A Happy Patient Equals a Happy Doctor by Lekshmi

A Happy Patient Equals a Happy Doctor by Lekshmi - February 2019 Scholarship Essay

When I was four years old, I wanted desperately to be a window washer. Every time I would go to my dad’s office, I would see the familiar cables of the washer swinging outside of the glass building. The washers and the cables combined reminded me of a circus, and at the time, I thought it was the most amusing thing ever. However, as I grew older, I realized that I had a major fear of heights. So, as expected, I had to rethink my career options. It was not in that moment I realized I wanted to be a doctor, but the idea of being a part of the medical field came to me when I was in 4th grade.
My dad had recently come back from India, after a vacation, and he had been complaining about an annoying headache he had been having for the past couple of days. However, those days, became months, which later on, became years. My dad had gone to countless numbers of medical professionals, but after many diagnoses and many prescriptions later, it seemed that there wasn’t much hope left for him.
It got worse when 3 years later my dad decided to go to a “renowned” doctor in the field of neurology. I remember him coming home from the appointment with a face filled with surrender. My parents had locked themselves in a room that night, and my curious self wanted to know what was happening. All I heard that night was the hushed voices of my parents and the soft sobbing of my mother.
Cancer. I had heard a lot about this disease on the internet, but I never thought that I would hear it from my parents.
However, I was curious. In biology, we had just learned about MRI scanning, and my dad had mentioned to me that the doctor hadn’t even done this procedure before declaring that he had this tumor. So, my dad went again, to another doctor, only to realize that he did not, in fact, have cancer.
My family had suffered six months, thinking that my father was dying. At first, I was angry at the doctor for making my family suffer greatly for the past couple of months. However, then I realized that doctors were human too and they make mistakes like everyone else. However, their mistakes are a bit more magnified. This is why I want to be a doctor. I want to be a doctor so that I can diagnose people as best as possible so that they won’t have to go through what my family had to go through. The only thing people need to worry about is fighting what they have, and it’s the doctor’s duty to make the patients feel safe and comfortable