Medical Personal Statement. My time in St. Lucia at the local hospital exposed me to the dour reality of medicine and that not everyone can be cured.

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Smelling burning flesh during surgery, and watching a young six year old boy die of Dengue fever was the time when the harsh reality of medicine struck me; and yet my passion for medicine is forever growing.

Enrolling on a fourteen day hospital placement in the heart of the Caribbean in St. Lucia is the highlight amongst my various other placements and work experience. Being sent to an LEDC country to explore and take part in that niche of medicine fuelled my desire to become a doctor. Whilst there, I was placed on a 9 to 5 job at the Victoria Hospital, General Surgery wards, whereby more was required of me, than to just shadow a doctor. I received basic clinical training, such as injecting cannulas, taking blood, checking heart rate and blood pressure and doing stitches. Being in theatre I was given the liberty to assist surgeons and work together with nurses to ensure the success of surgery.  However, having a mind that needed moulding, following a doctor, I was ever more keen to learn and imitate the characteristics and communication skills a strong doctor required. That was put to the test when I gained the trust of doctors who would send me to provide them a medical briefing of patients, asking the patient about their medical conditions, medical history, symptoms and past medications. With this information I would use my knowledge to suggest and discuss with the doctor probable causes, diagnostics and plan of action. Doing this repeatedly every day not only built up my knowledge but also enhanced my communication skills and professional behaviour as I learnt that medicine taps into a personal agenda whereby gaining the patients trust and communicating medical jargon into an understandable language, was key.

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My time in St. Lucia at the local hospital exposed me to the dour reality of medicine and that not everyone can be cured. It also proved to me that being a doctor isn't as glamorous as the hospital dramas make it out to be. However it is the reward of seeing that one person recover that outweighs any doubts or scepticism one could have. It is the thought of those moments that during my time, made me come in to work and that made me stay that couple of hours extra to see a patient through. It was the ...

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