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Why I'm a Doctor

Writer's picture: Stephanie PhillipsStephanie Phillips

Below is my "personal statement" that I submitted to residency programs. All 4th year medical students submit applications to residency programs. As part of the application we have to write a statement about why we picked a certain speciality and would be a good fit for the programs we are applying for. I want to share with you my heart and reasons for choosing to become a physician. Thanks for reading.



Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Do not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”. I am committed to go on a trail to the ends of the earth to show love and compassion to the forgotten. I am here so I can learn the incredible gift of medicine and simply serve patients who need to know they are important. I feel strongly that prevention and education combined with true compassion are the keys to empowering patients to care about themselves and improve their living conditions and state of health. I am committed to family medicine with a missions focus, and I have kept that focus through all these months of education and learning. I hope to serve on the mission field

internationally full time and in rural/underserved areas here at home. Family medicine is truly the perfect fit for my personality and my goals of becoming a medical missionary. I hope to become proficient in obstetrics, preventative health, infectious disease, certain aspects of surgery, and all areas of primary care. With my humble passion for learning and commitment to patient care, I believe I am a perfect fit for your residency program.


When I was on my Geriatrics rotation, I was reflecting on what I had learned from the rotation and realized that a nursing home is full of forgotten people. So many of the patients I took care of did not have a visitor the entire month. It was much like the people who I encountered in the deep Andean mountains in rural southern Peru. They were ridden with preventable diseases like cirrhosis from drinking “chicha” (an alcoholic drink which is better than dirty water), COPD from chronic smoke inhalation in their homes from lack of ventilation, and cataracts abounding from hours of work in the sun without eye protection at 14,000 feet above sea level. They are a forgotten people. Some issues have simple solutions and others are complex among that people group, but they need to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ and how important they are. I have a serious call on my life for the forgotten that pulls on my heart like nothing else. These people deserve the best care that I can give,

and my purpose in life is to bestow love and compassion on them through the practical means of medicine. When someone starts to take notice of their physical pain and build a relationship with them, emotional healing can begin. The impact of love and compassion is incredible, and if I can plant a seed of hope in my patients that helps them realize their worth and the value of their health, I will consider my life’s work a success. I have already paved an amazing trail. I have hiked to a house deep in the mountains to give antibiotics for a severe infection, I’ve seen a man walk for the first time in 10 years in the center of a South American plaza and raise his hands in praise to God, and I’ve held a newly delivered child that doctors

said would never come about. I gave that baby and its family a little stuffed bear when they were discharged. The mom wrote to me later that they named the bear “Phillip” and it is the baby’s favorite toy.


I am so blessed to even be considered for a position in your residency program. Medicine is a gift that I want to literally give back to the people in my life. I know it will make a difference, because it won’t just be my hand reaching out. Thanks for your time and consideration.

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