Personal Statement as a Paramedic

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Doctor_Beez

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Hello all, I've been a lurker here for a while now but this is my first post.

I've been drafting my personal statement letter for some time and I've hit a wall. A little background information is necessary before I go further. I've had a career in emergency medical services for 6 years now, 5 of which as a Paramedic. I had a patient encounter that really acted as my kick in the pants to get into medical school.

My original PS highlighted a situation when a 40 year old patient of mine had a sudden arrest, was stabilized pre-hospital, and then essentially killed in a rural ED when the receiving physician panicked and ripped an external pacemaker off of the patients chest before having any of their own equipment prepared.

This was a defining moment in my career, but I'm worried that implying an MD made a fatal mistake might be seen as arrogance. I have plenty of other contacts that were important to choosing this path, but none as close to the heart.

Thoughts?

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Well, I would use another story. I wouldn't call a patient who is being externally paced as "stable". To imply that physician "killed" what seems to be a patient in an extremely precarious position wouldnt be something I would do.

Removing MD from the equation, I try hard not to talk poorly of/insinuate things of people from any profession. Just my thoughts (5+ years ICU RN).

For my personal statement my structure was something like: mention why nursing first (short emphasis), how my experience in healthcare has matured my perception (larger emphasis-show I am not naive thinking being a physician is golden-reality) and why I want to be a physician (elaborate heavily on why). Also i placed some thoughts about my best characteristics and how they are compatible with the profession.

My intro was an anecdote I experienced. Mostly reflection on a situation that further reinforced my decision to expand my scope of practice.


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Thanks @FCMike11. You're absolutely right, paced does not equal stable. This was a pt whose case resulted in internal reviews, lawyers and medical directors meeting, and a large file to prepare for a malpractice case if the family ever finds out. It's definitely an attention getter and my PS was designed to snap the reader around and keep them interested, however, the negative content could be seen as accusatory or something.

Thank you for your input. I may just leave an anecdotal encounter out altogether for the sake of continuity.
 
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Strongly seconding @FCMike11 , as someone who's not in the medical field yet it's probably best to stay away from using negative comments on a physician as the base for your PS. I also used two patient stories in my PS (I'm an RN and AEMT), mostly to help illustrate how much working in patient care has affected my personal growth -- but how it also lit the fire of medical school. It's fine to do, just keep it about you rather than make it a critique of someone else. I'm happy to let you read mine if you like, just PM if so.
 
As another 12 year EMS guy applying this year, I can say that I used my experience as a paramedic to augment my desire to pursue medicine and why I wanted to make the switch. I would recommend not using that story, try to emphasize the over all experience as a paramedic, how it helped shape your desire to pursue medicine etc, not as the focal point.
 
OMS-3 Here. I'd stay away from that particular anecdote. I talked about my ED clinicals in Medic school piquing my interest and my 1 code save cementing it for me. @EParker37 has some good advice. Good Luck!
 
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