I know this is a common question among all schools, but I'm trying to find a good place to talk about it on SDN. It's the diversity question...right now I can think of several ways I would contribute to the diversity of any school, but I'd love some tips/advice. Here are some ideas I've had:
1. How I've responded to deaths in my life (4 people in my high school died who were my friends, teaching me the importance of loving life and doing what you love). My grandmother also died, who had not been diagnosed but had some sort of paranoia that forced my grandpa (who I was close to) to ignore my family for 6 years before finding out she had cancer (I learned to forgive and reform a broken relationship in efforts to comfort her during her last days). I also had a few friends die in college that reinforced my belief and understanding that death in loved ones and friends can teach the living extremely valuable lessons.
2. I was on the board for a non profit organization that sought to build and support quality, sustainable clinics in underserved regions around the world. I visited Ethiopia and met so many people in this culture, opening a window into my life that has changed how I want to practice medicine. I want to seek those underserved communities, and participate in global health exchanges and rotations. I want to be part of doctors without borders, etc.
3. Working with the underserved in a clinical setting exposed me to the language barriers (mostly spanish and cantonese speaking patients) and also the poverty of people in my community. I also learned that despite these obstacles, families can see positivity and are extremely grateful to receive health care. I've learned to make people in this setting at ease and comfortable talking to me, but also I've learned about how age, culture, religion, sexual orientation, education, and family can affect their health and health care choices.
I'm not sure which I should talk about, since the last two I spoke about in my primary application, but not in so much detail for the second one that I talked about how I interacted with people from different backgrounds and how that has humbled me as a person from two doctor parents and who grew up in a primarily white, suburban community. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!
