PERSONAL STATEMENT!! ( health problems) HELP!!

[UrSexyLatinDr]

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Ok, I am asking this question for a friend who will be applying next year: She started having some medical problems first semester of her sophomore year and because of this, she didnt do well in finals that semester. She went back to school in the spring, took a medical leave of absence and left school after a few weeks... had brain surgery( she had a tumor) in the summer and took physics. it made her really tired,had constant headaches, and difficulty concentrating. After that, she went back to school in the fall, had a bit of a hard time adjusting... then got a little sick again in the spring (hormone problems), she is still dealing with that now. So for all of this her grades suffer and didnt do as well ash she could if she was in good health. So her question is, should she write her Personal Statement on how being sick, seeing medicine from the perspective of a very sick patient, having brain surgery? Or do you guys think this will affect somehow that might cause her not to get maybe an interview? I heard that some people who had health problems such as depression or other problems had difficulty getting an interview since adcoms thought they could get ill again and have problems in med school. What do you guys think? Any Advice?

Thanks a bunch! 😀

Eduardo

 

[racergirl]

Your friend should definitely write about her experiences in her personal statement, but she needs to frame it in the right way. She should not say "My grades are bad because I had a brain tumor"; but rather talk about what the experience taught her. What it's like to be seriously ill, her understanding of the struggles of patients to maintain a normal life while fighting an illness; the uncertainty and fear, etc. Her personal experience will make it easier for her to empathize with future patients, and that can only make her a better physician.

She should present her experience as a strength. Of course she can mention that being ill made college tougher, but that can be done in one sentence--the rest of the statement should only be positive. Adcomms will be able to connect the dots from there.

By the way, I hope your friend is doing better now...

 

[oldman]

It's fine to write about any of these topics. you just have to show how it has helped you (or your friend) become a better person more ready for med school.

i wrote about something along this lines and showed how it was a critical incident that has driven me into the arms of medicine.

 

[UrSexyLatinDr]

Thanks a lot for! ANyone elsE? 😀

Eduardo

 

[Sweet Tea]

I think she should definetly write about these experiences as long as she writes from a "lessons learned" perspective and not as an excuse about why her grades weren't so hot. I can imagine that being sick like that has given her a unique exposure to medicine that inspired her to become a doctor, or deepened a previous interest in medicine.

Wish her luck and I hope she's doing better!

 

[UrSexyLatinDr]

THANKS!!!! 😀

YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME

Eduardo

 

[deva]

I think she should write about it. Like the others said, she needs to put it in a positive light. In my personal essay, I wrote about my experiences with my mother's illness - emphasizing how it will make me a better doctor, not on how it made my life difficult. The admissions committees aren't stupid; if you let them know about some traumatic experiences, they will automatically assume that life was difficult during those periods and may forgive bad grades.

I received compliments on my essay from interviewers, and several interviewers expressed sympathy.

 

[Rhiana]

DEFINITLY include it. I speak from experience. I hane severe Endometriosis with complications. I have had seven(yes seven) surgeries in five years all while I was doing school. I struggled with the issue of whether to put this in. Here's my tips. Give brief details and discuss how the experience has helped you grow as a person and how it will help you see medicine from the patience perspective. If this person has any questions feel free to email me.

 

[vyc]

interesting question.

i would actually like to go AGAINST the mainstream of thought here and say it might be better for her to talk about something else.

why?

bc like someone mentioned, these health struggles can seem like a strength bc they were challenges which she have survived... but it may very well put doubts in the minds of admissions committee members.

i have a friend with congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension. i.e. she's REALLY sick. the premed committee head and her personal premed adviser both told her to NOT mention these in her essay bc how are the med schools going to know that she can handle med school?

she admitted her grades dropped... so how will she guarantee that med school will be better? doable, even?

 

[paean]

She will need to mention it (I think it it better to put it in the disadvantaged status than personal statement), but absolutely find other things to focus on in her statements. As a applicant with previous health issues, it was always a negative issue when it was brought up. Having lots of other things to talk about in interviews was really helpful. Every school where it became a topic of conversation turned me down (or on the hopeless part of the waitlist). Fair or not, if the ad comm focuses on the idea you have any reason that you will have more problems than usual in school, you won't get in.