medical school application essays

Choosing a career can be very encouraging if you know people of the same ethnicity as yours that have excelled in that particular field. Somehow their life stories give you a feeling of familiarity, and their stories may serve as motivational tools for you to pursue a particular career. In the field of medicine, there have been a large number of Latin and African-Americans who have excelled and made a name for themselves. The list below are just some examples, and if you are Latino or of Afro-American heritage, hopefully their biographies will serve as an inspiration for you in your medical studies.

1. Dr. James Durham (African-American)- Though he was not professionally trained at a medical school, Durham would become the first black physician in the United States. He started out as a slave and had three owners, all of them being doctors. Dr. Robert Love, his third owner, would be the one to encourage him to practice medicine. After working for a while as a medical assistant and apothecary, he would eventually save enough money to buy his freedom after which he would set up his medical practice in New Orleans.

2. Dr. James McCune Smith – Dr. Smith is said to be the first university trained African-American physician. An Episcopalian priest by the name of Peter Williams would help Smith get into The University of Glasgow located in Scotland. His education in Scotland was made possible by the British anti-slavery organization called the Glasgow Emancipation Society.

3. Dr. David Jones Peck – David J. Peck was born around 1826 or 1827. He was accepted in Rush Medical College located in Chicago. He studied under an anti-white slavery physician by the name of Dr. Joseph P. Gazzam. After he graduated he would become the first African-American to graduate from a U.S. medical school. Soon after, he would set up his practice in Philadelphia.

4. Dr. Soffy Botero (Latino-American)- Dr. Botero is the president of the Hispanic American Medical Association of Louisiana. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Botero stayed and attended to the needy in spite of her home and clinic experiencing the full force of the hurricane as well.

5. Dr. Severo Ochoa (Latino-American)- Dr. Ochoa received the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1959. This was given to her because of her work in biochemistry, particularly in the the synthesis of ribonucleic acid.

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