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4th Year Medical Student
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Bradenton Campus
David Phrathep, MS4 at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine - Bradenton, FL
AAMC ID 14879627
According to the U.S Census Bureau, 12% of Lao-Americans have a bachelor’s degree and only 4% have a postgraduate degree. According to the AAMC, less than 0.02% of students applying to medical school are Laotian. At the collegiate and professional level, only 52 Lao-American athletes have been documented nationwide. These statistics have been the inequity I’ve encountered my entire life and have made me the person I am today. I’m a first-generation, Lao-American who was raised by refugees that escaped Laos to come to America during the Vietnam War. Against all odds, in 2019, I earned two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Central Florida and became the first Lao-American NCAA D1 baseball player in the nation, in which I was later inducted into the Lao-American Sports Hall of Fame for. In 2020, I became part of the 4% with a post-graduate degree after earning a master’s degree and subsequently, being accepted into medical school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. Two years later, I became the first Lao-American Student Doctor of the Year in my program's history.
Because I understand how hard and isolating it is to be successful in the America as a child of an immigrant family, it is my purpose to improve healthcare for underrepresented and marginalized patients, especially in PM&R. I am confident that my diverse PM&R background in leadership, service, and collaboration at the medical school, as well as at the national and international level, will allow me to use my experiences to better serve marginalized patients and help maximize their lifelong functional independence. With sincerity, I aspire for the opportunity to be a trailblazer in PM&R as the first Lao-American Physiatrist in your program.