Is it okay to make your personal statement open ended?

[mrh125]

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I want to leave things open ended and not decide on things like what speciality I'm interested in because anything could change and I want to keep an open-mind because I know a lot may change. Is that okay or do I have to come down hard and know most of the answers about what I want to do viewed as a serious applicant?

The reason why this is is because My undergrad really represented the first time I was able to focus on the material in school, develop study techniques, understand it, and really challenge myself and due to this i graduated as a student hopeful with an open mind and ready to take on the challenges in med school with an open mind. In college I didn't compete against others I competed against myself and worked with others because college was the first time i succeeded in courses and really learn. I know we are supposed to avoid cliches but without going into too much detail about my circumstances this is a huge part of my perspective and why I am interested in medicine and what is responsible for my open-mindedness. Is a more descriptive version of that ok to put in my application? I am not mentioning exactly why my circumstances beforehand were difficult because I don't want to be defined by my issues and deficiencies. It's due to this that I have such an open-ended perspective

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

No you don't have to mention a specialty.

 

[dancingmate]

I wouldn't mention a speciality if you don't have any clue, but have some focus on your future goals in your statement. Maybe describe the patient population you want to work with, or the general field of interest you may have (perhaps from past research/shadowing). I wouldn't keep it too open-ended because they may ask you in an interview what your goals are as a physician, so you will need to think about that a little bit before applying.

 

[LizzyM]

Do you want to take care of patients? If yes, why? If not, why medicine?
What kinds of circumstances do you see yourself taking care of patients.... over a few intense hours or days and then never seeing that patient again; over a few intense months or a couple years and then not again; or periodically over several decades? Over decades doesn't always mean primary care as there are chronic illnesses for which patients see specialists periodically for many decades.
Are you interested in using technology in the service of patients or in the patients themselves? How much say should patients have in their care plans and how much should be left to the doctor?

These are not questions I'm asking you to answer for me but some ideas to think about as you consider your PS.

 

[nabilesmail]

Christopher Nolan, that you ?