in my research, I found an online training course to become an online Crisis Counselor. I joined the program and learned how to approach people who are experiencing a crisis with empathy, active listening, and non-judgment. I learned how to assist others develop coping skills and learn when to enact them or when to contact a crisis line or emergency services. I became a Crisis Counselor, so I could be better prepared to help my friend, and thankfully she is still here with us today. Through my experience becoming a Crisis Counselor, I’ve learned so much about a multitude of different people and how to build relationships and connect with anyone, regardless of where they’re from or who they are. I’ve learned the importance of trying new tactics when original ones fail and the importance of asking for help when you need it. Along the way I also learned coping skills for myself, how to remain calm in stressful situations, and how much I love being able to help others. I am now an incoming first year student at an osteopathic medical school, and I hope to carry these lessons with me throughout my life and especially throughout medical school. I hope to become an empathetic and caring physician that can care for my patient’s mental health just as well as their physical health.

I grew up and still live on the outskirts of a large city in Central California surrounded by farmlands. I am a first year student at California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine (CHSU-COM), and I am ecstatic to be able to stay in the Central Valley and continue to serve the community that has given me so much. As a native Californian, I have developed a deep connection with my community and the diverse individuals who live here. My roots in the Central Valley have shaped my identity, values, and played a huge part in my commitment to making a difference in the lives of my fellow community members, because my community is my family, and there is so much I want to do to give back to them. Before attending medical school, I worked at a local community clinic which serves the uninsured and underinsured of the community. Many of the patients are agricultural workers or low income families. Everyday, I saw people make a decision between seeing a physician and possibly losing their job due to missing work or not receiving healthcare at all. My community is historically underserved, and we are currently feeling the impact of the severe shortage of primary care providers. I saw daily how these issues can affect the people in the community. It causes delays in care from appointments booked months in advance, long wait times at walk-in clinics, and puts a heavy burden on our small emergency rooms that are not equipped to handle that amount of patients. As a medical assistant, I did what I could to address these health disparities. I led multiple community outreach programs including scheduling preventive appointments for postpartum visits, childhood vaccines, and cancer screenings, and throughout the past two years at my job, the programs were so successful that my clinic won the Clinical Quality Leader Award. Seeing the way these small scale programs changed the health outcomes in my community made me realize how much more can be done. I am now starting medical school this month, and my experience as a medical assistant was a huge reason why I chose to attend California Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine. I decided to study at a CHSU-COM because of their dedication to serving the population in California’s Central Valley, my home and where I grew up my entire life. As a medical assistant in my community clinic, I saw the diversity of the community I live in and the unique challenges they face. I grew to care for the people I saw in my clinic every day, and they are the exact individuals that I see myself one day serving as physician. Seeing all of this need in my own community influenced my desire to work in nonprofit healthcare centers, where I can serve individuals experiencing the greatest needs. I want to work with the community on their terms and their time frame in a setting that includes working weekends and late nights so everyone can have equal access to care. My main goal in attending medical school is to ensure individuals living in underserved and rural areas, like my own, can access quality healthcare without unnecessary delays or hardships. I hope to become a primary care physician that forms lifelong relationships with my patients that are built on trust and understanding of the community and the people who live there.

My desire to become a physician is deeply rooted in my experiences growing up in an underserved, rural community. I've seen firsthand the challenges people in these areas face while accessing healthcare, and that is what fuels my passion to make a positive impact as a physician in my community. Before attending medical school, I worked at a local community clinic where we serve the uninsured and underinsured in the community. Many of our patients are agricultural workers or from low income families. Everyday, I see people make the decision between seeing a physician and possibly losing their job due to missing work or not receiving healthcare at all. My community is historically underserved. We are currently feeling the impact of the severe shortage of primary care providers, and I see every day how that affects the people in the community. It causes delays in care from appointments booked far in advance, long wait times at walk-in clinics, and it puts a heavy burden on our small emergency rooms that are not equipped to handle the number of patients they receive daily. As a medical assistant, I did what I could to address these health disparities. I led multiple community outreach programs including scheduling preventive healthcare appointments for postpartum visits, childhood vaccines, and cancer screenings, and throughout the past two years at my job, the programs were so successful that my clinic won the Clinical Quality Leader Award. We actually improved from 30% compliant in preventative visits in 2021 to 80% in 2022, and seeing the way these small scale programs changed the health outcomes in my community made me realize how much more can be done. I am now starting medical school this month, and my experience as a medical assistant was a huge reason why I chose to attend California Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine. I decided to study at a CHSU-COM because of their dedication to serving the population in California’s Central Valley, my home and where I grew up my entire life. As a medical assistant in my community clinic, I saw the diversity of the community I live in and the unique challenges they face. The people I saw in my clinic every day are the people that I grew to care for, and they are the exact individuals that I see myself one day serving as physician. Seeing need in my own community influenced my desire to work in nonprofit healthcare centers, where I can serve individuals experiencing the greatest needs. I want to work with the community on their terms and their time frame in a setting that includes working weekends and late nights so everyone can have equal access to care. My main goal in attending medical school is to ensure individuals living in underserved and rural areas, like my own, can access quality healthcare without unnecessary delays or hardships. I hope to become a primary care physician that forms lifelong relationships with my patients that are built on trust and understanding of the community and the people who live there.

My desire to become a physician is deeply rooted in my experiences growing up in an underserved, rural community. I've seen firsthand the challenges people in these areas face while accessing healthcare, and that is what fuels my passion to make a positive impact as a physician in my community. Before attending medical school, I worked at a local community clinic where we serve the uninsured and underinsured in the community. Many of our patients are agricultural workers or from low income families. Everyday, I see people make the decision between seeing a physician and possibly losing their job due to missing work or not receiving healthcare at all. My community is historically underserved. We are currently feeling the impact of the severe shortage of primary care providers, and I see every day how that affects the people in the community. It causes delays in care from appointments booked far in advance, long wait times at walk-in clinics, and it puts a heavy burden on our small emergency rooms that are not equipped to handle the number of patients they receive daily. As a medical assistant, I did what I could to address these health disparities. I led multiple community outreach programs including scheduling preventive healthcare appointments for postpartum visits, childhood vaccines, and cancer screenings, and throughout the past two years at my job, the programs were so successful that my clinic won the Clinical Quality Leader Award. We actually improved from 30% compliant in preventative visits in 2021 to 80% in 2022, and seeing the way these small scale programs changed the health outcomes in my community made me realize how much more can be done. I am now starting medical school this month, and my experience as a medical assistant was a huge reason why I chose to attend California Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine. I decided to study at a CHSU-COM because of their dedication to serving the population in California’s Central Valley, my home and where I grew up my entire life. As a medical assistant in my community clinic, I saw the diversity of the community I live in and the unique challenges they face. The people I saw in my clinic every day are the people that I grew to care for, and they are the exact individuals that I see myself one day serving as physician. Seeing need in my own community influenced my desire to work in nonprofit healthcare centers, where I can serve individuals experiencing the greatest needs. I want to work with the community on their terms and their time frame in a setting that includes working weekends and late nights so everyone can have equal access to care. My main goal in attending medical school is to ensure individuals living in underserved and rural areas, like my own, can access quality healthcare without unnecessary delays or hardships. I hope to become a primary care physician that forms lifelong relationships with my patients that are built on trust and understanding of the community and the people who live there.