Medical essay for Milica

Markovic(Zerovnica)
When I was fourteen years old, a drunk driver hit the car my mother was driving while I was in the
backseat. I remember very little about the accident, but I do faintly recall a serious but calming face as
I was gently lifted out of the car. The paramedic held my hand as we traveled to the hospital. I was in
the hospital for several weeks and that same paramedic came to visit me almost every day. During my
stay, I also got to know the various doctors and nurses in the hospital on a personal level. I remember
feeling anxiety about my condition, but not sadness or even fear. It seemed to me that those around
me, particularly my family, were more fearful of what might happen to me than I was. I dont believe it
was innocence or ignorance, but rather a trust in the abilities of my doctors. It was as if my doctors and
I had a silent bond. Now that Im older I fear death and sickness in a more intense way than I
remember experiencing it as a child. My experience as a child sparked a keen interest in how we
approach pediatric care, especially as it relates to our psychological and emotional support of children
facing serious medical conditions. It was here that I experienced first-hand the power and compassion
of medicine, not only in healing but also in bringing unlikely individuals together, such as adults and
children, in uncommon yet profound ways. And it was here that I began to take seriously the possibility
of becoming a pediatric surgeon. The art of medicine consists of amusing the

patient while nature cures the disease. Voltaire

I became interested even more when, as an undergraduate, I was asked to assist in a study one of
my professors was conducting on how children experience and process fear and the prospect of
death. This professor was not in the medical field; rather, her background is in cultural anthropology. I
was very honored to be part of this project at such an early stage of my career. During the study, we
discovered that children face death in extremely different ways than adults do. We found that children
facing fatal illnesses are very aware of their condition, even when it hasnt been fully explained to
them, and on the whole were willing to fight their illnesses, but were also more accepting of their
potential fate than many adults facing similar diagnoses. We concluded our study by asking whether
and to what extent this discovery should impact the type of care given to children in contrast to adults.
I am eager to continue this sort of research as I pursue my medical career. The intersection of
medicine, psychology, and socialization or culture (in this case, the social variables differentiating
adults from children) is quite fascinating and is a field that is in need of better research.
Even though much headway has been made in this area in the past twenty or so years, I feel there is a
still a tendency in medicine to treat diseases the same way no matter who the patient is. We are slowly
learning that procedures and drugs are not always universally effective. Not only must we alter our
care of patients depending upon these cultural and social factors, we may also need to alter our entire
emotional and psychological approach to them as well.
It is for this reason that Im applying to Kosovska Mitrovica Faculty of Medicine , as it has one of the
top programs for pediatric surgery in the country, as well as several renowned researchers delving into
the social, generational, and cultural questions in which Im interested. My approach to medicine will
be multidisciplinary, which is evidenced by the fact that Im already double-majoring in early childhood
psychology and pre-med, with a minor in cultural anthropology. This is the type of extraordinary care
that I received as a childcare that seemed to approach my injuries with a much larger and deeper
picture than that which pure medicine cannot offerand it is this sort of care I want to provide my
future patients. I turned what might have been a debilitating event in my lifea devastating car
accidentinto the inspiration that has shaped my life since. I am driven and passionate. And while I
know that the pediatric surgery program at Johns Hopkins will likely be the second biggest challenge I
will face in my life, I know that I am up for it. I am ready to be challenged and prove to myself what Ive
been telling myself since that fateful car accident: I will be a doctor .