My Journey to the Medical Field by Anna

My Journey to the Medical Field by Anna - February 2024 Scholarship Essay

Growing up, I spent a lot of time at John Knox Village, where my father worked as a registered nurse, and I was able to see the difference that his kindness made in his patients’ lives. I first started thinking about working in the medical field when I was in third grade, but it wasn't until years later that I knew for sure what I wanted to do. Less than a month before the start of my sophomore year, I dislocated my knee at tennis tryouts. Because this wasn’t the first time I had suffered from the injury, I qualified to receive a ligament transplant in my knee. Little did I know, the experience would lead me to finding my purpose.
There were countless doctors, nurses, and physical therapists that I worked with who changed not only the way I saw myself but also the way I saw the world. I now look for the beautiful moments that compassionate people can make out of the worst of situations. There was my anesthesiologist, who came into my hospital room the day of my surgery and reassured me that everything was going to be okay. There was the nurse who could tell I was nervous to get my IV put in so she distracted me with funny stories while she set everything up. There was the other nurse who dared me to try to stay awake while the anesthesia entered my bloodstream and made me laugh in the last moments before I drifted off to sleep. Then there was my physical therapist, who stayed patient with me through every excruciating exercise and cheered for me the first time I walked after my surgery.
The person who made the biggest impact on me, though, was my surgeon. The surgeon who performed my ligament transplant said something to me about a week before my surgery that I will never forget. He knew that I loved to read, and he told me that this event in my life was only a page in my book and that after the surgery I would be starting a whole new chapter. For 15-year-old me, he had completely changed my perspective. Something that I thought was the end of the world was only a blip in my life. All of the people in the healthcare industry who helped me get through one of the worst times in my life inspired me to want to do the same for other kids like me, which is why I am pursuing a career in medicine. I now plan to major in biology at the University of Missouri to study medicine, followed by medical school.