Personal Statement/Uphill Battles

[Astharia]

So I'm in the process of writing my personal statement. I want to put something in it about the pushback from my peers about wanting to become a physician as a woman, but I'm not sure I want to play that card. Just so we're clear, I'm referring to the, "Why don't you just become a nurse?" replies that a lot of people give me when I tell them I'm pre-med.

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[crazy87]

not sure i'd go that route but that's just me. a LOT of people told me I should be a nurse too, but I never even took it as a gender thing, rather that I had a personality more suited for nursing, and people didn't think I was capable of being a doc for whatever reason... like I wasn't serious enough or something. but i never mentioned that in my apps. don't even put that thought in the adcoms minds. let your actions speak for themselves. you are trying to convince them you should be a doctor, and I don't know if mentioning things like that make your case. anyway, just my opinion. I don't know your particular experiences so I can't say.

 

[Astharia]

I feel iffy about it as well so it will probably stay out. Right now I have like 4 paragraphs of PS material that all goes in different directions. I'm having a tough time figuring it out. Writing has always been hard for me since there is no RIGHT answer like there is in science. You literally can have a million different combinations of a quality product.

 

[kthxbai]

Are you writing your personal statement for MD admission in 2015? Please tell me this isn't so...

 

[Astharia]

God no! 2017

 

[Astharia]

It's actually part of a joke "Biology for Transfer students" class I'm taking at my university, so although it's about a year out from me actually having to write it, I'm having to write it for an assignment :/

 

[kthxbai]

Phew. Dodged a big one there.

In my humble opinion I wrote a fantastic personal statement that I've extremely proud of (it was edited by some of the greatest writers I've ever met, which really helped my cause). It took me 3 solid months to write it from start to finish, but I don't think a full year would have helped at all. I found that the biggest challenge is know when to stop. Taking too long might work against you (but having this assignment for class is a good start).

 

[kthxbai]

One thing I never got is the nurse vs. doctor comment. I suppose some women just get that smack more often than others, but I think I'm too much of a hard ass for people to even bring it up.

 

[Astharia]

Honestly, most of it has come from my family and people that know that I have kids. So yes, a 2 year degree would be nice for someone who has kids. But that's not what I want to do. I've worked in healthcare for 3 years and I know exactly what I want to do. SO yeah I have kids, but not every mom that goes back to school has to be a damn nurse.

 

[jl lin]

Phew. Dodged a big one there.

In my humble opinion I wrote a fantastic personal statement that I've extremely proud of (it was edited by some of the greatest writers I've ever met, which really helped my cause). It took me 3 solid months to write it from start to finish, but I don't think a full year would have helped at all. I found that the biggest challenge is know when to stop. Taking too long might work against you (but having this assignment for class is a good start).

^ Totally this. Start, write, write, write, stop. Start over. Write, write, write. Start over. Cut, cut, write, cut. . .endless. lol

 

[Astharia]

What I'll probably end up doing is turning in an okay copy to this advisor that teaches the course, then revisit it after a few months and make it into what I actually want.

 

[jl lin]

One thing I never got is the nurse vs. doctor comment. I suppose some women just get that smack more often than others, but I think I'm too much of a hard ass for people to even bring it up.

I think it's b/c women can get pregnant and have children. Seriously. Sure nursing is a non-trad role for me, but really. No one is drilling the men either way--whether they go for nursing or medicine.

From a pragmatic standpoint, however, and I am speaking from personal experience as well, pregnancy and having children is not a completely benign experience--especially if you happen to really care about the whole thing and that you are bringing other people in the world to care for and raise. People do it in MS and residency; but I am certain it isn't always easy. Furthermore, if someone like me had waited and not pursued reproduction when I did--early as a nurse--well, in all probability, I would not have been able to have children. It was/is what it was/is.

But no. I think the statement should not be brought up, unless they are bringing it up for all the males that come through as well.

About your PS. . .eh. I wouldn't let that be the focus or even much of mention in it, if at all. But good luck. You could always pick your PS apart until the cows come home. Do the best you can and be genuine.

 

[Goro]

Unless you come from a patriarchal culture in another country, it's not 1970. Use the PS for "Why Medicine?" and "Who am I?" Just because someone hurts your feelings by asking an ignorant question, it should not be fodder for the PS.

Women are on track to becoming the vast majority of clinicians in this country in the next 20-30 years, BTW.

So I'm in the process of writing my personal statement. I want to put something in it about the pushback from my peers about wanting to become a physician as a woman, but I'm not sure I want to play that card. Just so we're clear, I'm referring to the, "Why don't you just become a nurse?" replies that a lot of people give me when I tell them I'm pre-med.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

So what I have been told, and what I tell people is WHY do you want to go into medicine. Not, "you'll love me for this, that, whatever'... give concrete examples of WHY you want to go into medicine and why it is your PASSION. The different reasons don't have to be one continuous theme other than why did they support your decision to apply for medical school. Again, it should not be 'this is why I think I'm awesome'...

 

[whatbout2morrow]

Unless you come from a patriarchal culture in another country, it's not 1970. Use the PS for "Why Medicine?" and "Who am I?" Just because someone hurts your feelings by asking an ignorant question, it should not be fodder for the PS.

Women are on track to becoming the vast majority of clinicians in this country in the next 20-30 years, BTW.

Agreed. My medical school class is more female than male. A good number of them probably faced the whole "why don't you become a nurse" thing from peers at some point or another. Plus, the people telling you this are family who probably don't know better than to offer you advice you don't need and think they are helping you by advising you to become a nurse for the sake of your kids. Hence, I think it is a weak card to play overall.

 

[Astharia]

Thanks, I don't think I'll mention it at all. I'm really surprised at the statistics about female doctors though, most of the schools I'll be applying to are still predominately male based on their class profiles.

 

[whatbout2morrow]

Thanks, I don't think I'll mention it at all. I'm really surprised at the statistics about female doctors though, most of the schools I'll be applying to are still predominately male based on their class profiles.

And this may be the case for a few more years for many schools. But if you take a look at the last row on the last page of https://www.aamc.org/download/321530/data/2013factstable27-1.pdf and https://www.aamc.org/download/321532/data/2013factstable27-2.pdf , barring 2012, the number of female medical graduates has consistently gone up each year since 2004 (AAMC website doesn't currently list the data from before that, but I'm sure the trend is similar). The tables show quite a few schools were female graduates outnumber male graduates.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

My school is 54% F, 46% M or something like that