Explains who you are and what led you to pursue a career in medicine.

It should include
information on: personal history & background, educational & professional experiences, and
how these have affected you․ We encourage you to share any special interests & abilities that
would shape your role in the medical field.

I am Emanuella Gómez. I am 23 years old and I live in Dominican Republic. I was

I have been close to medicine since I was a little girl. I have close relatives that are
doctors. I would always admire them because of all the hard work and dedication they
used to give to their patients in order to see them improve their health. Living those
experiences with my close relatives made me feel passioned about they were doing.

I remember my 12 years old self watching Discovery Home and Health for long hours. I
loved to watch all the baby delivery shows, shows about strange diseases, and so on.
That was when I knew I wanted to work as a doctor, both because of the great impact
doctors can have in people´s life and how wonderful the science behind medicine is.
Also, the illness of my grandmother made me conscious about how much people suffer
due to disease and this made the desire of helping others through medicine even greater.

I finished school when I was 16 years old, and with the help of my mother, I decided to
move alone to Santiago which is a bigger city, in order to start my studies to become a
doctor. I worked really hard in order to get good grades and gave my best every day.
During the 3rd year of medical school I also concluded my classical piano studies, which
is something I’ve been doing since I was a little girl. After my piano graduation I started
working as a teacher at the same institution I studied music. Even though medical
school is hard, I could handle being a music teacher because it didn´t take much of my
study time. I love music so much and being a music teacher made me feel like I was
transmitting something so profound to others. It made me complete.

My favorite part of medical school has been the hospital rotations, specially the Mental
Health rotation. It so complex and yet so amazing. It is the area I would like to become
a specialist. During my medical preparation I also had the opportunity to do a
Cardiology and a Radiology rotation in the United States from June to August of 2019. I
did them in Omaha, in CHI Bergan Mercy Hospital. Each one lasted 1 month. It was a
wonderful experience. I saw things I had never seen here in Dominican Republic, got to
meet great doctors and made friends I still keep in touch with. I would say it was one of
highlights of my medical preparation.

Even though I had thought of being of practicing medicine in the United Stated before,
the experience of the rotations there confirmed goal of taking USMLE exams. Seeing so
much technology and resources available made me notice another side of the medical
practice I had not seen before. It made me want to work hard in order to get there with
the goal of making those things accessible to the people in my country.

I started studying full time for the STEP 1 immediately after my graduation in
November 2020. I’m planning to take the step 1 during this year.
One of the fundamental values of AMBOSS is improving access to medical education around
the world. Write a short essay (200-300 words) explaining three goals that you hope to
accomplish in the medical field that support this AMBOSS value. For example: how you will
impact the lives of others? How will this scholarship help support you in accomplishing these
goals?

This scholarship will give me the opportunity of achieving my goal of becoming a

Also, during the years I will be working as a doctor/resident in the United States I will
be able to enhance my research skills and do research in my country, which will
contribute to the development of science in Dominican Republic. Investigation is a very
weak field in this country due to the shortage of economic resources, despite being such
an important sphere on the medical sciences. Another goal I want to achieve is to make
a foundation to raise awareness of psychiatric diseases, which is an area of big
misconceptions and discrimination because of the lack of knowledge about that topic
among the population of this country.

Doctors have the responsibility of being open to new knowledge as well as teaching
others without reward, as the Hippocratic Oath states. Sharing your knowledge freely is
part of being a doctor.

Write a short essay (200-300 words) that describes areas in your life where you demonstrated
leadership and overcame obstacles, especially financial barriers, either in your school, social, or
family life.

I grew up with my Mom and my Grandmother. My mom worked really hard to provide
me with a good education. Three years prior starting medical school my grandmother
got diagnosed with cancer, which is an expensive and devastating disease. We had a
hard time during her illness both economically and psychologically. My mom had to get
into debt in order to cover all the expenses and the household economy got tight. When
I started medical school, my mom made a great effort helping me move to another city
and medical school expenditures. Things got a little better when I started working as a
music teacher during my 3rd year of medical school. I could cover part of my expenses,
but my mom still had to help me financially.

Thanks God, when the COVID19 pandemic started I was on my last semester of
medical school, and even though I haven´t graduated yet, I already finished paying my
university. I also moved back with my mom to cut up my budget to save money for all
the USMLE STEP 1 expenditures I got ahead. It is an expensive process, and much
more for us living in a developing country; nevertheless, I know it is worth it. My mom
is more than 60 years old and I try to do as best as I can to be economically
independent. She is getting old and working is hard for her due to the COVID19
pandemic. I do not have a stable job and I need to dedicate as much as I can, if not fully,
to my STEP1 preparation.

Anything else you'd like to share with us before we review your application? Feel free to drop it
here!
The last scholarship you gave me was a great gift. I am truly thankful. I have used it as much as
I can, and I have done over 1,000 questions already. AMBOSS has played a key part of my
STEP1 preparation until now and I would really love to keep on using it as a resource. Sadly, I
cannot afford to renew my membership right now. The financial situation due to the COVID19
pandemic has made an impact in my household and it does not fit our budget right now.

It would be a huge privilege getting this scholarship so I can keep on with my STEP1
preparation. Thank you so much for this opportunity and for showing solidarity and compassion
for all medical students that have dreams of getting one step further with their career.