Personal statement ideas

[Mountain lawyer]

I am currently thinking about what to write for my personal statement. I am a practicing family law attorney and wanted to write about the "comorbidity" of legal issues and medical problems that my clients face. I represent a large number of indigent clients in a rural part of NC. My clients have myriad medical issues, have to balance coming to court and/or going to jail with making doctors appointments and consistently taking medication. It was because of this that I wanted to go into medicine, so I could best help people, because I feel that I cannot do more legally.




I'm wondering if I could get feed back about that theme for the statement.

Thank you in advance.

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[aalamruad]

I am currently thinking about what to write for my personal statement. I am a practicing family law attorney and wanted to write about the "comorbidity" of legal issues and medical problems that my clients face. I represent a large number of indigent clients in a rural part of NC. My clients have myriad medical issues, have to balance coming to court and/or going to jail with making doctors appointments and consistently taking medication. It was because of this that I wanted to go into medicine so I could best advocate for my clients/patients, especially the poor and underprivileged that I legally represent.

I'm wondering if I could get feed back about that theme for the statement.

Thank you in advance.

Just to clarify, you plan on continuing to practice law after med school/residency?

 

[Mountain lawyer]

Just to clarify, you plan on continuing to practice law after med school/residency?

I'm planning on always keeping my law license active, so I'll always have the option. I honestly want to be able to practice law for free for people who cannot afford a family law attorney.

 

[aalamruad]

I'm planning on always keeping my law license active, so I'll always have the option. I honestly want to be able to practice law for free for people who cannot afford a family law attorney.

That's wonderful, but I worry it may be off putting to adcoms; they want to accept future doctors, and probably don't want to be used as a tool to boost someone's law practice. The adcoms on this site can correct me if I'm wrong, though.

 

[Mountain lawyer]

I'm not sure that practicing law for free boosts anyone's law practice.

 

[Endoxifen]

I'm a premed, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. I think you could make a very compelling ps, but you need to be clear that your focus is medicine, not law. If you want to use your legal experience to, as you say, advocate for your patients, then that could be wonderful. However, if you plan on using your MD to boost your legal practice, that would be grounds for an immediate rejection.

 

[aalamruad]

I'm not sure that practicing law for free boosts anyone's law practice.

I'm just saying it might be hard to convince adcoms that your goal isn't to boost your law practice, even if that's genuinely not what you're trying to do

 

[andrek82]

I am currently thinking about what to write for my personal statement. I am a practicing family law attorney and wanted to write about the "comorbidity" of legal issues and medical problems that my clients face. I represent a large number of indigent clients in a rural part of NC. My clients have myriad medical issues, have to balance coming to court and/or going to jail with making doctors appointments and consistently taking medication. It was because of this that I wanted to go into medicine so I could best advocate for my clients/patients, especially the poor and underprivileged that I legally represent.

I'm wondering if I could get feed back about that theme for the statement.

Thank you in advance.

I would try to post in the Non-trad section as well, but as someone who also had a career prior to med school, the key to a good nontrad application is a compelling reason for the switch. I see the beginnings of your PS right here and I think it will be good. The key point is, what are you trying to accomplish with medicine that you could not accomplish with family law? In my own case, I worked in pharma/biotech and wanted the personal connection to health that I was missing in my bench research.

 

[Mountain lawyer]

Thank you, that is incredibly helpful.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I would try to post in the Non-trad section as well, but as someone who also had a career prior to med school, the key to a good nontrad application is a compelling reason for the switch. I see the beginnings of your PS right here and I think it will be good. The key point is, what are you trying to accomplish with medicine that you could not accomplish with family law? In my own case, I worked in pharma/biotech and wanted the personal connection to health that I was missing in my bench research.

This. If you come across as an applicant who wants to be a better attorney by getting a medical degree, you probably won't have much luck. You have to give them a compelling reason for law to medicine.

I'm going to tag @Law2Doc here to see if he has any advice for you.

 

[Mountain lawyer]

Exactly, I completely agree. I plan to keep my law license active because it's a very valuable tool, but I plan on practicing medicine. The reason for the switch is that I found in 99% of my clients, their problems stemmed from having poor health and horrendous health issues, once their health was in order the entirety of their lives seemed to improve.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Nah, thats really a stretch. The amount of time, effort and money that goes into medical school and residency, makes it an unlikely stepping stone to boost a law practice.

As for the PS, I would use your experience in helping those in law leading wanting to help in a different level.

He doesn't have to apply for residency. He wouldn't be the first to get an MD and do something else with it (not saying that's what OP wants). Is it really a stretch to think he could be trying to do the second part of an MD/JD (although I guess it would be a JD/MD in this case)?

 

[Mountain lawyer]

He doesn't have to apply for residency. He wouldn't be the first to get an MD and do something else with it (not saying that's what OP wants). Is it really a stretch to think he could be trying to do the second part of an MD/JD (although I guess it would be a JD/MD in this case)?

I'm a female. Thank you.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I'm a female. Thank you.

No snark required. "He" has been the standard pronoun in English when the gender is unknown for a long time.

Edit: I know "they" has become pretty popular now. I sometimes use it, but it still seems weird to me to use a plural pronoun to address a single person.

 

[Mountain lawyer]

Nah, thats really a stretch. The amount of time, effort and money that goes into medical school and residency, makes it an unlikely stepping stone to boost a law practice.

As for the PS, I would use your experience in helping those in law leading wanting to help in a different level.

Thank you, I think people were misunderstanding what I wrote. I'm a practicing attorney who faces challenges every day with people who are indigent, under represented, poor, dying of AIDS, it is working with those people and helping those people, that is the reason why want to go into medicine. I'm not trying to bolster my law practice, I am simply trying to learn a new technique to help ALL people because I have done everything I can legally. At the end of the day they are still left with myriad health issues, and that is the reason I wanted to go into medicine, to continue to help the totality of the person.

 

[Mountain lawyer]

No snark required. "He" has been the standard pronoun in English when the gender is unknown for a long time.

Edit: I know "they" has become pretty popular now. I sometimes use it, but it still seems weird to me to use a plural pronoun to address a single person.

Snark? I simply said I was a female. Then said thank you. I'm going to politely and humbly ask you to stop posting on this thread, your advice is not helpful and not wanted.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Thank you, I think people were misunderstanding what I wrote. I'm a practicing attorney who faces challenges every day with people who are indigent, under represented, poor, dying of AIDS, it is working with those people and helping those people, that is the reason why want to go into medicine. I'm not trying to bolster my law practice, I am simply trying to learn a new technique to help ALL people because I have done everything I can legally. At the end of the day they are still left with myriad health issues, and that is the reason I wanted to go into medicine, to continue to help the totality of the person.

No one is misunderstanding you. We are saying that you have to convince adcoms that you are not just trying to get an MD to boost your law practice, i.e., that you will finish your MD and dip out. As I said, I know that's not your plan, but people do stuff like that. Just make it clear that you want to practice medicine, and you should be fine.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Snark? I simply said I was a female. Then said thank you. I'm going to politely and humbly ask you to stop posting on this thread, your advice is not helpful and not wanted.

I apologize. I thought the "thank you" was snark for using a male pronoun. Cruise SDN, and you'll see why lol.

As for my advice, I'm not going to waste my time helping someone that doesn't want it. If you don't think that non-trad career changers have to convince adcoms that they are making a permanent switch to medicine, you are mistaken. Go to the non-trad forum. I am a non-trad career changer myself.

 

[Goro]

Counselor, I've read through this thread several times and am still having trouble trying to figure out exactly why you want to become a doctor. Can you enlighten? And specifically, what do you hope to accomplish with your medical degree?

I am currently thinking about what to write for my personal statement. I am a practicing family law attorney and wanted to write about the "comorbidity" of legal issues and medical problems that my clients face. I represent a large number of indigent clients in a rural part of NC. My clients have myriad medical issues, have to balance coming to court and/or going to jail with making doctors appointments and consistently taking medication. It was because of this that I wanted to go into medicine, so I could best help people, because I feel that I cannot do more legally.




I'm wondering if I could get feed back about that theme for the statement.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Mountain lawyer]

Counselor, I've read through this thread several times and am still having trouble trying to figure out exactly why you want to become a doctor. Can you enlighten? And specifically, what do you hope to accomplish with your medical degree?

After I started practicing law I quickly realized that I did not have the passion for being a trial attorney. I found myself very intrigued by the medical issues my clients had, reading their medical histories in an attempt to be prepared for court, and researching their medical problems so that I could advocate better for them. It occurred to me that I enjoyed learning about medicine and why things occur in the body rather than being a lawyer. I have JD and a LLM, I spent years in higher education, but I don't have the passion to be a lawyer. So rather than remain in a profession where I don't have the genuine passion and long-term vision, I want to pursue a career that challenges me and allows me to help people, for me that is medicine.

 

[Goro]

There's your PS!!!!!!!!!!

After I started practicing law I quickly realized that I did not have the passion for being a trial attorney. I found myself very intrigued by the medical issues my clients had, reading their medical histories in an attempt to be prepared for court, and researching their medical problems so that I could advocate better for them. It occurred to me that I enjoyed learning about medicine and why things occur in the body rather than being a lawyer. I have JD and a LLM, I spent years in higher education, but I don't have the passion to be a lawyer. So rather than remain in a profession where I don't have the genuine passion and long-term vision, I want to pursue a career that challenges me and allows me to help people, for me that is medicine.

 

[Mountain lawyer]

There's your PS!!!!!!!!!!

I have to admit, I thought about what you asked for several hours. And after I read my response to you I had the same feeling, that's my personal statement. Thank you so much for your help, I sincerely appreciate it.

 

[Goro]

Every now and then I justify my existence

I have to admit, I thought about what you asked for several hours. And after I read my response to you I had the same feeling, that's my personal statement. Thank you so much for your help, I sincerely appreciate it.

 

[Mednight]

I actually thought this is was a law student on SDN asking for advice that doesn't have anything to do with SDN lol.