06-05-2011 084444pm

Achieving a meaningful career requires utmost determination and commitment. This isthe philosophy of my father, who is the hardest working person I know and my role model.

While in high school, I knew I wanted to become a physician. Since that time I haveexpended maximum effort toward my career goal. Reflecting on the source of my commitment, Irealized to my surprise that it largely also stems from my longstanding affection for basketball.Let me clarify how I arrived at this conclusion.

Within his poem, "Sailing to Byzantium", William Butler Yeats speaks of escaping fromthe natural world to a land of paradise. Indeed, we all have a place we go to in times of need,whether it be for consolation, comfort, or thought. Aristotle had his Lyceum, Caesar his forum,Buddha his Bo tree. And I, Arvinder, I have the basketball court. Since my early childhood, Ihave been an avid player of basketball. It came naturally to me. The lessons I learned fromplaying basketball laid the foundation of me becoming a mature adult. I learned that teamworkand making the proper decision at the right time are very important. I recognize that practicesignificantly improves performance and enhances physical coordination to carry out complextasks.

My intention, while playing basketball, was not to be the best player, but rather tocontribute to the team's effort to the best of my abilities. Through basketball, I learned the needto live a disciplined life. I needed to maintain a superior academic record while at the same timebe intensively involved in an extracurricular activity that demanded considerable effort and time.The discipline I learned from basketball spread to other parts of my personality, including mymoral character, work ethic, and perseverance. Through this sport, I have experienced pain,sacrifice, adversity, and success. Exposure to these feelings-which are, in my opinion is theessence of being.

There are obvious, important similarities between my sports activity and my career plans.I decided to pursue a career in Rehab medicine because of the many injuries that I had to rehabwhile I was playing basketball. I learned early on that rehabilitation requires hard work and teameffort in order to be successful. Rehab starts from a proper diagnosis and exercise regimen madeby a physician, which is then carried out by properly trained therapists. In order for the patient torecover properly and regain maximum function a team of professionals must be working on thesame page. It does not matter if the patient is a star athlete recovering from an ACL tear or anindividual undergoing cardiac rehab after a coronary artery bypass surgery, a multidisciplinaryapproach is required.

"Unutterable and nameless is that which torments and delights my soul and is also thehunger of my belly." So says Nietzche when asked to describe his virtue, but I shall perhaps haveto be specific. My interests have blossomed in Rehab medicine and deepened over the past fewyears because of its vast nature, but I have developed a keen interest in musculoskeletal medicine.The interest, most likely, stems back to my passion for basketball and sports activity. Early on Igained respect for the human body and the requirements needed for it to perform at its highestlevel. Throughout my residency, I have rotated through various outpatient clinics specializing inmusculoskeletal medicine and saw tremendous amounts of pathology. I observed first hand thediligence required to do a complete physical exam and ascertain a diagnosis. However, whatreally was exciting was the multiple ways certain pathologies could be treated. Physiatrists havemultiple modalities at then" finger tips, ranging from conservative to interventional. My interestin pursuing a fellowship is to gain further experience in musculoskeletal medicine and furtherpractice in certain treatments. Similar to basketball, more practice will significantly improve myperformance and will increase my manual dexterity to carry out certain treatments.