Personal Statement Draft #2

Earlier this year, I was told that I would be “irrelevant.” The physician who spoke those words cited numerous studies, stating, “Health care only contributes 10-15% to health outcomes and life span.” The remaining 85% stems from life circumstances that are out of a doctor’s control. In short, he wanted me to understand that “doctoring” is only part of the story.

While some would find this news disheartening, I see it as a challenge. Providing high quality care will require me to be both an excellent clinician and a physician-leader. I see no better vocation to meet this challenge than as an academic surgeon.

As an M3, I was enjoyed the intense connections my attending surgeons had with their patients. I eagerly sought to develop Dr. Johnson’s sincere compassion with his breast cancer patients, and Dr. Bradshaw’s knowledge base and technical competence in the operating room. Throughout the year, their mix of experience, procedural expertise, and kindness was unparalleled, leading me to consider the choice of surgery more seriously.

I elected to spend my sub-internship in rural General Surgery in Linville, NC. There, I met an elderly woman, Rose, who presented with stage IIA melanoma. She had been a patient at the Tate Clinic for 77 years. Her relationship with my preceptor, Dr. Tate, was special. His grandfather birthed her, his father removed her gallbladder, and now Dr. Tate would treat Rose’s cancer. Again I was inspired by the deep, meaningful relationships that surgeons developed with their patients, who were often objected to scary and terminal diagnoses. By the end of this rotation, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in surgery.

Dr. Tate and my other surgical preceptors were both role models and leaders. Through careful observation of their work, I have seen the value of leadership in the operating room and the clinic. Leadership as a core principal of success, and I have experienced its value as a student, a researcher, an EMT, and as captain of the UNC Men’s Swimming and Diving Team. During these last few years, I have begun to better understand the need for leadership in health care and policy.

Even with Medicare, Rose struggled to gain access to consistent primary care. Linville is in Avery County, which has one of the highest ratios of patients to PCPs, and ranks worst for clinical care in all of North Carolina. This is why I chose to pursue a Master of Public Policy, as a fellow at Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership. There, I have studied leadership in the classroom and the lab, and am currently finishing my Master’s thesis, which analyzes the role of reimbursement in hospital quality for the largest rural health system in North Carolina. During residency, I hope to continue these research interests in nontechnical skills and health policy.

My primary focus, however, is to become an excellent clinician, as all my role models are expert surgeons. I believe that academic surgery provides the best opportunity meet this goal, as well as the challenge I was presented earlier this year. “Eighty-five percent” is a daunting figure, but through practice, leadership, and good policy, surgeons can make an even greater impact on patients’ lives than they do today. I look forward to meeting this challenge every day as a surgical resident.