What is a physician’s role in medicine?

medical school admissions secondary applications

The role of a physician in the medical community has changed substantially in the modern era of medicine. This secondary question is designed to gauge your experience in medicine, how you envision your future role in this field, and what you are passionate about. In this post, I will highlight how to think about the changing landscape of medicine to frame your answer and how you can demonstrate your own strengths in your response. 

The practice of medicine has changed drastically. over time In particular, medicine has shifted to team-oriented patient care. As a result, medical schools are looking for future physicians who are humble, collaborate well with others, and are willing to spearhead meetings or manage situations in ways that balances leadership and teamwork.      

Let's look at the historical context: in the past, physicians worked independently or with a small number of nurses. However, as modern medicine has grown increasingly complicated, physicians now have a large team of people to work with: physicians interface with physician assistants (PAs), nurse practitioners (NPs), Physical Therapy (PT), Social Work, Unit Coordinators, Nutritionists/Dietitians, Occupational Therapists (OTs), Nurses, Nurse Assistants, and more. As a result, a physician’s role is no longer just learning the clinical aspects of medicine, but also learning how to work and lead diverse teams of specialists from all different backgrounds. As a Harvard Medical Student, I have undergone stimulation trainings on how to best collaborate with all these healthcare providers before, during, and after talking with a patient. I have quickly realized that medicine has many moving pieces that are contingent on different teams coming together to think holistically on how to optimize a patient’s wellbeing. For example, I worked closely with Social Work to support a patient who needed help with housing services after being discharged from the hospital. This willingness to work in a team as you advocate for your patient is not only expected in the field of medicine today, but is something an admissions committee will look to see in your response to this question.

Consequently, it is important to consider how you can present yourself as a future physician who can both lead and collaborate. Of course, if you have worked in a clinical setting, you probably have a variety of experiences to draw from. If you have not been in clinical settings, however, it is perfectly reasonable to draw from your experiences of leading extracurriculars, spearheading projects, and collaborating with various groups. Translate the skills you cultivated in non-medical settings to how you'd approach challenges in the medical field. As you discuss your experiences mitigating conflict between individuals in the student group you led, you can demonstrate how you'd act as a mediator in a medical space (for example, coordinating with Social Work and Unit Coordinators who are at odds when a patient is discharged). Translatable skills, ranging from leadership to collaboration, are ones that are important to consider when engaging with this question.  

Lastly, this question hopes to understand what makes you a unique applicant: the concept at hand is the idea that leaders in the field of medicine are “physicians AND," emphasizing that modern physicians often serve multiple roles. They not only focus on clinical care, but are also passionate and engaged in other activities that include medical education, research, and community service. Physicians’ clinical expertise is becoming increasingly translated into different fields, and you should highlight this during your interview and essays. For example, in college I was involved in community service in the greater Boston area and was able to witness firsthand healthcare disparities and the many social determinants of health. These experiences inspired me to become a physician AND a community leader; currently, I serve as the Director of Harvard Medical School’s student-run free clinic. So, consider your own experiences of AND, ranging from your passions outside of medicine to your research within the field; the things that make you unique can help you emphasize how you will be a physician AND a scientist, a physician AND an educator, and more!

In summary, this question requires that you identify a physician's role in medicine from both a historical and a personal context. For the historical context, it is important to highlight experiences you've had of leadership, collaboration, and/or mediation. For the personal context, it is important to emphasize your AND, or rather the passions and goals you have that make you unique and will translate into your unique journey as a physician. 

Comments

topicTopics
academics study skills MCAT medical school admissions SAT expository writing college admissions English MD/PhD admissions GMAT LSAT GRE writing strategy chemistry physics math biology ACT graduate admissions language learning law school admissions test anxiety interview prep MBA admissions academic advice premed homework help personal statements AP exams creative writing MD career advice study schedules summer activities Common Application history test prep philosophy computer science secondary applications organic chemistry economics supplements PSAT admissions coaching grammar law statistics & probability psychology ESL research 1L CARS SSAT covid-19 legal studies logic games reading comprehension dental admissions mathematics USMLE Spanish calculus engineering parents Latin verbal reasoning DAT excel mentorship political science French Linguistics Tutoring Approaches academic integrity case coaching chinese AMCAS DO MBA coursework PhD admissions Social Advocacy admissions advice biochemistry classics diversity statement genetics geometry kinematics medical school mental health quantitative reasoning skills time management Anki English literature IB exams ISEE MD/PhD programs algebra algorithms art history artificial intelligence astrophysics athletics business business skills careers cold emails data science internships letters of recommendation poetry presentations resume science social sciences software engineering study abroad tech industry trigonometry work and activities 2L 3L Academic Interest DMD EMT FlexMed Fourier Series Greek Health Professional Shortage Area Italian Lagrange multipliers London MD vs PhD MMI Montessori National Health Service Corps Pythagorean Theorem Python STEM Sentence Correction Step 2 TMDSAS Zoom acids and bases amino acids analysis essay architecture argumentative writing brain teaser campus visits cantonese capacitors capital markets cell biology central limit theorem chemical engineering chess chromatography class participation climate change clinical experience community service constitutional law consulting cover letters curriculum demonstrated interest dental school distance learning electricity and magnetism enrichment european history executive function finance first generation student freewriting fun facts functions gap year genomics harmonics health policy history of medicine history of science hybrid vehicles hydrophobic effect ideal gas law induction information sessions institutional actions integrated reasoning intern international students investing investment banking lab reports logic mandarin chinese mba mechanical engineering medical physics meiosis microeconomics mitosis music music theory neurology neuroscience office hours operating systems organization pedagogy phrase structure rules plagiarism pre-dental proofs pseudocode psych/soc quantum mechanics resistors resonance revising scholarships school selection simple linear regression slide decks sociology software stem cells stereochemistry study spots synthesis teaching technical interviews transfer typology units virtual interviews writer's block writing circles