What if we could avoid the entire health problems before they happen to complicate the human life? My life as a physician often made me think about the control of health problems as well as the prevention of diseases. I have known that the economic benefit of a healthy population goes far beyond the cost of health care since many diseases are preventable through simple, non-medical techniques. This is especially true for the developing countries like Bangladesh, who can contribute only a small percentage of their GDP for healthcare. During my clinical career I primarily worked on the treatment of the patients, but eventually I have decided to work with the public health professionals in improving the health and quality of life of a large number of populations. My experience in the public health sector of Bangladesh has inspired me to attain a comprehensive understanding of worldwide public health issues, and henceforth, I am applying to the Master of Public Health (MPH) program.
In my medical school I was involved with a voluntary blood donation organization 'Sandhani', which is primarily working on the general population to create awareness about safe blood transfusion. This was my first incentive to work for the community where I realized the significance of community based program to reach a large number of people and to create health awareness among them. Medical school gave me the opportunity to familiarize myself about the basics of public health, and I had the opportunity to explore the healthcare system of Bangladesh by working in the primary health care centers, vaccination clinic and reproductive clinic under the department of community medicine. I have also received hands-on experience in questionnaire preparation, data analysis and interpretation by working in an academic study at that time. All these experiences have helped me to narrow my focus and guided me to pursue a career in Public health.
As a part of my rotatory internship program after completing MBBS, I worked with the patients of tuberculosis, a major public health concern of Bangladesh. Though, control of infectious disease is one of the ten great achievements of public health in 20th century (CDC) Bangladesh still has to go a long run to achieve this goal. I have also worked as a project research physician in the PURE study, which investigates the impact of urbanization and economic status on obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes in low and middle-income countries including Bangladesh. Working as a project research physician was a short-term experience, but it has further evoked my attention toward public health.
Regardless of the recent improvements in the health sector, my country is still facing myriad of health problems springing from poor sanitation to the prevalence of infectious diseases and chronic diseases like cancer. Cancer and some infectious diseases are even major health problems in Canada. Only Public health offers an unbounded solution to prevent and control these health problems, and highly trained public health professionals are needed to confront the problems. My long-term goal is to tackle the emerging health problems like cancer using the existing knowledge with design of newer prevention and control plan. I would also like to work on injury prevention another leading public health problem worldwide, and on the improvement of vaccination status. With advanced knowledge in public health, I want to work for the improvement of global health as well as the health of rural Bangladeshi people.
Considering my academic and professional background, research interest, goal and intention, I am really excited about this prestigious graduate program in public health. I would like to use my clinical, research, analytical, quantitative and communication skills to become a successful physician in the field of public health. My intention for graduate school is to combine my knowledge of public health with advanced education, and the University of British Columbia (UBC) offers the best option to achieve this goal since it has one of the top medical schools in Canada. Given the opportunity, I will be able to fulfill the expected responsibilities and could meaningfully contribute to the MPH program as a prosperous graduate student.
Well, I found your SOP is a bit too crowded and not flowing so well :( I would like to provide you with a guide line (which I found in a website) for you to check whether your SOP is aligned with the characteristics it describes.
