From the moment I arrived in Guanare, Venezuela, I experienced the desperation and the discomfort that burdens the people there every day. Long abandoned by a broken-down bus, my team and I were forced to climb a mountain under the relentless sun. Weighed down by a 30-pound backpack containing medical supplies, I fixated on the rest of the day and on reaching the top of the mountain by nightfall. Thinking ahead to the next day was a luxury I could not afford.

The city of Guanare rested at the bottom of the mountain. I had been struck by its dirty, squalid streets and houses topped with corrugated tin roofs. Stray dogs roamed the streets, small children chased passing cars, and mosquitoes and gnats lazily lingered in the sweltering heat. At the top of the mountain, however, existed poverty of another level. There sat a remote community of coffee-bean growers who receive no medical attention and have no means of communication with Guanare, except for a long, steep walk down the mountain. After weeks of correspondence, planning, and preparation with one another from across the globe, my team of 14 had arrived there to make a small imprint on the struggling community and, we hoped, to offer some kind of relief.

On the morning of our first clinic, I was awed by the contrasting images of despair and hope. We were surprised to discover that villagers from miles away had heard about the free clinic and had begun lining up in the first hours of sunlight. Dirty, thin children with bellies distended from parasite infection stood in line alongside elderly adults with open sores in their swollen legs. Spread before them was a team of 14 strangers buoyed by energy and optimism. With donated supplies and medicine that we had garnered from various clinics and hospitals in America, we prepared to perform triage, measure blood pressure, and administer the proper medicines.

That day, I was just as affected by the team doctor, Robert, as I was by the anguish on the patients’ faces. He was a beacon of devotion and sacrifice, and while everyone rotated in and out of shifts for their duties, Robert was the anchor, treating the seemingly endless stream of ill patients with the same enthusiasm he had when the day had dawned. I was just a sophomore in college at the time, and I was wholly inexperienced in a medical capacity. But I sensed all of that changing as I experienced both the hopelessness and the hopefulness that comes with this noble profession. I realized that in my future career as a doctor I wanted to emanate Robert’s grace and dedication, and that in the meantime I would do anything I could to work to alleviate the pain of those who are suffering physically.

Since I could not provide much medical assistance at the clinic, I sought a way to involve myself in the healing that was taking place and to raise the spirits of the downtrodden patients. I donned a baggy shirt, goofy pants, a green wig, and makeup, transforming myself from a medic into a clown. Squeals of delight pealed through the throng of children and adults as I burst out of the door. I began singing and dancing to the songs playing on the Spanish radio station as others smiled and clapped. The tired, sick children giggled, and the stricken elderly patients laughed while I tripped and ran into them in my excitement. Eventually, the children that were well enough to participate joined me in my exploits.

Just like the clinics, the playful enjoyment was a welcome reprieve to the villagers but temporary nonetheless. While our team did a lot of good, eventually we had to leave, and it was painfully clear to me that the patients’ prescriptions would soon run out, and that others would become ill. Soon they would go back to their painful existences without proper medical attention. Another team would eventually come to the mountain and set up another clinic, but the problems would still persist. Until a time when I can participate in the global community, teaching preventative measures to avoid diseases such as parasite infection or malaria, I continue to do what I can for this tiny village. I collect whatever clothes, shoes, and toys I can and send them to the town center.

For as long as I can remember, my inquisitive, nurturing nature led me to entertain the thought of being a doctor. However, after my time in Venezuela, I was resolute. The idea of attending to a neglected population intrigues and excites me. In Venezuela, serving as a vessel of hope and seeing the joy that followed gave me a great sense of satisfaction. I will forever relish the memories of the trust that those patients had in the doctor as he diagnosed their ailments. I value what I learned from Robert himself -- that being a doctor requires sacrifice and determination, but that with it comes the fulfillment of a long day’s work. And I will never forget the innocently hopeful children who danced with me in my green clown wig, for they remind me that at the core of healing is the exuberance that comes with optimism.

點評：

這是一篇醫學類PS，講述了作者在參加醫療隊到委內瑞拉的貧困地區進行人道醫援的經歷。 文章的前后銜接緊密，內容感人至深，是一篇好的PS。

通過翻譯，可以看出文章的可以分為兩個部分：

第一部分：講述的是作者的一段令人難忘的醫療援助的經歷。通過了這次的經歷，作者不但學到了是醫療的技術，更多的是一個成為醫者的人道主義的精神。

第二部分：作者通過思考，總結出：“作為一個醫生隨時要求犧牲和決心”這樣的一個作為一個醫者的準則。并且知道心理的健康同身體健康一樣重要。

總結：

這篇短文以自己過去的實習經歷作為切入點，結合自己對未來的職業發展方向和興趣做出了進一步的闡述了自己對于將來的職業的理解，使讀者可以清楚的了解到作者的所要表達的寫作意圖。

對于在委內瑞拉當地患者痛苦的描述，很容易使閱讀者產生感動，共鳴。文章的結尾闡述了自己對將來從事職業的正確的理解。使得閱讀的人感到作者是一個會總結的人，是一個對自己職業有一定理解的人，并不是盲目的申請者。最重要的是對文章的闡述讓人感動作者有一個醫者的心。

文章前幾段主要是對作者的實習經歷做了一個比較詳細的闡述，這樣可以表現出申請者有一定的學術背景，也可以讓審查人員知道申請者使一個有能力，出色的，有能夠完成課程能力的一個申請者。會對錄取起到很大的作用。

文章不足的地方在作者沒有能敘述一下自己的在醫學方面的學術背景，這樣對讓讀者覺得該申請者的學術背景不是太強，如果能在學術方面進行一些敘述，給這篇PS增色不少。

譯文：

委內瑞拉叢林里的小丑實習醫生

從我到達了Guanare, 委內瑞拉的那一刻 我體驗到了每天擔負在人民身上的失望和難受。由于乘坐了乘一輛故障的公共汽車, 我隊和我被迫使攀登山在不懈的太陽之下。背負30 磅重的有醫療物資的背包, 我確定了的剩余天數和可以在黃昏時分到達山頂。提前想想第二天就已經是奢侈的了。

該段主要內容是對city of Guanare進行一些介紹，對改城市的糟糕現狀的介紹可以了解到他們這次面對的困難是十分巨大的。可以從側面突出雖然面對的困難很大，但是他們的決心和能力將對這些糟糕現狀進行改善。

在我們診所的第一個早晨,絕望和希望的對比的景象使我對這里的人們產生了敬畏。我吃驚的發現幾里外的村民聽說這個免費的診所，都從大清早就開始排隊了。由于寄生蟲傳染而腹脹的骯臟, 瘦弱孩子和由于外傷而腫脹的腿的一些成年人排在一起。分散在他們之前是由14 個陌生人組成的充滿著由精神和樂觀醫療隊。

一天, 我受隊醫羅伯特的影響,就像我是受在病人臉上痛苦表情影響一樣。他是獻身和犧牲的烽火臺，羅伯特是船錨, 他用同樣的熱情接待看起來好像沒有盡頭的病人直到黎明。我當時是一個二年級學生在學院, 并且我在醫療崗位完全是無經驗。我意識到, 作為醫生這個我未來事業我想發揮出象羅伯特的一樣的貢獻, 并且我同時會做任何我能做的工作來緩和那些遭受身體痛苦的病人們。

因為在診所我不能提供很多的醫療援助, 我尋找了另一個方式讓自己投入到治療領域，那就是開始去提高受壓迫患者的精神狀態。我穿上了寬松的襯衣、褲子, 一頂綠色假發，化了妝，把自己從實習醫生變成了小丑。歡樂聲在小孩子和大人中環繞沖出了病房。我開始伴隨西班牙電臺播放著的唱歌和跳舞，其他人都為我微笑和拍手。被病痛折磨的孩子嘻嘻笑了, 和患病的大人患者笑了。最終,孩子們都能很好的加入了我的游戲中。

象診所, 嬉戲的享受其實是只是一種受村民們歡迎的減緩而已。當我們的隊做了很多好事, 最后，我們都不得不要離開, 并且痛苦的那些患者的藥物很快會用盡,其他人很快會再次變得不適。他們會回到病痛中如果沒有適當的治療。其它隊會來到山和最終會設立其它的診所, 但問題還是很持續。直到時候當我能參加全球性社區, 教授施避免疾病的預防措譬如寄生生物傳染或瘧疾, 我繼續為這個小村莊做著我能夠做的事。我收集衣裳、鞋子和玩具，然后把他們發到市中心。

只要我能記住, 我的好奇, 哺育自然帶領我享受醫生成為的想法。但是, 在我在委內瑞拉之后, 我變得剛毅。參加到一個被忽略的人口中使我振奮和激動。在委內瑞拉, 擔當一個希望的使者和看的見的歡樂給了我巨大滿足。我永遠記得那些當醫生診斷患者的疾病時患者對醫生的信任的記憶。我重視我從羅伯特學會的—那就是作為一個醫生隨時要求犧牲和決心。并且我不會忘記與我跳舞的那些無辜地有希望的孩子們, 他們提醒了我愈合的核心是來自于樂觀的豐富。