Ethan Moore

I was 13 when I heard that my newborn cousin had been diagnosed with cancer. Not grasping the seriousness of the situation, I did extensive internet research on the topic. In my youthful ignorance, I believed I had all the answers to my family's heartfelt questions about his prognosis. When I visited him, I saw his parents putting on brave smiles, even though their hearts were heavy with sadness. A year later, we received the wonderful news that his cancer was in full remission. From that moment, I realized I wanted to be the one delivering such hopeful news to families and to change many lives by helping to save one.

Before I knew it, I had graduated high school and was moving on to bigger things like attending college and choosing a major. The decision of which career path to take had been instilled in me since I realized what I could do for others. However, the daunting question of 'Would I be good enough?' always lingered in my mind, fueled by the negative influences of high school peers who made me feel less than capable. Despite these doubts, I had to reflect on my true self. Growing up in a close-knit family, I developed a personality centered on helping those closest to me and putting others before myself. I always loved my biology and psychology courses in high school, eager to learn more with each new subject. Looking past the negativity I had faced in high school, I decided to pursue a degree that would lead me towards the goal I had envisioned when I first saw the impact physicians had on my family. Ultimately, I chose the path of a pre-med student and sought opportunities to learn beyond academics by taking a job that exposed me to the medical field and patient care.

During my time as a PCA at Baptist Health Hospital in Fort Smith, I learned to truly empathize with every patient. I vividly remember 'Jane,' an older lady whose health was rapidly declining. She had been in the hospital for four days without visitors because her family lived across the country. I often stayed to talk with her, and she always thanked me for my care. This connection deepened my desire to make a meaningful impact through medicine. One morning, I noticed Jane's breathing had become more rapid, and we soon had to run a code. In the moment, everything came to me as second nature as I had been trained and ready for any event like this to happen, making sure to get her hooked up to the defibrillator and getting ready to back up anyone who needed a break from compressions. Hours later, in the ICU, I witnessed her son's anguish as he had to decide whether to continue CPR. This heartbreaking moment underscored my frustration at not having the knowledge to save her life, a gap that the physicians worked tirelessly to bridge.

This was just one of the many experiences during my time at the hospital that transformed my mindset and clarified what truly matters to me. I realized the importance of pursuing this challenging and lengthy journey to ultimately be the person families rely on to change their loved ones' lives, whether by making a patient feel heard or by profoundly improving their lifestyle. Inspired by these events, I sought shadowing opportunities with a pediatrician and an OBGYN physician. These experiences further solidified my resolve to become a physician and turn my adolescent dream into reality. Through all the time I have spent inside the hospital taking care of patients and watching other physicians interact with their patients, I have solidified characteristics of communication, professionalism, empathy, and much more. All of these building blocks I had to gather throughout the years simply dwindled down to my observations from physicians and the actions they take when in a patient-to-physician setting and outside of those instances as well, covering the aspects of me interacting with patients and also leaving the negative comments from my past that seemed to stick with me at the time are now just fleeting memories that have made me the dedicated person I am today. I am now more determined than ever to follow this path, regardless of the challenges, so I can one day educate patients and provide the compassionate care I have always strived to deliver.