Personal Statement - Oxford MSc Tropical Disease and International Health

Personal statement:

A maximum of 800 words
Your statement will help the department determine your suitability for the course.

In your statement you should:

Explain the factors that have motivated your application to the MSc in International Health and Tropical Medicine at this point in your career.

Describe the experiences you have had tackling health challenges in resource-limited contexts and how you expect the MSc in International Health and Tropical Medicine may help you in your efforts.

Briefly outline your immediate and long-term career goals and how the MSc in International Health and Tropical Medicine may contribute to your career trajectory.

Ghotai, a 24 year old mother of two living in Kotai village, was complaining of weight loss, bloody coughing and night sweats. On further investigations, she says that she suffered from tuberculosis a while back but stopped taking the medication after a couple of months because she felt good. I referred her to the closest hospital and she is likely to be cured if she follows the medication. Lucky coincidence because she would have not visited the doctor if a MHT did not come to the area. Unfortunately, tens of thousands of people die of tuberculosis each year and that number is likely to be under reported. Mostly, deaths are not caused by severe complication but rather not having access to healthcare or not having the necessary medical understanding of its severity. In my time of working in these villages, I saw the healthcare situation in rural areas first hand in Afghanistan. A lack of health centers, inability to buy medicine, rarity of qualified and well trained personnel and a lack of health education among others. A situation made worse by current political turmoil.

In my time in Kotai and Taran, I treated diseases that have been eradicated in most parts of the world. Yet in Afghanistan, they are major sources of deaths each year. For instance, while malaria is eradicated in many countries around the world, 60% of Afghanistan's geography remains endemic for malaria. TB, a disease that causes, at its highest, no more than 500 deaths a year in UK but causes more than ten thousand in Afghanistan. Similarly, cholera and leishmania outbreaks happen almost each year and are always present sporadically around the country. Now the question that is begging to be asked is after tens of billions of funds, why is the situation one of the worst in the world? I think the main cause is ineffective policies and planning.

I would do my best to diagnose the patients and either treat them or refer them to a larger health center. I even took part in arranging so that the NGO that I worked with would make permanent health centers rather than temporary MHTs. However, as days passed by, I saw and understood how complex the health issues are in Afghanistan, especially rural areas. And to make it worse, it was not just the abundance of disease and limited treatment of it but many other things too. For instance, we had to do daily, monthly, weekly reports and send them back to the NGO. One thing that struck me was that how almost 70 percent of my patients were adult women. This was due to the fact that if men or their children get sick, they would not hesitate to go to a health center but taking adult women to hospitals or clinics was not seen as important.

These are just some of the issues that are present in the Afghan healthcare system. All such problems and tragedies motivated me to take initiative in any way possible. The MSc in international health and tropical medicine from Oxford is the best possible way of equipping myself with all the required skills needed to tackle these issues and be the ones who contributes to making a difference. As the course itself is aimed in training leaders to tackle health issues in a resource limited setting, I believe that this is quite literally a description of Afghanistan. Resources are now more limited than ever and the need for qualified personnel is extremely high due to the brain drain following the government's fall. I believe that with the MSc in international health and tropical medicine I will be able to play a role in resolving the problems in the Afghan health sector.

The healthcare sector, from the start and now even more due to the situation, has been under the influence of world health organization ans other NGOs rather than the public sector. All health policies such as BPHS and EPHS, which form the basics of the Afghan healthcare system, were organized mainly by WHO so it makes sense to take a role with such non governmental organization of one wants to make change in the healthcare sector in Afghanistan. I intend to personally take part in policy changes and model them best in order to target main killer diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases commonly found but also take part to tackle non disease related issues such as working to provide equal access to healthcare for all regardless of their gender or how better health practices can be promoted on a country wide scale. In other words, my plans for future circle around the healthcare sector in Afghanistan and I see myself working in Afghanistan and giving back to my community in best way I can.

The essay is tremendously boring. It does not catch the reviewer's attention, nor does it contain any information that would be considered remarkable or memorable by the screener. The writer has used almost all of the word count but failed to provide information as necessary and within the context of the prompts. It is difficult to say that this essay will receive ample consideration during the screening portion of the candidates. The writer does not have the correct professional presentation in this essay, he turned it into a personal narrative, which is why the direction of the information is misdirected. Clearly lacking from this essay is the instruction that the writer briefly outline his immediate and long-term career goals in relation to his studies. How will the studies contribute to the said career advancement? Does the writer really understand what the studies are about? He does not really display any familiarity with the program beyond surface references that do not offer any insight into his understanding of the connection between his future career and the studies he wishes to undertake. This is not a very strong essay at this point. He should consider writing a new, stronger, more focused essay before applying for acceptance to the university.

The opening line in a personal statement is very critical. It should be eye catching and provides a grimpse of the students intention. Rather than starting by talking about a 24 years mother, the writer should have started with something like.."My passion for tropical disease and internatinal health is dated way back...."