Keeping an open mind in personal statement

[SweetRain]

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I read before that it is a good idea to keep an open mind regarding what I want to do after graduating med school. (eg. Don't write about how much I will love doing pediatric urology)

I'm really interested in pursuing a career in primary care and shadowed a primary care physician. I've mentioned in my statement that I want to do primary care in the future etc etc. Is this a bad idea?

 

[lord_jeebus]

I don't know where this myth comes from. If you have a specific interest, please tell the adcoms about it. Wanting to be a specific kind of physician is a perfectly legitimate reason to apply to medical school.

Obviously an applicant to says they are most interested in something they have never seen is going to look stupid, but that's not the case here.

 

[sylvanthus]

You'll be fine, theres a shortage of primary care docs, so if anything it may help you.

 

[Insulinshock]

I'm sure it can help you and hurt you at the same time, depending on the school reading your PS. I'm not going to include my future plans, personally, but I wouldn't hold too many reservations against doing it.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I'm sure it can help you and hurt you at the same time, depending on the school reading your PS. I'm not going to include my future plans, personally, but I wouldn't hold too many reservations against doing it.

Please reconsider.

One of the most annoying things is an applicant with a wishy-washy personal statement about how the whole medical field is really exciting and they're open to all areas. I can't tell if you don't have any sort of future plans (a huge minus) or if you're too timid to say what they are.

Think about the huge breadth of medicine - from pathologists to psychiatrists to CT surgeons - it's hard to make a convincing argument that you tend to be attracted to all areas of medicine. It's normal to be open to things, but you should have an idea of the sorts of things you imagine you'd enjoy more in a career.

 

[blaithnaid]

if nothing else, pick a couple things to say you're interested in-- then you've both shown that you've considered your options and you haven't closed all your doors but one.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

It would be different if your PS said, "I wanna be a CT surgeon for MAD cash." But with the primary care shortage it may actually help.

 

[vc7777]

I think it is difficult to tell in general terms whether a clearly stated goal in your PS will hurt or hinder your chances. There are so many variables in this process that it would be hard to ever prove or disprove.

What CAN be said in general is that every school is different. What might hurt your application for one school may put you at the top of the pile at another - without exaggeration. OP should make a decision that s/he is comfortable with and run with it - perhaps with consideration to the schools they intend to apply to if they are known at this point.

However, an alternative to citing a concrete career goal is to talk more about the career/lifestyle you wish to lead with your degree. There are so many different ways to define your career without calling out an exact career. For example, are you interested in private practice, VA work, academic medicine? Research? Urban? Suburban? Rural? Public Health? Out-patient? clinic? Hospital? Primary, Secondary, Tertiary care (or even Quaternary care - yes it exists!)?

Talking in these general terms may also be useful if you do not have direct experience in the area you would like to end up in. It will be easier to 'cast' your volunteer and other experiences to support general career goals.

You can also talk in slightly less general terms like Pediatric vs. Adult care. Surgical vs. Interventional vs. Medicine.

Of course, you hopefully have some experiences that you can use to support these goals.

Furthermore, if you are still inclined to state a particular career path do not say it with sophomoric certainty:

NOT SO GOOD: "I want to be an interventional cardiologist."

BETTER: "I am interested in pediatric palliative and hospice care because I want to make an immediate impact in the lives of terminal children and their families during end-of-life decisions. [Going on to explain your experiences that lead you to this deicison]..."

This latter approach lets you demonstrate your interest, support it with objective and reasonable arguments, and imply you will be open to other careers with similar attributes.

 

[DrArete]

I think it is difficult to tell in general terms whether a clearly stated goal in your PS will hurt or hinder your chances. There are so many variables in this process that it would be hard to ever prove or disprove.

What CAN be said in general is that every school is different. What might hurt your application for one school may put you at the top of the pile at another - without exaggeration. OP should make a decision that s/he is comfortable with and run with it - perhaps with consideration to the schools they intend to apply to if they are known at this point.

However, an alternative to citing a concrete career goal is to talk more about the career/lifestyle you wish to lead with your degree. There are so many different ways to define your career without calling out an exact career. For example, are you interested in private practice, VA work, academic medicine? Research? Urban? Suburban? Rural? Public Health? Out-patient? clinic? Hospital? Primary, Secondary, Tertiary care (or even Quaternary care - yes it exists!)?

Talking in these general terms may also be useful if you do not have direct experience in the area you would like to end up in. It will be easier to 'cast' your volunteer and other experiences to support general career goals.

You can also talk in slightly less general terms like Pediatric vs. Adult care. Surgical vs. Interventional vs. Medicine.

Of course, you hopefully have some experiences that you can use to support these goals.

Furthermore, if you are still inclined to state a particular career path do not say it with sophomoric certainty:

NOT SO GOOD: "I want to be an interventional cardiologist."

BETTER: "I am interested in pediatric palliative and hospice care because I want to make an immediate impact in the lives of terminal children and their families during end-of-life decisions. [Going on to explain your experiences that lead you to this deicison]..."

This latter approach lets you demonstrate your interest, support it with objective and reasonable arguments, and imply you will be open to other careers with similar attributes.

I know that someone has to do that job, but thats probably the only specialty that could meet or exceed geriatrics in terms of being incredibly depressing.

I have a thick skin, but deciding how much morphine to give a little kid day in and day out, month after month, year after year...I think that would get to me.

At this point I want to be a surgeon. Give me some meat to cut.

 

[dw2158]

i openly talked about my interest in primary care/peds in my PS. i think it worked out pretty well for me, as my interviewers all asked me about the experiences that made me decide that.

 

[flip26]

Expressing interest in primary care on your PS is not a bad thing. It may hurt you at the research intensive schools (the Top 10 or so), but I assume you are not applying to them anyway.

Sincerity matters.

 

[dw2158]

Expressing interest in primary care on your PS is not a bad thing. It may hurt you at the research intensive schools, but I assume you are not applying to them anyway.

my interviewers at research-y schools seemed to be quite interested in my thoughts on primary care, actually... and i have an interesting and depressing anecdote from a revisit to back this up: one person on a student panel at a research-heavy school said that primary care is like taking out the garbage-- everyone agrees it needs to be done but no one wants to do it. he said that the administration at this school is super supportive when you say you're interested, and they think primary care is incredibly important and valuable, but they don't want to do it themselves.

 

[vc7777]

Primary care and research are NOT mutually exclusive. Research is performed - and in some cases needed desperately - in every aspect of medicine. For example, there is a need for research in seemingly 'unresearchy' fields like medical education.

The keynote address at Cleveland Clinic's Second Look was by an excellent and highly regarded Family Medicine physician and researcher at the clinic.

Which is to say, if the OP states primary care as their objective in their PS, I do not think that necessarily will exclude them from being competitive at a more research-focused school.

 

[flip26]

my interviewers at research-y schools seemed to be quite interested in my thoughts on primary care, actually... and i have an interesting and depressing anecdote from a revisit to back this up: one person on a student panel at a research-heavy school said that primary care is like taking out the garbage-- everyone agrees it needs to be done but no one wants to do it. he said that the administration at this school is super supportive when you say you're interested, and they think primary care is incredibly important and valuable, but they don't want to do it themselves.

My PS was primary care oriented, too, and I am choosing between 2 'research-y' schools, too. Like I said in that post, it "may" hurt an applicant to have a PS that - and I am elaborating here - touts an interest in primary care, but it doesn't also indicate a background or interest in research, too.

I have a research background, too - public health research - and I have indicated to schools that I hope to continue to do research in med school. But I do think that my lack of hard or basic science research held me back at the Top 20 schools, though.

Anecdote - at one interview at a research school, the interviewer was very interested in my shadowing of a palliative care doc, and my views on that area of medicine.

Primary care and research are NOT mutually exclusive. Research is performed - and in some cases needed desperately - in every aspect of medicine.

The keynote address at Cleveland Clinic's Second Look was by an excellent and highly regarded Family Medicine physician and researcher at the clinic.

Read above - I think I covered it. In no way am I denigrating primary care, or the role of research in this area of medicine.

Having said that, I am wide open to all areas of medicine and have no idea what will strike my fancy in a few years, and I also expressed this in my PS.

 

[vc7777]

Thanks for the clarification, Flip. No, I know you are not being negative re: primary care. I wasn't even responding directly to you or dw either. It was more of a general response to what dw's post illustrated - a general assumed mutual exclusivity among research and primary care (among premeds, students, and even faculty).

But I do think that my lack of hard or basic science research held me back at the Top 20 schools, though.

Right, but the issue at hand wasn't having research, it was stating an interest in primary care. Having said that, I can't argue for or against your case because I don't know the details. Let's agree to disagree.

Staying on the thread topic: My point is simply that if the OP states an interest in primary care, that alone will NOT necessarily be a disadvantage at research focused schools. At the risk of sounding obvious: If the OP isn't interested in research, whether in primary care or otherwise, this WILL affect their chances at said schools.

 

[flip26]

Thanks for the clarification, Flip. No, I know you are not being negative re: primary care. I wasn't even responding directly to you or dw either. It was more of a general response to what dw's post illustrated - a general assumed mutual exclusivity among research and primary care (among premeds, students, and even faculty).



Right, but the issue at hand wasn't having research, it was stating an interest in primary care. Having said that, I can't argue for or against your case because I don't know the details. Let's agree to disagree.

Staying on the thread topic: My point is simply that if the OP states an interest in primary care, that alone will NOT necessarily be a disadvantage at research focused schools. At the risk of sounding obvious: If the OP isn't interested in research, whether in primary care or otherwise, this WILL affect their chances at said schools.

I think that is pretty much what I said, only in different words?

The OP said nothing about research, or applying to research schools. I only brought it up because I think that a goal of primary care, without a research background or desire, is a red flag to the top research schools.

If the OP has no plans to apply to a top research school, and is focused on schools noted for primary care, his PS will probably work just fine. If he has a research background and the desire to continue in research, then he may actually get interviews at research oriented schools, too.

In general, I believe that your PS should demonstrate the genesis of your interests in medicine, and show what you have done to both prepare for and to test that interest. At the same time, I would not recommend painting yourself into a corner with a narrowly defined medical career goal (dermatologist, etc).

 

[SweetRain]

Thank you all for the wonerful and such helpful advice!

In response to some of the replies, I have actually been working with a same PI for two years, working towards a publication.

I just wanted to know if it was important to keep an open mind or if it is okay to hint at my future goals. You all have been very helpful. Thank you so much 😀

 

[surftheiop]

How do you all think talking about an interest in a field like pediatrics which might be viewed as a "naive rainbows/puppies dream" would be looked at by adcoms?

I have volunteered in a children's hospital and shadowed a bunch of pediatricians, so I do have at least some experience being around sick kids.