Competency Personal Statement

I entered the third professional of my medical school still unsure of what specialty I wanted to pursue. I had spent the previous year in classrooms taking courses covering a wide range of topics, all of which seemed interesting. However, after starting my clinical rotations, and following them up with observerships and research positions, I was able to apply the knowledge I had gained and I learned more about my passions. I realized what I want to specialize in. Now I am applying for my residency in pediatrics.

Though I am now very certain that I would like to pursue a residency in pediatrics, the road to this decision was a long one. My first practical experience was at the teaching hospital attached to my medical school. There was a great deal of difficulty there; roughly 1000 people per day sought medical treatment, but resources were extremely limited. Despite this difficulty, or maybe because of it, there were many rewarding cases that I worked on. I can clearly still remember one particular case where a child was being treated for scabies, but was not recovering despite treatment. I realized that the mother might be also infected, which would cause the child’s treatment to be ineffective. When this turned out to be the case, we were able to successfully treat both patients, and being able to interact with and treat children in this way made me feel very

Christopher Landrigan in MSICU at Boston Children’s Hospital in which I shadowed residents and tracked adverse events and medical errors. During this time, I gained a great deal of insight into the daily life of a pediatrician. As I interacted with the children there, I realized how much I enjoy working with them, and I also realized that much of the joy I derived from my earlier work was because of the children I was able to help. This experience is what finally convinced me that I would like to be a