Personal Statement: Bad to Mention Specialty Preference?

[WhiteSaille]

I've been reading so many threads about personal statements as I polish mine up for submission that it's hard to remember where I read any particular advice... but I remember someone on here saying that it would be a turnoff to adcoms if I come across as committed to a particular specialty in my PS.

In the PS I wrote for my university's health sciences committee, I spent a considerable amount of time discussing my mother's mental illness and how it motivated me to want to become a psychiatrist. This also allowed me to segue into explaining why I took several years off from college (caring for toddler siblings that my mom was unable to care for). My advisor and the committee thought it was a strong statement. I don't want to use this situation for my "official" PS if it's going to hurt me, but it's being honest. Unlike most people who go into medical school without having a strong specialty preference, I would not be attending medical school if psychiatry and/or neurology were not available specialties.

Simply put, I want to advance understanding of how the brain contributes to our concept of mind, and medicine is the path that will allow me to do that. Would stating this desire on a PS be a bad thing?

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[NickNaylor]

I would be wary of explicitly stating "I would not be attending medical school if psychiatry and/or neurology were not available specialties."

 

[latrala2300]

I've been reading so many threads about personal statements as I polish mine up for submission that it's hard to remember where I read any particular advice... but I remember someone on here saying that it would be a turnoff to adcoms if I come across as committed to a particular specialty in my PS.

In the PS I wrote for my university's health sciences committee, I spent a considerable amount of time discussing my mother's mental illness and how it motivated me to want to become a psychiatrist. This also allowed me to segue into explaining why I took several years off from college (caring for toddler siblings that my mom was unable to care for). My advisor and the committee thought it was a strong statement. I don't want to use this situation for my "official" PS if it's going to hurt me, but it's being honest. Unlike most people who go into medical school without having a strong specialty preference, I would not be attending medical school if psychiatry and/or neurology were not available specialties.

Simply put, I want to advance understanding of how the brain contributes to our concept of mind, and medicine is the path that will allow me to do that. Would stating this desire on a PS be a bad thing?

There is so little space on the PS that I'm not sure discussing specialties is the most optimal use of prized real estate.

 

[WhiteSaille]

I would be wary of explicitly stating "I would not be attending medical school if psychiatry and/or neurology were not available specialties."

No, no... I'd never, ever say that. Give me at least a little credit for common sense.

The point of mentioning the specialty choice in the PS is to tie everything together... to simultaneously answer the question "why medicine?" while also explaining the significant amount of time (five years) that I spent away from school and not holding down a "real" job... my job was caring for two kids that were under 3 at the start of that time, and also caring for my ill mother.

I wasn't planning on going into a long discussion of specialty choice, but at least mentioning it is necessary for me to honestly answer the question, "why medicine?" I just want to make sure that this mention won't hurt me.

 

[loveoforganic]

I indirectly mentioned 3 specialties I was in (psychiatry being one of them), tying them in to a common theme answering why medicine, and got either 1 or 2 compliments out of 3 interveiwers on my ps. So it's definitely possible. The themes I addressed were specific to type of care and patient base though, rather than day to day doings of the specialists. There are other MH/MI fields though, so I'm not sure I'd bring it up if you can't do it in a way that doesn't address, say, why not lcsw/psyd

 

[WhiteSaille]

There are other MH/MI fields though, so I'm not sure I'd bring it up if you can't do it in a way that doesn't address, say, why not lcsw/psyd

I actually did this in my health science committee PS... tied it in to a fascinating neuroscience/psychopathology course I took last semester. The course was listed as psych, but the prof is former med school neuroscience faculty. Most of the students were totally lost because they were expecting an easy "soft science" class; it was one of the hardest courses I've ever taken (harder than orgo, if you can believe it!) but definitely the most rewarding.

Basically, I stated that taking that course confirmed for me that medicine was the right path, because psychology as a field tends to focus less on the neurophysiological and neurochemical bases of behavior and more on its social/cultural origins. I strongly believe that the former approach is the correct one, and only through the holistic understanding of the human brain and body gained through a medical education can I hope to fully comprehend how both interact to form the mind and behavior.