needle phobia in personal statement?

[tabbycatdontcur]

So one of the biggest reasons that I did not apply or think about applying to med school after getting my BS was because of my needle phobia. I couldn't look at them, use them, watch others use them, get stuck by them, etc. One of the biggest reasons for this is due to NEVER being vaccinated as a child. I never was desensitized. I instead applied to pharmacy school because I thought it wasn't mandated to give shots. I realized a week in that I would have to become immunization certified and so 4 months later I did it! Now that I finished P1 year, I want to go to med school because of several reasons--one being that I can deal with needles a lot better. Should I meantion this in my personal statement at all?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[hoihaie]

of course

 

[midnight0il]

Overcoming a needle phobia doesn't sound compelling to me, unless you can spin it into something related to your anti-vaccine upbringing. That is certainly an important issue facing healthcare today. What are your other reasons for going into medicine?

 

[tabbycatdontcur]

Want to work for a non-profit doing local and international medical relief.

 

[darthsubway]

It sounds like your personal statement should be more focused on why you're switching from pharm to medicine. PS is all about "why medicine. "I'm not afraid of needles" is not a good reason to go med school.

 

[tiedyeddog]

It sounds like your personal statement should be more focused on why you're switching from pharm to medicine. PS is all about "why medicine. "I'm not afraid of needles" is not a good reason to go med school.

Agreed.

 

[xnfs93hy]

The personal statement is all about why you want to go into medicine. Your needle phobia issues don't really belong in that section.

 

[Mad Jack]

Agree with above. You're trying to show both interest and resilience with your PS. Backing down from applying to med school because of a phobia shows neither, and might even lead to them questioning what other things might stand in your way down the road.

 

[LizzyM]

OP, I can see where you are coming from. You always wanted to go into medicine for reasons xyz but didn't think you could stand it because needles freaked you out. Then you overcame this aversion through training as a pharmacy student and now the path to medicine is clear.

 

[midnight0il]

Want to work for a non-profit doing local and international medical relief.

Talk about this.

For what it's worth, I don't think you necessarily have to address the switch from Pharmacy to Medicine. I'm a non-trad that worked in policy research before switching and did not address it in my personal statement and did fine. I talked more about my general reasons for going into medicine.

 

[tabbycatdontcur]

Talk about this.

For what it's worth, I don't think you necessarily have to address the switch from Pharmacy to Medicine. I'm a non-trad that worked in policy research before switching and did not address it in my personal statement and did fine. I talked more about my general reasons for going into medicine.

I think I need to explain that pharmacy was not going to be of help doing medical relief like medicine will be. I also have other reasons for wanting to switch but don't know if I should address them. Should I try to refer to switching somewhat but not focus on it solely?

 

[LizzyM]

I think I need to explain that pharmacy was not going to be of help doing medical relief like medicine will be. I also have other reasons for wanting to switch but don't know if I should address them. Should I try to refer to switching somewhat but not focus on it solely?

It might suffice to say that as you learned more about the role of pharmacists, and as your interest in medical relief grew, you realized that having an MD would be more valuable in the field.

 

[tabbycatdontcur]

Agree with above. You're trying to show both interest and resilience with your PS. Backing down from applying to med school because of a phobia shows neither, and might even lead to them questioning what other things might stand in your way down the road.

OP, I can see where you are coming from. You always wanted to go into medicine for reasons xyz but didn't think you could stand it because needles freaked you out. Then you overcame this aversion through training as a pharmacy student and now the path to medicine is clear.

Overcoming a needle phobia doesn't sound compelling to me, unless you can spin it into something related to your anti-vaccine upbringing. That is certainly an important issue facing healthcare today. What are your other reasons for going into medicine?

Well there seems to be conflicting opinions. If I bring it up in my PS, there may be the chance that an adcom may not look at this in a positive light and I don't want to take chances. BUT (and that's a big but) I think that I can blend international and local medical relief career with vaccinations and then bringing it up may not look as bad. I'm actually not sure what to do.

 

[Mad Jack]

Well there seems to be conflicting opinions. If I bring it up in my PS, there may be the chance that an adcom may not look at this in a positive light and I don't want to take chances. BUT (and that's a big but) I think that I can blend international and local medical relief career with vaccinations and then bringing it up may not look as bad. I'm actually not sure what to do.

LizzyM is an adcom, her advice holds best in these situations. Just paint it like she said- you had reasons you thought medicine wasn't for you, but the more you were exposed to things, the more you realized those reasons didn't matter.

 

[tabbycatdontcur]

LizzyM is an adcom, her advice holds best in these situations. Just paint it like she said- you had reasons you thought medicine wasn't for you, but the more you were exposed to things, the more you realized those reasons didn't matter.

Should I be vague or specific in doing so e.g. giving examples of these reasons?

 

[LizzyM]

Should I be vague or specific in doing so e.g. giving examples of these reasons?

So I thought I wanted to be a doctor but I wasn't sure it was right for me because....
I decided to study pharmacy as an alternative; it seemed right for me because....
Re-evaluating my reasons for not pursuing a career in medicine I decided that medicine was right for me after my pharmacy training helped me realize that I could overcome my hesitancy around needles. I further tested this interest in medicine by doing xyz and this lead me to decide to consider a career as a ...

 

[tabbycatdontcur]

Thanks MadJack and LizzyM and everyone for your help!
I am really grateful that you spend your summer helping out a quarter-life crisis student