Graduate / One of the biggest challenges I had to face as an EMT involved dealing with an uncooperative patient [3]

Rather than focus on the grammar and syntax, can you guys please focus on the content itself? Does the essay have impact? Did I transition right? Anything I can do to make the essay better?

Prompt: Please use this space to describe any challenge or obstacle you have faced prior to your application to medical school and how you addressed that challenge (1500 characters).

One of the biggest challenges I had to face as an EMT involved dealing with an uncooperative patient. My teammates and I were dispatched to a home where an elderly female suffered a head trauma and back pain. Despite my attempts to aid her properly, she kept refusing cervical collar, head stabilization, and cravats around herself as she was placed onto the backboard. However, she did allow us to put a cold pack on her back where her pain was originating. While we were on route to the hospital, the patient created a tense atmosphere as she was still writhing with back pain and started insulting us despite our attempts to expedite the transport as quickly and efficiently as we could. However, as an EMT, I fully understood the importance of helping the patients and continuing to be respectful regardless of their current situation. Thus, in order to help her out in any way I could, I proceeded to reach my gloves into where her ice pack was and tried to further examine the pain. Surprisingly, continuing to ask her about the pain calmed her down, even though these were the same questions I asked her back at the residence. She eventually snapped back into being impatient and frustrated, but thankfully this was right as we arrived at the hospital. She eventually apologized for being very demeaning to us. Managing this patient gave me the confidence I needed to deal with many diverse set of patients along with an appreciation of how I have the ability to overcome challenges.

Graduate / A meaningful extracurricular activity for medicine--Medical Scribe [4]

Prompt: Please explain why this activity is meaningful for you.

Working as a medical scribe has given me first hand exposure to the field of emergency medicine. Although my role is strictly clerical and
does not allow for any medical care, I have gotten one of the best exposures to emergency medicine, disease processes, medical
decision making, and procedures. It has also given me an opportunity to understand the physician's thought processes and document
them accordingly. Since I am alongside a physician for much of the duration, my curiosity would drive me to tap into the potential
knowledge that would be present before me. Furthermore, my training covered curriculum that gave me a glimpse into the field of
medicine such as medical terminology, pathophysiology, emergency procedures, and more that would help me become an valuable
scribe. Additionally, because I am also an EMT, it complements well with my scribe because as an EMT, I transport patients to the
hospital, and as a scribe, I get to observe what happens to the patients afterwards. Like my role as an EMT, my job as a scribe has given

me valuable assets that can help me become an effective physician. It has helped me improve qualities in myself that would be valuable
to have as a physician, which include critical thinking, adaptability, organization skills, and proper management of stressful situations.

Graduate / My goal to study medicine all started out with my brother being diagnosed with diabetes [8]

Prompt: Please provide a statement explaining why you want to study medicine.

My goal to become a physician did not begin until I was in high school when my brother was diagnosed with diabetes. The news of my brother's diagnosis shocked everyone in my family and I was trying to cope with the frantic situation. Naturally, my parents were taught how to manage his condition, but as an older brother it was my responsibility to take the initiative and learn with them. By giving proper dosages of insulin, deciding what kinds of meals to have,(and) scheduling and testing for blood sugar, this was the first time I exposed myself to the study of medicine because I was applying what I learned in school about the human body and I was really enjoying it. Suddenly, terms like "glucose", "insulin", and "beta cells" started to feel like they had a concrete meaning to me, giving me a sense of clarity of the situation even though I already knew about them beforehand. Diabetes became more than just a vocabulary word to me. It gave me an opportunity to take care of my brother in a whole new way and provided me a glimpse of the delicate internal mechanisms of the human body. In fact, managing my brother's disease not only helped me get a better grasp on the subject, but also prompted me to search in my spare time online for ways to help him cope with it. This led me to not only learn more about the pancreas, but also other parts of the human body and how diabetes impacts them. Before I knew it, I started looking into other pathologies, and I felt like I was venturing into a whole new world. My newly found hobby was only stimulating my interest in medicine.

My desire to become a physician led me to shadow my family doctor, and it was one of the most valuable experiences because it introduced me to the clinical aspects to the practice of medicine. As I carefully observed how he interacted and empathized with his patients, I could not help but think that in few ways it was similar to the way I was treating my brother while managing his diabetes. I also had the opportunity to engage in some hands-on experience, such as comparing the pattern of respiration between normal and asthma-stricken patients using a stethoscope, and observing the differences in appearances between allergic and healthy patients. However, my favorite part of shadowing was seeing how the information the patients provided related to their diagnosis. After each patient interaction, I would ask my doctor questions pertaining to the cases just covered, and he would explain to me the process of clinical overflow, including how he uses differential diagnosis and which tests he orders in order to come up with a final diagnosis. As I learned about this humanistic side of medicine, my curiosity led me to understand more about each case. Thus, I looked forward to shadowing whenever possible.

My interest in the human body system led me to major in biology at New Jersey Institute of Technology. Even though I took a lot of classes pertaining to my interest, my favorite class was Cell Biology of Disease, where we explored various pathologies that people were susceptible to. This course was especially important to me because I learned more about diabetes and the potential treatments that can arise in the future. The class has helped me in other ways, too. While I was preparing a group presentation on the cellular mechanisms of pancreatic cancer and cystic fibrosis, I learned how to best collaborate with my peers in order to effectively deliver our findings to the class, which helped me further develop my communications and interpersonal skills.

Because I solidified my goal to become a physician, I wanted to take part in activities where I interact with patients, so I became an EMT. Working as an EMT helped me manage stressful situations, think critically on the spot, and taught me how to manage proper relations with patients of varying diseases or injuries. Being an EMS personnel has also helped me learn to assess a given situation by gathering chief complaint and other pertinent information. My most important experience as an EMT, however, was helping the patients. Having a "patients come first" approach gave me some insight into why doctors treat patients very seriously. The patients calling 911 are going through very stressful situations, and as members of health care it is our job to comfort them and help them when they most need it.

Through my various experiences, I have to come to learn that medicine is my calling. My brother's initial diagnosis led me on a journey to explore what this profession has to offer and how I can contribute to it. Taking care of my brother has made me more aware of not only myself, but also others around me. I now help out my friends as well as my grandparents, who are also diabetic, by giving them advice on how to manage their condition. Through my time shadowing and being an EMT, I realized that being a doctor is not just about mastering the location of every bone, knowing the function of every organ, or even memorizing the pathologies of various illnesses. It is much more significant than that. The job is about connecting with and healing others in need. It is about appraising the value of life. I believe I am ready to begin my journey of becoming a doctor.