Ortho personal statement help

[datSattar]

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Hey all,

Struggling with coming up for ideas for my ortho personal statement. I don't have some crazy orthopedics related sports injury that got me interested in the field. Realized midway through third year that I want ortho. Reason i'm pursuing ortho is because all the other specialties haven't come to getting me as excited as I do about ortho. I enjoy the nature of the cases, enjoy clinic, enjoy the immediate results. I feel that I fit in pretty well with the stereotypical ortho gang (physically fit, like sports, chill). I just don't know where to start, besides "I like bones". Would greatly appreciate any input or advice!

 

[Chillbo Baggins]

Hey all,

Struggling with coming up for ideas for my ortho personal statement. I don't have some crazy orthopedics related sports injury that got me interested in the field. Realized midway through third year that I want ortho. Reason i'm pursuing ortho is because all the other specialties haven't come to getting me as excited as I do about ortho. I enjoy the nature of the cases, enjoy clinic, enjoy the immediate results. I feel that I fit in pretty well with the stereotypical ortho gang (physically fit, like sports, chill). I just don't know where to start, besides "I like bones". Would greatly appreciate any input or advice!

The good news is that the personal statement is comparatively unimportant in ortho versus other fields. You want something that fits the mold, but it'll probably never set you apart. Like you, I didn't have any experience with ortho before med school, but I just talked about how I like to build things and work with my hands, which is what drew me to the field, and then I talked about how my experiences in med school confirmed my choice. Then I talked about why I would make a good resident and what I was looking for in a program/basic career goals. I think writing this essay honestly is the most important thing, rather than trying to come up with a "unique" or convoluted story.

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

The good news is that the personal statement is comparatively unimportant in ortho versus other fields. You want something that fits the mold, but it'll probably never set you apart. Like you, I didn't have any experience with ortho before med school, but I just talked about how I like to build things and work with my hands, which is what drew me to the field, and then I talked about how my experiences in med school confirmed my choice. Then I talked about why I would make a good resident and what I was looking for in a program/basic career goals. I think writing this essay honestly is the most important thing, rather than trying to come up with a "unique" or convoluted story.

@datSattar

I agree with @Chillbo Baggins above. I was not into sports or had any kind of injury either. I would lean away from mentioning that you would “fit in with the stereotype well,” because to be honest, not all of us are sports loving jocks. In fact, you may offend some interviewers with that statement (hand surgeons ahem ahem [emoji23]), as Ortho is incredibly diverse despite the stereotype, bonded only by our love for the musculoskeletal system. For example, I am a video game playing, cosplaying, high heels wearing, sci-fi and fantasy nerd, who has never done any sports and doesn’t know anything about them, and is most decidedly not chill (as evidenced by my AMA, haha). And I am definitely not the only one. Try to focus on what you love about orthopaedics in terms of what we actually DO. You mentioned immediate results. That’s a huge thing, but most surgical specialties also get that. So why not vascular surgery, or general surgery? Say that perhaps you enjoyed biomechanics or that you are fascinated with restoration of function rather than life. Or maybe you want to operate on relatively healthy rather than sick people. You know the answers, they are in your brain, you just need to articulate them. I can teach any monkey how to operate. Try and make me understand why I would choose you in particular and how you are a good fit. Think of it a little bit like dating....There is someone out there for everyone, but just because you are a great guy doesn’t mean you would work with any girl. Why would you fit the goals of this profession specifically?


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[datSattar]

@Chillbo Baggins @OrthoTraumaMD

Thanks for the advice! Definitely gives me some direction

 

[readdoc]

Also a heads up on this... start thinking about your secondary personal statements. A few years ago when I applied, a number of places also asked for a secondary personal statement that was either more in depth or was particular to that program.

 

[VincentAdultman]

What’s all this about sportsball?