Example Medicine Foundation Personal Statement
My ambition is not simply to become a doctor. I am intent on becoming an exceptional consultant in the secondary care setting. My application to complete the Medicine with a Foundation Year course represents a crucial step on the long journey towards this ambition, for which I have prepared so far by completing detailed research on the demands of a career in medicine and gaining a wealth of voluntary care experience, through which I have learnt about and experienced the highs and lows of a life in healthcare.
My ambition to become a doctor is rooted in two key factors. Firstly, I have always sought to put myself in a position of caring for others, and I have always lamented the decision I made earlier in life to follow my father into the construction trade rather than pursue this dream. Above all I would love to care for people while working within the NHS,a truly amazing institution in my opinion whose unique ethos of equality of care for all people has always inspired me.In fact, it is the exemplary healthcare my family has experienced through the NHS that is the other key component of my motivation to study medicine.
One of my daughters is severely autistic; at every stage of her life different NHS staff have been on hand to treat her with compassion and understanding, and have consistently been a source of support to myself and my partner. The care that my daughter has received has given me an appreciation for the importance of caring for people as a complete human being with emotions and fears to be accommodated. At the same time, accompanying my daughter on her journey of growing up with autism has also sparked off a great scientific curiosity within me. I have taken a very close interest in research into the causes of neural development disorders such as autism and developments in treating these conditions.
Completing work placements and voluntary work has helped me to gain a nuanced and well-grounded understanding of life within the medical profession. Through shadowing various GPs I had the opportunity to understand just how vital listening to patients’ concerns is as a part of the communication process, and also had the chance to see the ways doctors defused situations in which the patient disagreed with the doctor’s own treatment advice. My long-term voluntary posting within an A & E department–I will have completed over 1,000 hours of service by May 2013–has been where I have truly learnt the pressures doctors face, however. Assisting nurses, doctors and paramedics in their duties has been a wonderful challenge that has allowed me to understand the patience, diligence and collective commitment of medical staff.
I have found that some of the skills from my current employment have proved useful in a healthcare setting. The diagnostic elements of my role require me to have excellent communication skills, both to identify problems and explain them to those with less technical knowledge, and I also need to make often complex decisions based on the information I am presented with. Although I am now keen to embark on a wholesale career change, I have nevertheless enjoyed continually improving in my current work, whether in the form of completing additional training–including completion of a St John first-aid certificate–or focusing on my interpersonal skills.
Outside of my working life I have been a member and captain of numerous football, cricket and athletics teams. I thoroughly enjoy leading a team into competition, and take great pride from the collective success of any team with which I am involved. I also enjoy stepping outside of my comfort zone, and for this reason I will also be carrying out a solo freefall skydive in aid of the national autistic society in the summer of 2013.
A determined, perceptive and capable individual, I am convinced that that I will prosper and progress in the field of medicine to the very best of my abilities, should I be fortunate enough to gain a foundation place.
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