My Public Health Personal Statement
A reminder of distance traveled since 2019
A couple months ago, I shared my Medical School Personal Statement with the goal to remind myself why I initially chose to go into medicine in the first place.
Today, I will be sharing the exact personal statement I submitted to graduate school in public health. But, rather than serve as a reminded of why I went into public health, this essay serves to show me how far I’ve come. Both in terms of my public health and medicine journeys, but also as a writer as I consistently strive to further develop my personal voice and style. I hope this reminds you of where you were and the distances you have traveled to be where you are today.
**ADDENDUM**
I’ve thought a lot about racism and its effects on my life. So much so that I take great care when I point it out and call it out, but there are levels to its offense and its presence demands attention, particularly in the greater medical field.
In publishing this article, I made an edit from the original version. In discussing my thoughts about being asked to translate and converse with the Syrian women in this story, I reflect on my physical appearance and skin tone in how that altered the perception of my abilities. I altered this section in post as to not seem aggressive in my interpretation, but in hindsight I see the extreme importance of not censoring my perceptions and experiences.
The original article read:
The resident greeted the daughter and instantly introduced me; it was then that I realized that I didn’t have the chance to tell the doctors my actual level of Arabic knowledge. Maybe they assumed I was fluent because of my darker skin tone?
The altered article read:
The resident greeted the daughter and instantly introduced me; it was then that I realized that I didn’t have the chance to tell the doctors my actual level of Arabic knowledge. Did they assumed I was fluent? Did I look fluent?
I address this point for two reason: 1) recognize the importance of lived experiences of minorities groups on both sides of healthcare deliver and 2) address my personal fears of censorship and the importance of using my platform as a means of teaching and discussion points.
When I was in 3rd grade at Vandenberg Elementary school, I remember walking into the lunchroom and telling the lunch lady that I wanted “khabbaz” with my meal. She looked at me confused, so I repeated “can I have some khabbaz?” She again didn’t seem to understand, so finally, in frustration, I pointed at the roll of bread in front of her and said “I want that.” I didn’t know it at the time, but this would be the start of my public health interest.
As my parents were born in the West Bank, Palestine, Arabic is their native language. Despite immigrating to this country for opportunity, they retained many links to their heritage and frequently spoke Arabic at home, therefore, I often learned the Arabic word for a thing before the english word. Sometimes I confused which language was which, as my previous lunch lady experienced first hand.
My parents didn’t actively try to teach me Arabic growing up, they wanted my brothers and I to become assimilated in American culture. Whenever they wanted to talk freely to each other around me and my brother or in public, they would use Arabic. It was like a secret code, where they seemed to be the only ones who could understand it. This, however, created a barrier, for example when we got the news that my grandfather had passed away, but I wasn’t made aware until a few days after the fact when my mother was able to translate to me what my Arabic speaking aunt had told her.
If a language barrier between parents-children can cause so much confusion and miscommunication of basic information, I wonder how large this barrier is between Arabic speakers and medicine. If medicine can be a sort of secret code between English speaking medical teams and English natives, how much more complex is this code between English speaking medical teams and native Arabic speakers? This disconnect across Arab-American communities and the healthcare system is what sparked my interest in public health and has shaped my academic path throughout college.
Going to college, I knew I had an interest in the sciences, particularly chemistry, but had little idea of a specific career path. Medical doctor had always been on my radar, but I needed more exposure, therefore I found a shadowing opportunity with a cardiologist, Dr. Kanthi. While following Dr. Kanthi and his team during morning rounds, we stopped by a patient who didn’t speak English: a blind elderly Syrian women. Her daughter stayed with her in the room, acting as her informal translator between the doctors and her sick mother, who suffered from a severe infection that limited visitors in her room to essential personnel only. I showed great interest in her, as I had been studying Arabic for about two years in college, and after saying this to Dr. Kanthi, to my surprise, he allowed me to enter the room to say hello.
I barely knew proper bedside manners when talking to patients, so I was terrified, excited, and completely unprepared for that moment. Nonetheless, we gowned up and headed into the room to review the plan of care with the patient and her daughter.
The resident greeted the daughter and instantly introduced me; it was then that I realized that I didn’t have the chance to tell the doctors my actual level of Arabic knowledge. Maybe they assumed I was fluent because of my darker skin tone? Regardless, after my brief introduction, the resident turned to me and told me to ask the patient whatever I liked, with the hope of comforting them.
I had never served as a translator for anyone up until this point, and I didn’t know how to say anything the resident asked. I had no choice but to say what I actually knew and hoped it worked out. I introduced myself, told the patient I was a student here and was following the doctors. I also asked her how she was, but not a “how bad is your disease” but “how is life?” After I spoke to her, with an audience of doctors and the patient’s daughter listening to me, we waited for the patient’s response.
To my initial horror, she didn’t respond to any of my questions. Instead, she turned her head towards the direction of my voice and said “hello, nice to meet you, where are you from?” I responded with “my family is from Palestine.” What was a fragile elderly woman when we walked into the room now turned into a smiling, happy soul, as if hearing my family’s origin was the answer she had been waiting to hear all morning. This woman was happy to speak to someone of a similar background and language, and I was delighted to give her that. I didn’t treat her disease, I didn’t know her past medical history, I barely understood what medical problems she had, I was not even allowed to know her full name because of patient privacy rules, but what I could give her was comfort.
Here, again, a disconnect exists between Arabic speaking Arab-Americans and English speakers. Since this moment, I have decided it is essential for me to break this language barrier by accelerating my Arabic studies, taking intensive summer classes, even taking a minor in Middle Eastern studies to expand my knowledge of the language in hopes of one day becoming a formal translator. Additionally, I wish to educate Arab-Americans about the healthcare system and how to improve their overall health, before they reach the point of hospitalization and severe disease as this women had. This is why I want to pursue a public health degree, to combine my love for chemistry, medicine, Arabic, and education into improving the health of local Arab-American communities.
I don’t want to just treat diseases and medical issues. I wish to attend medical school after graduating with a masters in public health so that I can use the lens of a doctor to help solve public health issues in minority communities. This goal originated from my family and first hand experiences of Arab-Americans in the American healthcare system.
In addition to my professional and academic experiences, my personal experience of being a musician and a leader in the Michigan Marching Band has taught me acceptance, friendship, collaboration, vulnerability, and, most importantly, how to deal with failure and to keep moving forward. Additionally, I have served as Vice President of the national honorary co-ed band fraternity Kappa Kappa Psi, where I served as educational director for incoming members.
In his book Fears of the Rich, Needs of the Poor, William H. Foege M.D., M.P.H., director of the CDC from 1977 until 1983, writes about the importance of public health and preventative medicine, saying “it is the kind of decision that controls a process rather than focusing on outcome.” I wish to focus on the process and prevention of illness for minority groups, to improve their quality of life. Obtaining a degree in public health would give me the tools to hone in on this problem and invoke change.
In conjunction, Atul Gawande M.D. concludes his book Better by offering advice to those aspiring to work in the medical field. His fifth and final suggestion is “pursue change in areas requiring it.” Medicine has seen many good and bad ideas implemented, but he says we need to be “willing to recognize the inadequacies in what you do and to seek out solutions.” I have seen first hand the inadequacies of Arab-American healthcare and wish to change this for the better. I wish to educate those in underrepresented communities and decode the enigma that is healthcare. This goal, like the health of subpopulations, is personalized and requires more attention, and I intend to give it that attention.
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