My Purpose

My purpose is to alleviate human suffering. Many times suffering can be lessened with a cure; other times, a touch, a hand, or a word. In some cases, suffering can only be eased in death. As a medical student, I am taught to cure. As a human, I must also care.

To accomplish this purpose in life, much training will be required. The formal training throughout medical school, residency, and life as an attending physician will be difficult, but rewarding. The latter aspect, though, the “care,” will require vigilance. Each patient offers an opportunity to practice in real-time, yet so often we doctors are pulled by other voices: prestige, money. We can wall ourselves off in order to rationalize the suffering.

I want to alleviate suffering as a caring surgeon. One of the reasons I was drawn to surgery was because of the intense relationships that many patients have with their surgeons. But the one-to-one individual relationships are only part of my purpose. I came to the Kennedy School to help broaden my impact, changing policy such that suffering is lessened on a larger scale. I believe that improving the way patients interact with our health care system is another way to accomplish my goal.

I chosen this profession because many close to me have suffered because of their health, and many still do. I suffer. But I know from experience that it doesn’t have to be that way. A healthy body can lead to a healthy mind, and visa versa. With good health, more people can accomplish their own purpose.

Balancing my aspirations with my ambitions will be difficult. There is a lot of low hanging fruit in medicine, and it is easy to lose one’s way. Churning out research, moving up in the food chain: these can focus me away from my purpose, and one must find a careful balance.

Thus, I believe strengthening my holding environment is of the utmost importance. I believe the best way to do this is to surround myself with good people: others who have a similar purpose. I have been able to do this well in medical school. Good people remind us of our aspirations, and can put our ambitions in perspective. I will need to do this constantly if I am to maintain a steady course.

The second part of maintaining my holding environment is to remain engaged with suffering, never getting too far away. It is too easy to rationalize, forget, and disconnect with something if it is out of sight. In order to alleviate suffering it must also be part of my daily routine. Accepting it, but never becoming numb to it. This makes surrounding oneself with good people even more important.

“To live is to suffer, to survive is find some meaning in the suffering.”- Friedrich Nietzsche


(This statement of purpose was an assignment through my Leadership class. It asked each of us to meditate on why we are here.)