I hope to be a psychiatrist one day and I basically made mental health the central theme of my personal statement. Is it a bad idea to focus solely on mental health giving adcoms a feeling that I'm too set on a specialty already even before going to medical school?
Mentioning specialty in personal statement
- Thread starter Calikuli
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My 2 cents:
Mental health impacts all specialties and all doctors will encounter it in some way, not just psychiatry. It's good to have a central theme to your personal statement, especially if that subject is what really interests you and is what drew you to medicine. It depends on how you handle it. It's fine to focus on mental health, but you don't want to come across as "omg psychiatry or bust!" You can certainly have a specialty in mind right now, but you should be open to other possibilities you may not have considered. Have some trusted people read over your PS when you finish to make sure you don't have blinders on for psychiatry, but otherwise I think you should be fine.
Mental health impacts all specialties and all doctors will encounter it in some way, not just psychiatry. It's good to have a central theme to your personal statement, especially if that subject is what really interests you and is what drew you to medicine. It depends on how you handle it. It's fine to focus on mental health, but you don't want to come across as "omg psychiatry or bust!" You can certainly have a specialty in mind right now, but you should be open to other possibilities you may not have considered. Have some trusted people read over your PS when you finish to make sure you don't have blinders on for psychiatry, but otherwise I think you should be fine.
Since Ismet gave you the go-ahead, I will weigh in on the other side:
Even if you are careful, you will probably raise the question of "why not clinical psychology/ other mental health professions?" (You will probably get asked that in interviews, so make sure you have a solid response.) Plenty of people enter med school wanting to be psychiatrists, and plenty of them change their minds - you should not give the impression that you only want to be a doctor so that you can work in mental health, because then what happens if you change your mind?
Personally, I wouldn't do it. In my opinion, talking about specialties can be saved for interview day, if your interviewer asks. I'd rather err on the side of caution. There's nothing wrong with believing in the idea of "mens sana in corpore sano" (hey, it showed up in my PS), but that idea doesn't have to be couched in term of your interest in psychiatry.
Even if you are careful, you will probably raise the question of "why not clinical psychology/ other mental health professions?" (You will probably get asked that in interviews, so make sure you have a solid response.) Plenty of people enter med school wanting to be psychiatrists, and plenty of them change their minds - you should not give the impression that you only want to be a doctor so that you can work in mental health, because then what happens if you change your mind?
Personally, I wouldn't do it. In my opinion, talking about specialties can be saved for interview day, if your interviewer asks. I'd rather err on the side of caution. There's nothing wrong with believing in the idea of "mens sana in corpore sano" (hey, it showed up in my PS), but that idea doesn't have to be couched in term of your interest in psychiatry.
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I read on a published SDN article regarding personal statements something about writing where you see yourself in twenty years potentially. However obviously that is to tie in how you will want to apply the things you've learned someday ect ect. I mentioned in my conclusions that I see myself in a certain specialty, however that specialty does revolve around the major theme in my essay and I was told its a strong conclusion by one editor.
Bottom line I would advise to be very careful in considering WHY you might discuss that specialty, if its honestly part of the reason you want to become a doctor, then weave it in somehow. The ad com readers can quite accurately notice the authenticity of a writers true motivations to be a physician.
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The bolded statement above are important factors that should be displayed in your personal statement should you decide to discuss a specialty.
I agree with this. On my PS, I did mention specific specialties that interested me and they clearly came naturally out of the experiences that I had (and fit into the theme of my PS). I was careful, though, to make it clear that this was the direction I see myself going right now, but that it could change once I learn more about the profession.
This is generally what I've seen a lot of times on these forums as well regarding talking about a specific specialty or group of specialties in applications/interviews:
It's fine to be unsure, and it's also fine to have more specific interests, but don't come across like you are set in stone. There are probably some rare exceptions to that rule for certain candidates, but for the vast majority I think it will hold.
