2.

Why do you feel that a background in the humanities and social sciences,
in addition to the natural sciences, is important in training a physician? In
what specific ways do you think the B.A.-M.D. Program can help you to
achieve your life goals?

Medicine has always been a field that has always held my interest. The
BA-MD program helps me achieve that goal in a challenging yet rewarding
way. I have always wanted to advance health care through education, and I
believe that each and every person , despite of their income, should be
entitled to the same privileges,services that the wealthy can afford. On
completion of the BA-MD program, I will be entitled to try my level best to
make my dream come true.
Besides studying the natural sciences and the core medical studies,
each physician should have a background in the humanities and in the social
sciences. Social science is the study of the human society, human culture,
and the various ethnic groups that exist. It can be subdivided into many
categories such as the following : geography, history, linguistics, psychology,
and sociology. At the same time, courses of humanities overlap with the
social sciences courses such as psychology, social science, language, etc.
These courses when combined together exemplify the quality of service we
can provide to our patients.
For example, by having a background in linguistics, one can have a
closer relationship with a patient that speaks that particular language. This
linguistic connection between the patient and the doctor will help the patient
to feel much more comfortable and relaxed. That is why I have taken a four
year study in Spanish and a lifetime interaction with Hindi, Malayalam, and
other tribal dialects.
Psychology is another branch of social science that helps us connect
behavior with mental processing. With this field of science, we can
intermingle the effects that various medicines will have on their actions. That
is the main reason most of the hospitals in the world has a psychiatrist or a
psychologist. As C J Miller said, "Body and soul cannot be separated for
purposes of treatment, for they are one and indivisible. Sick minds must be
healed as well as sick bodies."
The study of sociology helps us doctors to understand the cultures of
various ethnic groups. Being an intern in Westchester Medical Center, I
noticed the myriad ethnicities that came to the hospital to be treated. To my
surprise, one of the more seniors doctors approached each patient with a
different counter. When asked, he told me that each culture had its own
different way of greeting each other. By greeting him in his language or
cultural way, you are actually creating a small bridge of relationship -- one
that helps the patient be more open.
As William Osler once said, “The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a
calling, not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your
head. Often the best part of your work will have nothing to do with potions and powders,
but with the exercise of an influence of the strong upon the weak, of the righteous upon
the wicked, of the wise upon the foolish.”