Why it’s Important

Being a pre-med student comes with a lot of expectations and assumptions. 1) I’m smart and getting good grades is easy. 2) I’m hardworking. 3) I love and am good at the sciences. 4) I do research and volunteer at hospitals/ clinics. 5) I’m competitive. 6) Everything I do is to advance me forward in my career path. It is as if choosing a profession determines who I am, what I have to do and how I get treated. Although what I do and what I strive for does involve those previous expectations, I resent these stereotypes, because they limit and trivialize my life. I don’t do those things because I have to, but because I want to. Turning interests into expectations makes being pre-med very stressful.

I’m a third-year, and am applying to medical school at the end of spring semester. That being said, the pressure that started building in high school has really begun to escalate. According to everyone, I need to find a medical internship, shadow extensively, take challenging courses (and succeed!), volunteer at hospitals, test well on the MCAT, and do research on top of everything else. Otherwise good luck getting into medical school, which the statistics for acceptance into medical school reflect. Obviously, to be a doctor one has to be extremely knowledgeable, hardworking and experienced in all things medical.  But there is so much more to being a doctor than that. If just those attributes are accomplished, I feel that one has the resources to be a doctor, but no idea how to use them to improve the lives of others. What is the job of a doctor? Why do people want to become doctors? To save lives? To discover the cure for cancer? To come up with new surgical methods? To become head of the surgical department? To make tons of money? To be known and respected internationally?

I truly believe that the work I do at Trevitt Elementary will make me a better doctor. When I accepted the position as a site leader, my friends, family, and advisors had the same reaction. “Why are you wasting your time doing something that doesn’t benefit your goals at all? Why aren’t you gunning for something medical?” Really? What I have committed to doing is a “waste of my time?” It is so hard for some people to understand that just because it isn’t medically related doesn’t mean that I can’t learn from it to become a better doctor. And why should that be my only motive for doing things? Granted, I am not learning anything medical that will benefit me directly by giving me an edge over my fellow competitors, but I really am learning how to be a better doctor. I am learning how to be a positive contributor to society. I am learning how to be more understanding, more empathetic, more patient, and more willing to use my good fortune to help those not so fortunate. I could easily be in the same boat as those in the East Side of Columbus, had I been born into a different family. We all could. How can you be a good doctor if you can’t understand why someone doesn’t have insurance, or hasn’t visited a doctor for that lump they noticed 5 years ago? How can you be a good doctor if you can’t get past the medical technology/ mindset and see your patient as a person? Through my shadowing experience in the medical field, I have witnessed that medical care is a privilege we all take for granted. Fresh food, new clothes, good teachers, present parents, toys/ books, and so much more are privileges we have that those in Columbus do not have. Especially as one of the fortunate ones in this world, I see it as our duty to better the world around us. It can be as little as being friendly to those who are not so friendly, or giving that homeless man you pass everyday a dollar. Thinking of others is something that our culture lacks to teach us, and it is scary to me how selfish every aspect of our lives can be.  Instead of seeking out activities that will benefit ME and US, why don’t we look for commitments that benefit OTHERS? In a world that is centered around me, me, me, I challenge you to think about others.

 

Jo Chen

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