DOCTORS’ LOUNGE
THE EXPECTATION IS THAT
THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT
Elizabeth A. Amin, MD
T
oward the end of the summer I received a telephone call from a young
woman whom I have known since
she was a sophomore in high school. Currently an undergrad at the University of
Kentucky, she was finalizing her medical
school application and wondered if I would
have the time to look over her personal essay. I agreed without hesitation. I know her
well enough to know that any help I might
give her would probably be limited to minor
grammatical changes. I really wanted to see
what she had written and find out if her
lifelong desire to be a doctor, just like her
father, had matured sufficiently to match the
practical realities of the application process.
We met the following day and as I had
anticipated her essay was well crafted and
easily met the requirements of the general
application process.
Her personal accomplishments to date
were impressive. There was no doubt about
her innate talents and her work ethic. In
addition she had had a unique exposure to
a rural health clinic in her parents’ home
country. Her father had establishe