Personal Statement Question

[jbod34]

I know that I'm a little late on getting this done but I am having trouble deciding how to focus my personal statement. B/c it is limited to one page i can't decide what the theme should be. I know that in EM teamwork, dedication, a patient centered practice, multitasking, high energy lifestyle, personality are all vital but how do I narrow this down and still look good when I only have a page to do it?

Is the personal statement really that important anyway?

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[DrQuinn]

I know that I'm a little late on getting this done but I am having trouble deciding how to focus my personal statement. B/c it is limited to one page i can't decide what the theme should be. I know that in EM teamwork, dedication, a patient centered practice, multitasking, high energy lifestyle, personality are all vital but how do I narrow this down and still look good when I only have a page to do it?

Is the personal statement really that important anyway?

Short and sweet, bro. No type-os, make sure it doesn't say anything how you "really want to get into an anesthesia program" and doesn't have any really really bad humor or off color jokes in it. As long as its passable, its fine.

Maybe showcase a skill you have, but don't sound cocky. The PS is but a small portion of your application, and in the three years I was a resident and helped in picking applicants, rarely did the PS make a difference.

Q

 

[8744]

Since I had become thouroughly sick of writing personal statements by that time, mine was three short paragraphs and about fifteen lines long. Seriously, it's all in the CV. I bascially explained how I ended up in Family Medcine and why I wanted to switch.

Worked for me.

 

[EM_Rebuilder]

Hey, I am a MS4 and have been working on your same task. Here is what I have been told.

1.) Do not make it too long, keep it to one page. PDs and others have to read this and in all honesty remember that when you pickup something overly long, you get that initial grimace in your mind

2.) Make darn certain that there are NO mistakes (grammar) anywhere in the paper. Email it to your schools english department as they will usually go over it and suggest anything. Evidently there are often some PS's with very obvious spelling errors.

3.) Remember that a PS probably has NEVER gotten someone 'in' a program however evidently there have been some that kept people out of a program. It appears that this is one part of you application where the goal is not so much to shine as it is to just not be noticed. With that said, outline why EM and why your personality traits and such make you a good fit. Make it interesting, but do not boast and also do not point out/harp on the bad things in your application. I was also told another mistake is that some students give an overview of their application (i.e. I went to blah undergrad, with a blah GPA. Went to medical school, and got a blah on Step I... etc)


Take this for what its worth. Its simply the information that I have gathered from different sources when I questioned about the PS. Hopefully some others will give pointers here that we both can learn from as well...

Good Luck!

 

[blackbird03]

Hey guys,

When should we send our PS to ERAS? Did any of you already do it?


Thanks!

 

[bartleby]

Does the personal statement matter? Maybe. If you sound like a jerk and have a bunch of typos, you'll give the people reading your app a good laugh before they send it to the ERAS circular filing cabinet. On the other hand, if you say something interesting about yourself, you might get a few points. Most people can just hope to not hurt themselves.

 

[p53]

I know that I'm a little late on getting this done but I am having trouble deciding how to focus my personal statement. B/c it is limited to one page i can't decide what the theme should be. I know that in EM teamwork, dedication, a patient centered practice, multitasking, high energy lifestyle, personality are all vital but how do I narrow this down and still look good when I only have a page to do it?

Is the personal statement really that important anyway?

Don't forget to mention that you are "cool under pressure".

We all think of ED physicians as adrenaline junkies, however the fact is that a good ED physician has ice in his veins.