Personal Statement reading: pathology specific

[camccormick]

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[piii]

I can already tell you right now that if your personal statement is focused on a specialty, it's going to be bad.

 

[DokterMom]

I can already tell you right now that if your personal statement is focused on a specialty, it's going to be bad.

That's not 100% true across the board, but seems to be 90+% true, and probably most true for pathology since it's generally regarded as a haven for the socially awkward who don't want any patient interaction. Of all the specialties you could choose, that one would probably be most likely to hinder your chances for acceptance.

You can describe your experiences with pathology and pathologists, and what you found fascinating about the field, but definitely express an interest in other fields.

 

[pms_testosterone]

Hey @DokterMom , what do you suggest doing if my personal story/reason for wanting to go into medicine doesn't really make sense unless I say which specialty?

@camccormick I've no qualifications, but can look at your statement and share my general impressions. PM me.

 

[caffeinemia]

Unless you were a pathologist in the old country, youre perspective and even interest in a field would only be laughed or seen with a very skeptical eye by those who have been doing it for anywhere between 1-50 years. Remember, you're about 5 years out from any real experience in the field.

As someone who advises on these statements for compensation, I've staked my reputation on pushing people away from going all in on a speciality in their personal statement. It really isn't the point of the statement...

What about your personal motivations and characteristics, you diverse clinical and research exepriences, insights into why you are pursuing this path. If the frozen section is a metaphorical explantation for all this... then sure, but even then, it should just be a figurative device and not actually a point of discussion. Guess what I'm saying is that you're going to end up detracting from an exploration of your qualities by talking about a specialty.

 

[DokterMom]

Hey @DokterMom , what do you suggest doing if my personal story/reason for wanting to go into medicine doesn't really make sense unless I say which specialty?

@camccormick I've no qualifications, but can look at your statement and share my general impressions. PM me.

You can certainly say that your exposure to a particular field triggered your interest in medicine and that you could see yourself in that specialty some day. But do express more general interest and definitely have an open mind.