Can a personally tramatic experience be used in a personal statement?

[redwings54]

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Hello. I am applying to med school this summer and am working on my personal statement. I went on a fellowship to Russia and Scotland studying holistic medicine, specifically psychoneuroimmunology and hope. I desired to complete the fellowship because I wanted to learn how to instill hope in my future patients and study how hope and positive attitude can be used in fighting disease. However, I went through some very trying times in my own life and had to end the fellowship early. I truly became my own personal case study and was losing the battle with hope and positive attitude. Once home, through the help of doctors, friends and especially my parents, I have gotten help and have become better. I have learned so much through my struggles and have desired to become a doctor even more. I have grown to realize that mind, body and spirit must all be treated in order to heal the disease. Osteopaths, moreso than some allopaths I have met (most docs are great though so please no wars) dedication to the patient and their entire lives is really why I want to go into osteopathic medicine. I want to treat people and improve their quality of living.

I have so far in my statement included what I desired to do on the fellowship, what happened, and what I learned. I also include stuff about what I have done that makes me desire to help people even more. And I included stuff on my research and job in the hospital to round out my experience. I relate it all to what I learned on the fellowship and feel it is pretty good. So what I am wondering is if this is an ok way to go with a personal statement? I feel it says why I want to go into medicine, what I have done, and how I know that I want to go into the field. If anyone is willing to read it, I would forever be in your debt and if we end up at the same school I will buy you a beer. Thanks for reading this much and hope to hear from you in the future. Cheers

 

[ssandedoc]

Osteopaths, moreso than some allopaths

Friendly, FYI the word Osteopath is slang. Osteopathic or Osteopathy are the preferred.

As far as the personal statement, I think be yourself.

 

[LVDoc]

I'm sorry that I cannot read your personal statement, as I have midterms coming up in the near future. I will, however, try to offer you some advice on your question. If you believe that your personal statement is a reflection of who you are as a person and what led you to this final path, then that is all that needs to be said. As far as listing any traumatic experiences, generally I would use caution in this situation such that you can offer some retrospection onto the event, or in other words to the best of your ability describe it as a positive (learning) experience, etc. - either way, you should do your best such that the essay carries an overtone that is not filtrated with pity, guilt, or any other negative connotations.

So far, from the information you have provided, it doesn't exactly look like a typical "traumatic" (ie. death/family illness/personal injury/etc.) experience, and I feel that you have done an excellent job in projecting your motivation and dedication as an individual to not only that of humanity, but to that of the osteopathic profession.

As for the second post, the word "osteopath" is technically not slang; it is a noun used to describe a particular healthcare provider, whereas the word "osteopathy" is used to describe the underlying theory behind the field, and "osteopathic" is simply an adjective that can be used to describe an inherent property of something that relates to osteopathy. If you want to be politically correct, the AOA I believe prefers to designate all U.S. osteopaths as "Osteopathic Physicians (and Surgeons)."

 

[dr.z]

I think your experiences explain why you want to become a doctor, it will be good to have on your personal statement. From reading your post, you seem to have solid foundation and goal for becoming a physician. Good luck!

 

[calichik]

I think that it's a very good experience to use in your personal statement. In your personal statement, you want to be able to engage your reader and make them want to know more as they read further. The way you have it planned out sounds good. Just try not to be too detailed and save some info for the secondary applications, especially since most questions on secondary apps will ask you why osteopathy and why you want to be an osteopathic physician. If I remember correctly, your primary app essay should be no more than 500 words. Good luck with your apps!

 

[JonnyG]

Just don't make the statement sound like you want them to pity you. Focus more on how it has changed you, made you realize things, etc. I had a personal tradegy to play up in my personal statement, but found a balance where everything related back to my experience yet wasn't blatant.