Bio career center - SOP, Cover Letter, Resume , Guidance

Like many residents in internal medicine, I started my training unsure of which specialty I would choose for my fellowship. I had very broad clinical interests and desired a field in which I could connect with patients on a personal and professional basis. Despite these expansive interests, I had not even considered geriatrics until I met the patient in Room 74.

The patient in Room 74 was a tiny, elderly lady with mild dementia who had been admitted to my care because she was suffering from a urinary tract infection. Starting her on a routine of antibiotics, I noticed that while her physical condition improved, her spirit remained listless and depressed. The woman accepted her treatment reluctantly, even crying or screaming at times at the nursing staff. The other physicians attributed her behavior to the dementia, but I wondered whether there might be something more complex going on in her pathology. Surmising that her outbursts might be the result of loneliness rather than confusion--that she did, in other words, have a firm grasp of reality--I decided to see whether some personal attention could help improve her condition. I spent a little time at the end of each shift talking to the woman. After I earned her trust, she confided in me her story. She said that she lived alone and had recently lost her husband and son. She felt lonely and had no friends. Realizing that her asocial behavior was the result of deep-seated pain, I gave the best medicine I could offer: my friendship.

While working to convince the woman that she could trust and depend on me, I simultaneously contacted social services to see about long-term emotional support after her discharge. Working together, we identified her one remaining son in California and convinced him to take an active interest in his mother's care. In addition, we helped relocate the woman to an assisted living facility where she could actively volunteer in the hospital's senior center. After the woman's discharge, I heard from the social worker that she was doing well.

One day several months later, I had a wonderful surprise during my rotation in ambulatory medicine. Working at the local senior center, I was approached by a tiny but very happy-looking woman. She asked whether I remembered her, and I immediately recognized the kindness of her voice. It was my patient. I was surprised by how much she had changed. As her eyes sparkled with life and interest, she uttered a phrase that I will never forget: "Thank you doctor for what you have done for me. You have made my life so happy."

Just as the patient in Room 74 helped me realize how much I, as a doctor, can contribute to geriatric medicine, my experience studying in the United States showed me how much I, as a person, can contribute to the health care system of my native country. Growing up in Thailand, I experienced an underdeveloped health care system in which the poorest and weakest members of society often receive inadequate or non-existent care. Even elders with caring families often lack the resources to secure the medical attention they deserve. Conventional wisdom in Thailand holds that growing older logically entails becoming forgetful and frail, and the elderly are among the most medically underserved populations in the country.

This is the reason why I have decided to become a geriatric specialist, helping to change outdated conceptions about the elderly in Thailand. To prepare for such work, I recently completed an elective rotation in geriatrics. The rotation showed me the special needs of an aging population, and introduced me to the unique emotional and social issues that arise from artificially extended lifetimes in the era of modern medicine.

The next step on my path toward specialization in geriatrics is completing a fellowship in the field to prepare for my practice in Thailand. I have been honored by the offer of an assistant professorship at my medical school in Thailand, and I look forward to diffusing my knowledge of geriatric care to a new generation of doctors. Geriatrics is a young but blossoming field in Thailand, and the country's aging population has created the urgent need for a stronger, more responsive system of elderly care.

Drawing on the advanced geriatric training and intensive clinical experience of a fellowship at XXX Medical School, I hope to advance my mission of improving the quality of elderly care in Thailand. I am confident that my past experiences and sincere dedication to healing will allow me to succeed in your program, and I look forward to the challenge and reward of an engaging fellowship.