personal statements for the match

[peacefuljourney]

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Hi,

Can anyone share ideas about what should/should not be included here?

i.e. should we explicitly mention the 'strikes' against us - age, kids etc.? I mean, should they be addressed and twisted into a strength or just left alone?

I guess I have all the strikes:

- 38 yrs. old
- img (Europe)
- 4 kids
- MBA (maybe seen as irrelevant degree - not focused...), should I add
female

Here's the truth. I come from a consulting background - much of it healthcare related. Extensive overseas experience. 2 languages (French, Slovak). My husband's dream was meds so we moved to Europe for him. (My turn to follow). I refused to participate in the corruption that is endemic here so after 1 year at a major firm I quit and didn't want to sit at home with kids for 6 years, or get divorced. I love to study and decided to do meds as well.

I'm top of my class and love it. Still deciding whether I will go clinical upon return or stay business...

So, what should go in the personal statement? Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thx in advance. S-

 

[relentless11]

Hi,

Can anyone share ideas about what should/should not be included here?

i.e. should we explicitly mention the 'strikes' against us - age, kids etc.? I mean, should they be addressed and twisted into a strength or just left alone?

I guess I have all the strikes:

- 38 yrs. old
- img (Europe)
- 4 kids
- MBA (maybe seen as irrelevant degree - not focused...), should I add
female

Here's the truth. I come from a consulting background - much of it healthcare related. Extensive overseas experience. 2 languages (French, Slovak). My husband's dream was meds so we moved to Europe for him. (My turn to follow). I refused to participate in the corruption that is endemic here so after 1 year at a major firm I quit and didn't want to sit at home with kids for 6 years, or get divorced. I love to study and decided to do meds as well.

I'm top of my class and love it. Still deciding whether I will go clinical upon return or stay business...

So, what should go in the personal statement? Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thx in advance. S-

Is this for med school? Or is this to match for a residency? If its the latter then maybe you should check out that relevant forum. If its for the former, then I don't see how having kids or an MBA degree as being strikes against you. Are you trying to apply to a European school or a US school? I'm not too clear on that.

Either way you should be very clear and concise with what you are trying to get at assuming this personal statement will be written in english. Its very difficult to clearly understand this post and I'm afraid that this carries over into your personal statement. Lack of clarity and cohesiveness WILL hurt you. Please clarify your post so we can help!🙂

 

[peacefuljourney]

hi,

thx for your feedback. sorry. i thought the title was clear enough... it's for the match for a residency position in the states. i didn't post in the match forum as i was looking for non-trad input. but, if you think i'd get more comprehensive input there then i can move my request.

i was looking for comments like:
you should deal with your strikes and turn them into strength OR you should ignore them
you should cite your reason for doing meds
you should list how your strengths will be assets for the specialty you are seeking, the specific program etc.
you should include a moving, cathartic clinical experience etc.

that type of thing... i'm just looking for ideas and input. i know many people here have both advisors and experience and was hoping some folks could give me some ideas...

and yes, the statement will be in english. thx again. s-

 

[njbmd]

Moving to the General Residency Forum for comment. People can follow this thread there.

 

[DoctorPhud]

I guess I have all the strikes:

- 38 yrs. old
- img (Europe)
- 4 kids
- MBA (maybe seen as irrelevant degree - not focused...), should I add
female

First, I think your age, children, gender and past experience are not necessarily strikes against you! Being an IMG is admittedly a real handicap, I'm not sure the others are.

Here's the truth. I come from a consulting background - much of it healthcare related. Extensive overseas experience. 2 languages (French, Slovak). My husband's dream was meds so we moved to Europe for him. (My turn to follow). I refused to participate in the corruption that is endemic here so after 1 year at a major firm I quit and didn't want to sit at home with kids for 6 years, or get divorced. I love to study and decided to do meds as well.

I'm top of my class and love it. Still deciding whether I will go clinical upon return or stay business...

I think, in your personal statement, you should simply tell the truth. Say exactly that. Tell your story so the reader can get a picture of who you are that is more than just facts and data.

Make sure the statement describes what you want.

- Although you are currently undecided about whether you want residency or business, you obviously need to say that you want residency.

- You also need to tailor the essay to address the specific kind of residency you want. You need a specialty choice (admittedly, this is flexible and if you apply to more than one, you probably need more than one essay, one for each specialty) and explanations for why that specialty interests you. You probably also want to address, directly or indirectly, what kind of residency (academic, community, large, small, geographic location if applicable) you want.

- You may, if you want, adjust your essay and submit a slightly different version to different programs (in order to make it sound like theirs is the perfect match for you).

Consider the values you want to show them you have. In general, in internal medicine, pediatrics and family medicine (especially primary care) they are very interested in people who highly value the doctor-patient relationship and they appreciated hearing a good story. The values will be slightly different in different specialties, so make sure you can demonstrate a good understanding of what those values might be.

 

[tiredmom]

Some good advice I got about personal statements:
- You are selling yourself/explaining why you'll be a good resident in their program.
- You may need to address problems you've had - focusing on what you've learned from them - like failing an exam or such. Don't belabor the point though. You don't want them to finish the essay thinking about how bad you are.
Our professor gave a decent outline format for a personal statement (each # is a paragraph):
1. How you came to medicine - very important as a non-trad
2. How medical school has gone
3. Why you want to do _________ specialty. What characteristics do you have that will make you a good _________ physician?
4. What are your goals for the future? What are you looking for in a residency program?
5. What hobbies/activities/interests do you have? (This shows you as a real person who someone can connect with).

Additional things: A story at the beginning can be really catching, but write about something unexpected... nearly every future ob/gyn writes about their first delivery, nearly every future pediatrician writes about their pediatrician growing up.

I think you should definately discuss why you are in school overseas, since it doesn't sound like you tried to go to med school in the states. I may be wrong, but the general assumption for an American to go to a foreign med school is that they couldn't get in in the states, no matter how generalizing it is... so be sure to explain that in your statement. That likely will bring in the husband and kids into the statement by default. I don't think your age has a bearing, but I wouldn't spell it out. I would talk about your business experience in how it will help you as a physician (business skills, people skills, management skills, esp time management and delegating responsibilities).

Personally - my kids were a big part about my path to medicine, so they and my husband were purposefully mentioned in my statement. Just be aware that if you put it in there, they can bring it up... but that only helped me. Every interview I had, there was someone offering advice about local schools, local companies for my husband, or offering to connect me with someone they know who is somehow associated with the particular special needs my son has. It really made a good impression on me that they were willing to go the extra distance in connecting me with someone they know.

Good luck!

 

[Ultra7]

We were specifically told by our dean NOT to use the personal statement as an opportunity to explain weaknesses. Ignore them, but have an explanation for any weakness ready in case you are asked in the interview. If you don't address them, they might not be noticed.
Other topics to avoid include family planning issues, religion, and basically anything that might be somewhat controversial or concerning. There might be some exceptions; maybe it's OK to talk about your kids if they inspired you to go into pediatrics. But generally it is my understanding that the personal statement should be much blander than what is expected for applying to undergraduate or medical school.
Focus on why you chose that specialty and why it is a good fit for you.
If you're applying to multiple specialties, you REALLY REALLY NEED TO write a separate PS for each. Programs can't see any PS except the one you assign to them. They can't even tell if you have more than one PS.
Good luck!

 

[madtowngirl]

Its about selling yourself:

This is what I want to do and why.
This is why I'd be the greatest _____ resident ever. Pick a couple of cornerstone physician characteristics (confidence, humanity, forthrightness, respectfulness, thoroughness, empathy, trustworthiness, altruism, humility) and expound on why you're the ideal candidate (give examples).

I wouldn't bring up any blatant weaknesses, unless you can turn them into positives to use as above.

And keep it short (under a page) and give it to as many people to proofread as humanly possible. Medical and nonmedical.

 

[peacefuljourney]

I really appreciate your detailed input. Thanks for taking the time to help me out. S-

 

[Dr. ZZ]

Follow This Format And You Should Be Fine:

1st Paragraph: A Short Story Or Anecdote About Your Personal Life That Can Tie In The Field Of Medicine

2nd Paragraph: If Your Going Into Im...you Should Write In Your View Point What An Internist Is...what Is The Field Of Im All About

3rd Paragraph: Now Give Real Live Examples That You Had With The Field Of Im Or Medicine

4th Paragraph: Write About Why They Should Pick You...what Makes You A Great Candidate And What Can You Contribute To Their Program.

Good Luck.

 

[IFNgamma]

consider getting First Aid for the Match, it explains what to write in the PS and gives good examples, and it's just a good book to have to explain the whole match process.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Follow This Format And You Should Be Fine:

1st Paragraph: A Short Story Or Anecdote About Your Personal Life That Can Tie In The Field Of Medicine

2nd Paragraph: If Your Going Into Im...you Should Write In Your View Point What An Internist Is...what Is The Field Of Im All About

3rd Paragraph: Now Give Real Live Examples That You Had With The Field Of Im Or Medicine

4th Paragraph: Write About Why They Should Pick You...what Makes You A Great Candidate And What Can You Contribute To Their Program.

Good Luck.

As a program director, I beg to differ. If you follow the above advice, your personal statement will be identical to 90% of the PS's I get to read. If so, I skim it from top to bottom. I mean, really, are your reasons for going into IM any different than anyone else's? Can you really contribute something different than the 600+ other applicants with the same training?

This isn't bad, it's just boring.

I would suggest that people try to break out of this mold a bit. Tell me something about yourself that's not in your application already. Don't worry if it has nothing to do with medicine -- in fact that usually makes it better.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Obviously aProgDirector has more experience than I, but this was exactly what I was told got me interviews...probably more than I would have based soley on my academic career.

Interesting, different PSs can be beneficial. Frankly, while most of them are boring, that doesn't generally hurt your application.

What DOES is the applicant who sends in a paragraph or two, which doesn't tell us anything about them other than what we already know and shows little initiative or interest in doing so. I remember an applicant who did this and he was as arrogant and self-involved as his tiny PS was...he apparently thought he didn't need to "waste" time on his PS, because his application spoke for him.

 

[tiredmom]

Jim Tysinger, PhD wrote a great book about personal statements and CVs targeted at medical professionals, search by his name for the title, as it escapes me currently. I just checked it out of our library. It's got a ton of examples in it too.
Our school required us to go to workshops by Dr. Tysinger on ERAS apps and PS. His opinion on mentioning the negatives is bringing up the obvious - you took a year off, you failed a course or a shelf exam, etc. It's not a pity party, but if they are looking at your app and see that you took an extra year off for leave, they want to know why... but do they want to risk wasting an interview spot to find out? So - if it's explained in the PS succinctly - my mother was ill with blah,blah, ... then, most importantly, what you've learned from it. They don't want to hear that the test is biased (which I heard of someone writing... bad idea), or that you continue to make the same mistakes. We all make mistakes, but if you don't learn from them, you keep making the same ones instead of moving on to different screw-ups!

 

[plastikosmd]

I dunno, i was was always told

" A PS is something will not get you into a program, but surely can keep you from getting in."

In reviewing applications myself, I agree bland is boring, but safe. Just be truthful and remember what you said in your PS when it comes time for your interview. Nothing worse than asking someone about something they mentioned...usually unique..and there is that momentary pause.....

 

[Samir Desai]

We were specifically told by our dean NOT to use the personal statement as an opportunity to explain weaknesses. Ignore them, but have an explanation for any weakness ready in case you are asked in the interview. If you don't address them, they might not be noticed.

There are many people, including program directors, who would disagree with your dean's philosophy. If you have a significant weakness or red flag in your application, it would be risky to assume that no one will notice it.

It is true that programs differ in the way they screen applications. Some programs may simply crunch numbers (and maybe miss the weakness) but many will look at the entire application, including the personal statement. Chances are that these programs will notice the weakness. If an explanation is not apparent, the program may decide not to offer an interview. Of course, if you don't receive an interview, you have no chance of matching with that program.

You can use the personal statement to explain the weakness in a positive manner. Your goal is to show them why it happened, what you've learned from the experience, and why it won't happen again.

Before you address a weakness in the personal statement, you should talk with several people at your school, including the dean, the program director at your institution, and your advisor.

 

[AutomaTron]

I think the best personal statement you can make is one that conveys what is nice about you. Are you a nice person? Why? Do you enjoy working with others? Do other people like working with you? Try to address these issues in a backhand manner so it doesn't sound contrived or "blowing your own horn" by using examples while making another point. For example did you volunteer somewhere helping sick kids and describe how much you enjoyed it, or anything you did that was nice and made you feel good about yourself and would make others feel good about you as well) Are you really interested in the field you are going into? What unique experiences have you had that make you interesting? Say something real and make sure it doens't sound made up so people don't cringe when they read it. If you picked whatever you are going into there must be a reason that is pretty good considering all the choices you have as a medical graduate so it shouldn't take you very long to convey some things that will make the reader get a good feeling about you. Try to include some of the essential characterstics of the field and why they attract you so that the reader can tell that you are not only aware of what you are getting into but really looking forward to it. With your unique background you should be able to write a very interesting and good personal statement that stands above the rest in making the pd feel that he/she wants to work with you and get to know you better.