I am a physician from India who has just finished five years of residency training in Scotland, one year in medicine, and four in psychiatry. Over the last four years, I developed a special affection and intrigue with the mental health challenges of older people suffering from debilitating diseases. Now living in Boston, since my physician wife began a new residency position here, I want very much to find a residency position in Internal Medicine where I will be able to use the medical wisdom and insights that I have gained over these last four years working primarily in dementia care, Parkinson’s disease, and the recovery of stroke victims.
My recent position in Geriatric psychiatry has been an enjoyable experience in both psychiatry and Geriatric medicine. I adored working with the elderly and especially loved listening to their colorful life stories. The main challenges in this job often came, not from acute psychiatric illness, but from managing comorbid medical conditions. I have gained good experience in cognitive assessment, Dementia care, and other commonly seen medical conditions in the elderly such as Parkinson’s disease and stroke. I feel this experience would be of immense help in my future practice as our elderly population is expanding and the incidence of dementia is on the rise. Working in psychiatry has been a time for profound personal, emotional, and intellectual growth for me. It allowed me to reexamine my medical training and the concept of ‘illnesses’ by taking a more holistic view. While in Psychiatry, I was never away from clinical medicine as there is a significant overlap between medicine and Psychiatry, which required me to hold on to my core medical knowledge. I have diagnosed many medical conditions presenting with psychiatric manifestations like Wilson’s disease, Encephalitis in my clinics and on-call duties. In liaison psychiatry, I have learned the interaction between physical and psychiatric symptoms. I have gained a good experience in managing unrecognized deliria, and medically unexplained physical symptoms such as chronic pain and pseudo seizures. My experience in behavioral therapy helped me motivate patients to adopt a healthy lifestyle and risk-reducing behavior.
After graduation, I worked in India for some time and then moved to Scotland in the UK to further my medical training. As a part of core medical training, I worked as a senior house officer in different medical departments in busy NHS district hospitals. It enhanced my interest and knowledge in Internal medicine and exposed me to the advanced health care system in the UK. I have become quite familiar with managing various acute and chronic medical conditions. During this time, I have seen that a significant number of patients seen by the physicians not just had a physical illness but a whole range of issues concerning their emotions, behavior, and social circumstances and how they impacted their perception of illness. It was crucial to know the psychosocial background to understand and to manage their condition. My job became not only to determine what brought my patients to the hospital, but also to find out who they really were because, more often than not, the two were intertwined. I realized the importance of integrating the medical and behavioral components in providing a comprehensive care to the patients. This led me to take up a placement in psychiatry to enrich my experience on my way to becoming a competent physician.
My father worked as an officer at the Integrated Rural Development agency and was rotated every few years by the government to work in different rural communities in southern India. As a result, I spent my childhood in these remote areas, where I got firsthand experience of the lack of trained doctors and medical facilities and the debilitating effect it created on the lives of the local community. The profound impact it had on my thinking as a child, combined with my curiosity for science, led me to take medicine as a career option.
I stood among the top hundred out of fifty thousand students who appeared for the medical entrance exam. It ensured my admission into xxx medical college, one of the best medical schools in India. In medical school, I enjoyed pretty much everything I did, from studying basic sciences to the clinical years, as well as the extracurricular activities. I was exposed to all the critical areas of medicine during my training. Of all the specialties, Internal Medicine fascinated me. I was impressed by the wide variety of diseases and the diagnostic challenges involved in internal medicine. The amount of patience, knowledge, clinical skills, and a vision one needs to be an excellent internist awed me.
I believe I have the attributes necessary to succeed in internal medicine. I have a naturally curious mind that has been refined through my varied experiences to think logically to, solve complex problems and understand my patients with compassion. I can honestly say that I take a holistic approach to treating my patients, considering mind and body. My life experiences in two different countries and the contrasts in culture and lifestyle gave me a more informed view of the World and its diversity. I can relate to other people with ease, which will assist me significantly in my future practice as a physician.
I have recently moved to the states to accompany my wife, who is currently an intern in the XXXX program. I have seen the camaraderie between the faculty and the residents. It provides excellent teaching in a supportive environment and I am excited about starting my next phase of training at your institute.