Help me with a personal statement question!!!

[MDMDJDJD]

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Hi,

I'm a non-traditional pre-med preparing my application for 2011. I finished undergrad in 2003, and have split the last 7 years working in direct social services for the chronically homeless and mentally ill, and working in schizophrenia research coordinating investigative drug studies. Here's my question. I'm going to medical school with the sole intention of becoming a community psychiatrist. I want to continue serving the chronicaly homeless and mentally ill, the population I've always been committed to working with. I've heard that it's not smart to get too specific about what kind of Dr. you want to be in your personal statement, but in my case, I'm 100% sure. What are your thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Latuza]

Maybe you can just say you're leaning toward psychiatrist. I'm sure it's all right to say your choice of specialty, since it's probably asked at interviews and they know many (50%?) students change their minds when in med school.

Hammer away at serving the underserved, med schools love people committed to that. Many med schools also have programs within the MD program that specialize in equipping students with extra skills (public health, policy, tech) to practice in a more primary care and public health setting.

So no worries, be yourself and it will shine through.

 

[tremulousNeedle]

It is important to convey your passion and motivation for medicine. You could phrase it in this tone, "currently my passion lies in ....". This implies that you know what you want right now, but are not presumptuous about the exact path you will take throughout your medical training. Some people may be put-off if you write in your PS that you're 100% sure that *** is what you want to do. On the other hand, there are probably many adcom members that won't mind you writing that you are 100% sure of a given specialty.

As an aside, I would recommend that you keep an open mind throughout your medical training. One of two things could happen; first, you may find a different specialty that lets you help this patient population better than you could as a psychiatrist or find another patient population that you feel more drawn to. Second, keeping your mind open to other specialties and then further ruling them out will boost your personal confidence that you are indeed doing what you want to do. I was involved with emergency medical services before medical school and was very interested in Emergency Medicine. I kept an open mind throughout my clinical years, which in the end reaffirmed my passion for emergency medicine, the specialty to which I'll be matching in about 3 1/2 weeks.

Good luck,

-senior medical student / admissions committee interviewer

 

[richse]

it is important to convey your passion and motivation for medicine. You could phrase it in this tone, "currently my passion lies in ....". This implies that you know what you want right now, but are not presumptuous about the exact path you will take throughout your medical training. Some people may be put-off if you write in your ps that you're 100% sure that *** is what you want to do. On the other hand, there are probably many adcom members that won't mind you writing that you are 100% sure of a given specialty.

as an aside, i would recommend that you keep an open mind throughout your medical training. One of two things could happen; first, you may find a different specialty that lets you help this patient population better than you could as a psychiatrist or find another patient population that you feel more drawn to. Second, keeping your mind open to other specialties and then further ruling them out will boost your personal confidence that you are indeed doing what you want to do. I was involved with emergency medical services before medical school and was very interested in emergency medicine. I kept an open mind throughout my clinical years, which in the end reaffirmed my passion for emergency medicine, the specialty to which i'll be matching in about 3 1/2 weeks.

good luck,

-senior medical student / admissions committee interviewer

qft

 

[Catalystik]

The statistic I've read is that 80% of med students change their minds about their specialty despite a solid intention. Your future specialty is not relevant to the med school application process. Your strong mission to serve an underserved, needy population is relevant and well-demonstrated by your activities, so emphasize that. Adcomms will prefer an open-minded approach to considering future medical practice, IMO, and your PS needs to appeal to a wide range of adcomms.

 

[flip26]

Hi,

I'm a non-traditional pre-med preparing my application for 2011. I finished undergrad in 2003, and have split the last 7 years working in direct social services for the chronically homeless and mentally ill, and working in schizophrenia research coordinating investigative drug studies. Here's my question. I'm going to medical school with the sole intention of becoming a community psychiatrist. I want to continue serving the chronicaly homeless and mentally ill, the population I've always been committed to working with. I've heard that it's not smart to get too specific about what kind of Dr. you want to be in your personal statement, but in my case, I'm 100% sure. What are your thoughts? Thanks!

You heard right. Too many premeds go into this with their lives all mapped out, as if they have blinders on.

Convey your interests and passion for helping others. Adcoms are pretty smart - they will understand where you are coming from...