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With regards to the Personal Statement for psych residency.......what generally is the accepted length?
Personal statement
- Thread starter colleezfascia
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I don't think there's a rule written in stone about length of a personal statement. I've heard 1 page is good, with a max of 2, otherwise people get bored reading it.
Mine was a tad over a page, it was "personal", and all the program director's read it (I know b/c they commented on it, and liked it). Of course, I had it proofed before submitting it by the associate dean of psych at my school, he gave me great pointers. There's probably someone at your school in the psych department that helps med students apply to residencies.
BTW, I matched to the psych program of my choice. Good luck with your statement and with applying.
Mine was a tad over a page, it was "personal", and all the program director's read it (I know b/c they commented on it, and liked it). Of course, I had it proofed before submitting it by the associate dean of psych at my school, he gave me great pointers. There's probably someone at your school in the psych department that helps med students apply to residencies.
BTW, I matched to the psych program of my choice. Good luck with your statement and with applying.
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I agree. It should be "personal." Let your creative mind work and come up with something authentic. No problem if you get it proof read by someone. Our PD actually browses various websites to get a general idea of what generic PSs are like, and then assesses applicants accordingly. A generic looking PS can be a big turn off. In general, one can easily tell if it isn't your own. I always like to start one with a personal and believable anecdote.
I think a good PS can add major positive points to your application, especially in psychiatry. So, work hard on it
.
I think a good PS can add major positive points to your application, especially in psychiatry. So, work hard on it
.
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Mmm.... Pointers:
1) Think of a child. If you can't capture the attention span of a child, why should a PD who has less attention span even care. Read it... How boring is it? Make someone else read it.. ask them how boring is it? Make a third person read it.... is it still boring? Do you drag on and on about moot things? Is the PS so scattered that you lost the reader by the third sentence or worse, after the first statement?
2) Ask a psychiatry resident / attending to edit it. I can't stress this enough. When they edit it, tell them why you said what you said and what's the point you are trying to get across. Ask them if they find it to be important in a candidate and how to state it better.
3) Sell yourself. Not too much. If you can't sell yourself, then who will? State what you became good at and how.
4) Finally, you are not sending these letters to robots. You are sending them to human beings who are actually very good at dissecting BS. Put some genuine feelings into it but dont go overboard (ie "Keep it real" a little). Remember you are applying to a field is a lot more protective of its patient population than the average specialty.
5) See #2.
1) Think of a child. If you can't capture the attention span of a child, why should a PD who has less attention span even care. Read it... How boring is it? Make someone else read it.. ask them how boring is it? Make a third person read it.... is it still boring? Do you drag on and on about moot things? Is the PS so scattered that you lost the reader by the third sentence or worse, after the first statement?
2) Ask a psychiatry resident / attending to edit it. I can't stress this enough. When they edit it, tell them why you said what you said and what's the point you are trying to get across. Ask them if they find it to be important in a candidate and how to state it better.
3) Sell yourself. Not too much. If you can't sell yourself, then who will? State what you became good at and how.
4) Finally, you are not sending these letters to robots. You are sending them to human beings who are actually very good at dissecting BS. Put some genuine feelings into it but dont go overboard (ie "Keep it real" a little). Remember you are applying to a field is a lot more protective of its patient population than the average specialty.
5) See #2.
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Posted this in the mentoring section last summer:
I've been asked for some opinions about residency personal statements, so I thought I'd post some general advice here.
I think that you want your personal statement to do three things:
1) provide a "hook" that lets the reader know that you're an interesting, thoughtful person (and which will encourage your interviewers to talk about the things which make you an interesting person, thus allowing you to shine in the interview!)
2) answer briefly and directly the question "why psychiatry?". This is probably the most important content that you need to portray. If it looks like you could submit this essay to an application in any speciality, then we are likely to doubt your commitment to treating the mentally ill.
3) provide some indication that you have a realistic expectation about psychiatry, preferably based on your clinical experience.
If you can do this concisely in three or four paragraphs, you'll be fine. Remember that it is only part of the package. It's rare that the personal statement has much to do with the decision to interview or not interview an applicant, except in the most exceptional circumstances.
Remember that this is also carries the basic expectation that the statement is written in fluent and concise English. Do hand it to some trusted readers for honest feedback before you send it out. It really will be taken by the readers at evaluation time as the only example we have of your writing skills--we will want to have an idea of how your documentation might look. Make it something that others will want to read.
I've been asked for some opinions about residency personal statements, so I thought I'd post some general advice here.
I think that you want your personal statement to do three things:
1) provide a "hook" that lets the reader know that you're an interesting, thoughtful person (and which will encourage your interviewers to talk about the things which make you an interesting person, thus allowing you to shine in the interview!)
2) answer briefly and directly the question "why psychiatry?". This is probably the most important content that you need to portray. If it looks like you could submit this essay to an application in any speciality, then we are likely to doubt your commitment to treating the mentally ill.
3) provide some indication that you have a realistic expectation about psychiatry, preferably based on your clinical experience.
If you can do this concisely in three or four paragraphs, you'll be fine. Remember that it is only part of the package. It's rare that the personal statement has much to do with the decision to interview or not interview an applicant, except in the most exceptional circumstances.
Remember that this is also carries the basic expectation that the statement is written in fluent and concise English. Do hand it to some trusted readers for honest feedback before you send it out. It really will be taken by the readers at evaluation time as the only example we have of your writing skills--we will want to have an idea of how your documentation might look. Make it something that others will want to read.
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Thank you all very much for your excellent advice.
