What if you can't become an orthopedic surgeon?
The PS is supposed to address "why medicine" not "why orthopedic surgery."
Also, I hope you're applying in the 2017-18 cycle.
wizzed101 and Cyberdyne,
I am interested in any field of medicine that allows me to care for patients in the clinic and/or operating room (Pediatric surgery, Gen surg, ENT, OB/GYN, cardiothoracic, plastics, etc) and tried to generalize to any surgery/operative medicine through my reflections in my PS; however, I can't seem to escape the fact that my first exposures to medicine and my current job point to only orthopedics. Any tips on how to point people in this direction in my statement?
If you are just now submitting your AMCAS, your are over 60 days behind everyone else and so late in the cycle to severely reduce your chances no matter how academically qualified you may be. By the time you get your secondaries completed, returned and ready for review it will be another 2-4 weeks at least. People will be getting acceptance before you ever get reviewed.
Just to fill in the gaps...
I am currently on unrestricted deferment at another school and am required to reapply again through AMCAS. Just trying to update my PS to better reflect my experiences and what has led me to want to pursue operative medicine to see if anyone else might interview me. All of my secondaries are finished, this is the final touch before I submit again. Last cycle I interviewed at some top schools that have strong connections/integration with their engineering departments - just seeing what an updated PS will give me this time around while I'm on deferment.
1) don't post your paper on SDN. Anyone can rip it off. Also a lot of identifying things here.. Privacy 101 bro.
2) the entire first half of your paper isn't even about medicine. I'm reading it like, shouldn't you be applying to a PhD program?? Definitely sound like a better PhD applicant!
3) the second of your paper is all about ortho. No one cares that you want to go to ortho. They want to know why medicine. Because the chance of you being an ortho surgeon is small.
4) your reasons for ortho/medicine is so generic. Essentially, you helped people on the periphery, and you long to have a more direct role? That's just one reason, and one dimensional. You should have multiple different experiences that support your candidacy.
Thanks for your tips!
1) It doesn't really bother me that other people might know who I am, but probably a good idea in general. Removed it and reserved for PMs.
2) What specifically made you think PhD when you read it?
3) It's about my first experiences in medicine which happens to be in ortho. But I tried to reflect generally in surgery and any operative medicine as I have shadowed many other surgical areas of medicine and love it. - how do you think I can aim this to my readers since my first experience in an operating room was ortho?
4) Any tips on how to not sound "generic"?
As a car guy, great theme! I sometimes think about being a mechanic and owning a shop.
Besides needing to add more "why medicine," you need to spend a chunk of it convincing the reader why the switch from engineer to medicine. I know you touched on it, but it really needs to be elaborated. Great read though, love working with my hands and building things too.
Thanks man. Always cool to see another car guy amidst sdn! Mechanic life is a greasy life!
I appreciate the elaboration tip. How do you think I should go about expanding? I had another PS version that walked through an entire day at work and talked about things that I see everyday that remind me about why I want to go into medicine.. maybe I should bring that version back into the picture haha.
Nobody is looking for more Ortho die-hards.
I hate that my current PS gives this vibe of only orthopedics and not any other field of operative medicine. I can't change my job or first experiences in medicine, and I tried to reflect on these experiences that have led me to surgery - in general. Any tips on how I can change this vibe?
But either way I don't understand, why all the negativity against orthopedics specifically?
