The Medical Program At The University Of Hong Kong Essay

Quivering with anticipation, I opened the large envelope from UC Berkeley, and yelped with excitement. Ecstatic at having been accepted to the Biomedical program at Berkeley, my dream of attaining a M.D. was finally in action. Despite being only 18 and at the brink of my career, I had always been drawn towards the idea of being in the medical field, having spent many childhood summers in the hospital when my grandmother was diagnosed with colon cancer. Although my grandmother passed away from extensive pulmonary metastasis, I was still inspired by the compassion and sincerity of the physicians who had been by our side for the 5 years that my grandmother struggled with the disease. This had a significant impact on my early decision to be of service in the field of medicine.

A few weeks later, better news. This time I had been directly accepted to the medical program at the University of Hong Kong. I was torn. I was so very looking forward to the majestic campus of Berkeley with its plethora of prestigious professors and diverse student body. At the same time, I was eager to be of use to the community. Hong Kong is well known for its overpopulated patient count and limited physician care. This was also driven by an intense desire to explore my roots and further my language proficiency in Mandarin and Cantonese, having grown up in a Western society for most of my life. Eventually, with a heavy heart, I decided to give up my position at Berkeley and truly challenged myself by immersing into the native Chinese culture and health system. This difficult decision was also motivated by the opportunity to look after my grandfather (who lives alone in HK after my grandmother passed away).