My regular volunteer work at a school for disabled children and at an elderly care home has helped me develop compassion and kindness. One patient with severe dementia was constantly distressed, so I patiently held her hand and consoled her for hours at a time. As Pemberton noted in ‘Trust Me, I’m a (Junior) Doctor’, “What mattered to [patients] more than the medicines and the operations and the tests, was that someone was by [their] side.”
The reality that learning medicine does not end with a medical degree were laid before me when I took part in the 2017 SmileAsia trip to Cambodia where I prepared patients for surgery and calmed them before sedation. I also volunteered to translate between Chinese and UK doctors treating children with cleft palate. The desire of the doctors to learn each other’s surgical techniques emphasised the global and ever-changing nature of medicine. I took the initiative to learn the necessary terminology in Mandarin to facilitate this. Through preparing for the Chemistry and Biology Olympiad, I was able to expand my knowledge of biochemistry and human biology and develop resilience through continuous, deliberate practice. I demonstrated initiative by teaching myself extension material and the topics taught in the Upper Sixth. The prospect of continuously extending my knowledge throughout my career greatly excites me.
My passion for learning and research led me to write two essays on poisonous substances and cellular waste disposal respectively, in addition to my IB coursework. Throughout this experience, I learned to consolidate conflicting sources, think critically and manage time. I learned to build on the constructive criticism my supervisor gave me. Considering iatrogenic errors are the third leading cause of death in the US, my willingness to acknowledge and correct my weaknesses would improve my quality of care. I also enjoyed learning more about physiology and pathophysiology.