Each spring, OAFP asks fourth-year Ohio medical students to submit their personal statements that were written for application to family medicine residency programs.
Following are the 2011 submissions:
David Beckstead
“I began to savor the variety and thought processes used in family medicine, along with the ability to take care of a whole family. The suffering and disparities of the whole human family were opened up to my eyes while working in Africa and in the free clinics of Columbus, Ohio, as I saw patients with disease complications that could have been prevented…” read the full statement.
Abby Davids
While family medicine will allow me to work with underserved populations and remain committed to academics and education, its greatest draw for me lies in its tireless dedication to patient care. With its inherent variety, strong patient relationships and focus on humanism in medicine, family medicine is ultimately a specialty that puts the patient first…” read the full statement.
Ryan Foster
“I want to be the one on the plane who knows what to do; the person who travels abroad and does everything needed to run the tiny rural clinic. From a 1-year- old to an 89-year-old, I want to know what to do in any situation…” read the full statement.
Nathaniel Franley
“In a short office visit you have to gain a patient’s trust, sympathize, apply medical knowledge and motivate compliance, not to mention deal with their insurance company…” read the full statement.
Eleanor Glass
“The patients are what I love the most. That is what I want to focus on. You cannot give me a disease process or an organ system or a surgical procedure that I will find more interesting than just the people themselves…” read the full statement.
Ben Hagopian
“I enjoy being comfortable with a broad range of health and disease states and I like rich patient relationships and continuity-of-care with a diverse population. I am excited by family medicine’s never-boring variety of chief complaints and I relish the constant challenge to improve not only my medical knowledge but doctoring skills as well…” read the full statement.
Matthew Haldeman
“I have also come to understand that building strong, personal relationships with patients is what makes medicine meaningful. While I am fascinated by the basic science behind medicine, it is working with people that truly excites me. Family medicine offers the opportunity to not only work with patients and their families throughout their lives, but also to play a vital role in a community…” read the full statement.
Alexandria Howard
“I have wanted to practice this specialty for as long as I can remember. In its earliest stage the desire was an unconscious instinct as the doctor I had always imagined becoming was made in the image of my family physician. As I have moved forward in my medical career, that unconscious instinct has become a wholehearted conviction…” read the full statement.
John Paul Pham
“Everything from well-child checks, delivering babies, assisting surgeries, to counseling patients with mood disorders have all been rewarding experiences. Every patient I have seen has taught me something that I can apply to family medicine…” read the full statement.
Doria Thomas
“In medicine, primary care physicians develop an armory of knowledge accompanied by an enormous duty to respond to patients and the community. The opportunity lasts a moment and is specifically crafted for each patient…” read the full statement.
