I am a spirited and highly dedicated physician, very much a team player, and I have significant experience working in diverse, high-stress environments. I have excelled professionally by placing a high priority on exemplary conduct, ethical standards, and personal integrity. I have a long record of volunteer experience, in addition to paid professional positions, and I not only speak English, Hindi, and a variety of other languages spoken in India, but I am also presently learning Spanish for medical purposes.
Growing up in India, a culture in which physicians are held in very high regard, my earliest inspiration to become a physician was our primary care doctor. I deeply admired her not only for the way that she healed the sick, but would also spread goodwill wherever she went, cheering people up and sharing her insatiable optimism and zest for life. In this sense, she continues to serve me well as a role model for the practice of psychiatry, which is especially highly dependent on optimism, and faith in the healing process, that the doctor and patient working together can indeed make real progress towards curing the disorders of mind and soul.
Many, if not most, people who suffer from psychiatric disorders have faced abuse, hardship, or obstacles in the path of their healthy psychological development. In addition to my optimism and good cheer, my own trajectory of overcoming formidable obstacles along the way also helps to qualify me for a position in psychiatry. During my clinical rotations in medical school, the interactions that I enjoyed with patients were among the greatest of my learning experiences. In time, I found that reducing the patient´s level of mental suffering was especially critical to the effective treatment of their physical ailments, helping them to understand their illness better and being highly supportive throughout the course of the treatment.
As my knowledge of medicine grew, my very perception of life also changed; I gained greater maturity, insight, and understanding. I was especially pleased that my efforts were recognized by my being awarded the best intern award in pediatrics. After completing my degree, the responsibilities of marriage and the challenges of moving to the United States forced me to take a break from the practice of medicine. However, I kept myself busy studying for the USMLE exams. Since my arrival here, my resolve to complete residency training and to obtain additional clinical experience in my new home has grown exponentially, along with my comfort and confidence levels. Soon, I was reaching out to discover professional opportunities here in California in medicine and psychiatry, to fortify my knowledge and experience base and assist in transitioning to practicing in a US-based setting. I had not yet decided which specialty I planned to pursue until I had the profound privilege of fulfilling a psychiatry clerkship at XXXX State Hospital. I immediately fell in love with the humanistic and biopsychosocial approach to treating mentally ill patients, to bring about targeted behavioral changes. I proved myself to be quite adept at integrating my training and exposure to mentally ill patients in my home country with the methodologies for diagnosis and treatment clearly outlined by the psychiatrists and psychologists in wellness and recovery sessions.
My love for psychiatry has grown in leaps and bounds, and I am hungry for further experience in this field. Another important aspect of my preparation to serve as a resident in psychiatry has been my service as a volunteer in clinical research with the Addiction Pharmacology Research Lab at XXXX Medical Center, where I have had a chance to further interact with substance abuse subjects and learn firsthand from their experiences, psychosocial complications related to substance abuse, through subject interviews, screening, and weekly follow-ups. Furthermore, I have also significantly profited from additional externship opportunities with XXXX Hospital and also XXXX Hospital, improving my knowledge and experience with patients of culturally diverse populations. And his has sparked my especially keen interest in cross-cultural psychiatry.
I look forward to becoming increasingly aware of psychiatric illnesses in our society and the chance to continue to have a share in clinical research concerned with cross-cultural psychiatry. I want to thank you for considering me for your program.