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 Our program for medical students (GMEP) is open to
applicants nationwide and in Canada. In the future, we plan to host
programs for students of other health care professions. During the
application process, we ask students to answer several essay questions,
including:
(1) Why do I feel drawn to participate in this rotation, and having
taken this rotation, how do I expect to utilize the knowledge and
wisdom gained from this time, both personally and professionally?
(2) How would you describe your dreams and vision for your future
as a practicing physician/healer?
(3) What is your vision for the future of medicine?
The following essay samples were written by students
accepted to the Global Medicine Education Student Program and who exemplify
the kind
of students we seek:
Essay In Answer to Question #1
During my college years when I realized I could actually think for
myself, the world view I held began to transform. It was a slow
process that changed my perspective on things ever so slightly,
yet the effects seemed to be magnified a thousand fold. Seemingly
mundane issues I had heard many times before took on new significance--ideas
about life and death, happiness, suffering, ecology, justice, peace,
and so on. It was then that my interest in healing--the healing
not only of physical ailments, but also of the mind and spirit--began
to manifest. I began to discover that "health" does not
mean absence of disease, but a state of being that encompasses
all aspects of our lives--from the physical, mental, and spiritual,
and even further into the realms of the social, political, and
environmental. It was at this point that I began questioning my
own desires to enter the medical profession. Of course, I had thought
to myself I wanted to help people. I was good with my hands, and
I loved the sciences. Yet I knew these reasons, though true, were
merely cliches I had used to hide the ugly truths. Deep down, I
began to see that being a doctor also meant power and prestige,
recognition and respect from family and friends, and of course,
a good salary. Acknowledging these ulterior motives, confronting
them, and asking myself why would be motivated by such superficial
reasons has been a painful, yet very important, step in the journey
into my own healing.
I have come a long way since that period in my
life, and my ideas about healing and the kind of healer I want
to be have evolved tremendously.
My grasp of western medicine has taken an exponential leap, and I
have reached a point where I feel confident with my knowledge base
and comfortable at he patient's bedside. I have come to understand,
while still a novice, the strengths of the western medical tradition
and how we can help alleviate the pain and suffering of countless
patients--I have witnessed western science making a difference in
people's lives. Yet, I have also experienced the aspects of western
medicine that deeply disturb me -- patients are often reduced to "interesting
cases," ridiculed at rounds, and blamed for their sickness;
patients are given 15 minutes for an outpatient visit, where any
meaningful discussion about the psycho-social aspects is impossible;
the list goes on. Despite the miracles western medicine can perform,
I have come to learn and confirm the stereotype that it is also a
very reductionist, materialistic, patriarchal and ethnocentric modality
of healing.
 On the other hand, bodywork-oriented modalities (such as yoga and
massage), healing utilizing other states of consciousness (such as
hypnosis and shamanism) and the ever popular modalities that are
built around Traditional Chinese Medicine (such as acupuncture and
herbal therapy) are all examples of healing traditions that to some
extent or another acknowledge the emotional and spiritual aspects
of the patient. These are modalities from which western medicine
could learn some valuable lessons--for example, viewing the patient
as an individual and respecting his or her spiritual life. Although
many physicians are quick to denounce nonwestern therapies as quackery
(or placebo effect at best and maybe beneficial in restricted situations),
this is also an exciting time in medicine where knowledge is being
more openly transferred from across the world allowing patients and
doctors to learn from healers from different cultures. My desire
to complement my knowledge base with these other healing traditions
has become stronger than ever. Hopefully, I will be a better healer
by paying more attention in the areas of healing that western medicine
ignores or fails to address. Integration, as the new catch phrase
goes, of different healing modalities can only benefit patients.
My medical education so far has taught me well about
the basics of western medicine, and I am eager to continue my training
in a
psychiatry residency. However, I am also determined to continue exploring
and learning from other traditions. To that end, this rotation in
the Global Medicine Education Student Program will be an important opportunity
for me to devote substantial time to thinking and learning about
these issues and topics. The experience of being in a beautiful location
with fellow students learning about other healing traditions is a
tremendous occasion in itself, and I hope to use the knowledge I
gain from this rotation to widen my scope, open my eyes to new ideas,
and build a stronger foundation for my own journey into healing.
Therefore I am delighted to be given the chance to end my medical
school career spending a month with like-minded individuals introducing
ourselves to the uncharted territory of integrating our world's healing
traditions.
Essay in Answer to Question #2
Healer. I believe a healer should be loving and caring. A healer
should listen to her patients. A healer should not focus on the
absence of symptoms, but instead should focus on emotional, spiritual
and physical well being. A healer should be a friend, a teacher
and inquisitive mind. A healer should always be learning about
ways to help her patients. A healer should be sensitive and try
to understand the patient's cultural and spiritual needs. A healer
should be a role model for physical, spiritual and emotional well
being. My vision for my future is first and foremost, to try to
be all those qualities listed above. I also envision myself as
a researcher.
Currently I'm deciding between a residency in pediatrics
or psychiatry. Regardless of the program, I am very interested in
exploring complementary
and alternative medicine research. In the area of psychiatry, I'd
like to explore the mind-body connection and the healing power of
interpersonal connectedness. I am fascinated by how physical diseases
are caused by emotional and psychological states and how interpersonal
relationships can heal. If I choose pediatrics, I would still be
able to investigate these areas, but likely would spend more time
learning how CAM treatment modalities can be used in children.
 Ideally in my future practice, I would meld traditional therapies
with western medicine. As I probably will not have the expertise
to personally provide all these treatments, I hope to collaborate
with other healers. In fact, my dream would be to practice within
a center that houses healers from all different modalities. Within
this center, I also envision myself as a teacher. My mother, father
and grandparents were teachers, and the desire to teach runs in my
blood. I dream of working side by side with students, passing on
my enthusiasm and knowledge to them while learning from their fresh
perspectives.
Also, sometime during my life, I would like to travel to different
countries, to learn indigenous methods of healing. These methods
deserve to be documented and passed on before they are lost to time
and western culture. Particularly, I'd enjoy returning to Lithuania
to learn the herbal medicine that my great-grandmother practiced.
As a percussionist, I'm also interested in visiting Shamans in Bali
or in South America to learn their therapeutic methods of drumming.
Although my dreams for the future are many, I do know that I will
be loving and caring. I will pay attention to all of my patients
needs - the physical, the emotional and the spiritual. I will use
my intellect and passion for medicine to learn and to teach. Most
importantly, I will use all the wisdom that I gain from my life experiences
to practice a thoughtful and caring Holistic medicine.
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