Include this in personal statement?

[JAK2-STAT3]

Hi all! I did not seriously consider medicine until after graduating, and a significant part of this was because I had imposter syndrome regarding my people skills. While I generally like people, I am an introverted, independent, private person (and a woman, FWIW), and I was afraid that because I didn't have the warm, fuzzy, kindergarten-teacher personality, no Adcom would admit me. I am seeking you all's opinion on whether it is ok to bring this up in my personal statement and/or MMEs. One of my MMEs is most meaningful precisely because it changed my outlook on how I relate to others (see next paragraph). Goro says that introspection is a required trait for a doctor, and I have done a lot of introspection around this. I am just not sure if having it in a personal statement will make me look bad.

To give more context, during my first two years of college I put all of my effort into being "smart" and good at academics vs. being likable and charming, because my 19 year old self saw those as mutually exclusive. While I was a science major, medicine was completely off the table for me due to this. I then realized that my fixed mindset around people skills was problematic for life in general, and I put significant effort into improving myself and investing in the connections I had with others. The most powerful lesson I learned in college was that people skills can be learned and improved upon, and that if I wanted something badly enough, I had it in me to be the person I needed to be to go out and get it.

After that epiphany, I became interested in medicine while in the midst of a couple research gap years. I still experienced doubts over whether I had the right personality, but after a lot more introspection that I won't bore you with, I have come to believe that while I will never be the warm, fuzzy, kindergarten-teacher type, I can nonetheless handle the interpersonal aspects of being a physician with other traits I do have.

I have since left research. I am currently working in a hospital and talk to patients all day, and I haven't had any complaints about being cold or unapproachable (knock on wood lol). All in all, I am a very different person than I was at 19, and I would appreciate any wisdom on whether to mention this part of my journey or not. Obviously, I would bring it up in a more concise and polished manner that what I'm doing here.

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[voxveritatisetlucis]

Please no.

Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t a logical connection between imposter syndrome and a desire to pursue medicine. I’m not trying to make you feel bad and I think that any essay can be good if executed properly (assuming it’s not about abandoning a box of kittens on the side of a highway), but it would be very risky. If I was an adcom member I might think, “does JAK2-STAT2’s interest in medicine really stem from her triumph over imposter syndrome? That’s an odd motivator”


Be genuine and really think about the healthcare experiences that motivated you to pursue medicine.

 

[JAK2-STAT3]

Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t a logical connection between imposter syndrome and a desire to pursue medicine.

Thanks for responding. I apologize if I wasn't clear. I would not write an entire personal statement on how I developed my people skills, and I didn't mean to imply that this caused me to pursue medicine. My desire to pursue medicine started with different experiences, and this was simply some introspection I did as I wrestled with 1) is medicine my calling and 2) if so, can I even follow it?

To phrase my question a different way, would it be ok to have a most meaningful experience essay that went something like "this experience was meaningful to me because it taught me the importance of continuing to develop my people skills, which I had previously neglected because I thought that they were innate and not something I could change yadda yadda." Obviously I would clean up the wording and not dwell on it.

I’m not trying to make you feel bad

No offense taken! Hopefully I've clarified things.

 

[Goro]

Maybe use it as fodder for the adversity, but mentioning it in the PS? Gawd no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JAK2-STAT3]

Thank you for responding! I'll leave this out of my PS

 

[LindaAccepted]

Thanks for responding. I apologize if I wasn't clear. I would not write an entire personal statement on how I developed my people skills, and I didn't mean to imply that this caused me to pursue medicine. My desire to pursue medicine started with different experiences, and this was simply some introspection I did as I wrestled with 1) is medicine my calling and 2) if so, can I even follow it?

To phrase my question a different way, would it be ok to have a most meaningful experience essay that went something like "this experience was meaningful to me because it taught me the importance of continuing to develop my people skills, which I had previously neglected because I thought that they were innate and not something I could change yadda yadda." Obviously I would clean up the wording and not dwell on it.

No offense taken! Hopefully I've clarified things.

How you handle the topic in an MME would make a world of difference. You certainly don't want the MME to cause them to question your people skills. OTOH, it could be an great essay about deciding to change yourself and grow in a specific way. The specifics will make or break it.

 

[JAK2-STAT3]

How you handle the topic in an MME would make a world of difference. You certainly don't want the MME to cause them to question your people skills. OTOH, it could be an great essay about deciding to change yourself and grow in a specific way. The specifics will make or break it.

Thank you for the feedback! My original post wasn't worded very well, but you are correct that this boils down to me making a deliberate decision and (I would like to think) successful attempt to grow in a specific way, and was sparked by an activity that was meaningful to me. I understand that I'll have to spin it in such a way that won't cause adcoms to question my people skills.

 

[LizzyM]

Why do you want to be a doctor? Why do you think you'd be good at it?

in other words, what do you want to do as a physician and what attributes do you have that will make you successful in doing those things you want to do as a physician?

Answer those questions and you are all set.