Personal Statment

[fishsticks2629]

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Although it may sound like unrealistic bs, my predominant reason on wanting to become a Dr. is to do international healthcare in deprived countries. Having lived in a third world country before, along with most of my family still living there, may account for my passion.
Should i include this in my PS and make it the cenral theme? Or would I risk sounding too cheesy, phony, unrealistic, generic etc ....
Thoughts are appreciated 🙂

 

[riverjib]

Although it may sound like unrealistic bs, my predominant reason on wanting to become a Dr. is to do international healthcare in deprived countries. Having lived in a third world country before, along with most of my family still living there, may account for my passion.
Should i include this in my PS and make it the cenral theme? Or would I risk sounding too cheesy, phony, unrealistic, generic etc ....
Thoughts are appreciated 🙂

Your PS should reflect why you want to be a physician. The idea behind it may sound cheesy, but if you're honest and make it work, it won't come off that way. I wouldn't ask anyone here WHAT you should choose to write about, because quite honestly, most personal statement topics sound pretty unappealing and pretentious. I'd write it, and pass it along to people who you respect but will not indulge you, and ask them for honest suggestions.

 

[Morsetlis]

-reason
-evidence
-fit

Ex: I love helping the poor and underserved. I went on international medical missions, and I saw the worst of sufferings. I want to apply medicine and scientific teachings to cure diseases and treat patients. Your school is amazing at producing primary care doctors and its mission is to help the poor and underserved. Please accept me, nothing else will fulfill me.

 

[Catalystik]

Although it may sound like unrealistic bs, my predominant reason on wanting to become a Dr. is to do international healthcare in deprived countries. Having lived in a third world country before, along with most of my family still living there, may account for my passion.
Should i include this in my PS and make it the cenral theme?

If you say you don't want to practice medicine in the US, you make it less likely your cheaper state school will accept you. And if you practice in poor countries, how will you pay off your hefty private school loans? Use your international experiences as your inspiration, but tone down the future practice plan.

 

[flip26]

If you say you don't want to practice medicine in the US, you make it less likely your cheaper state school will accept you. And if you practice in poor countries, how will you pay off your hefty private school loans? Use your international experiences as your inspiration, but tone down the future practice plan.

Good advice.

But you also need to demonstrate that you have significant clinical experiences in the US health system, and that you have shadowed US based doctors.

 

[DrSmooth]

I think it's fine but I agree with the advice about not focusing your career goals 100% overseas in your app and interview if you want to be as broadly appealing as possible, and also be ready for a good answer to the "why should we train doctors who won't be staying here to practice" queation.

Also, stay away from terms like "deprived" and "third-world"-- any terms or attitudes that paint people living in developing countries as helpless victims. I would stick with terms like "people from underserved populations", "developing countries", etc so as not to offend anyone who might be reviewing my application.

 

[BlueElmo]

I think it's fine but I agree with the advice about not focusing your career goals 100% overseas in your app and interview if you want to be as broadly appealing as possible, and also be ready for a good answer to the "why should we train doctors who won't be staying here to practice" queation.

Also, stay away from terms like "deprived" and "third-world"-- any terms or attitudes that paint people living in developing countries as helpless victims. I would stick with terms like "people from underserved populations", "developing countries", etc so as not to offend anyone who might be reviewing my application.

Good advice. I also made my PS so as not to include words like deprived, poor, third-world, impoverished, etc.

 

[fishsticks2629]

If you say you don't want to practice medicine in the US, you make it less likely your cheaper state school will accept you. And if you practice in poor countries, how will you pay off your hefty private school loans? Use your international experiences as your inspiration, but tone down the future practice plan.

Good advice. This is actually a concern of mine.. Thats why I think I am going to sprinkle it in instead of making it my central theme.
If I live off meager means, working half in US and half overseas will still pay for those hefty school loans.

 

[deleted212936]

If you say you don't want to practice medicine in the US, you make it less likely your cheaper state school will accept you. And if you practice in poor countries, how will you pay off your hefty private school loans? Use your international experiences as your inspiration, but tone down the future practice plan.

👍

 

[Catalystik]

Also, stay away from terms like "deprived" and "third-world"-- any terms or attitudes that paint people living in developing countries as helpless victims. I would stick with terms like "people from underserved populations", "developing countries", etc so as not to offend anyone who might be reviewing my application.

Very good advice. Watch the spin you put on your comments.

 

[Catalystik]

If I live off meager means, working half in US and half overseas will still pay for those hefty school loans.

I've read of family practice groups that make overseas volunteerism a central theme of their group's mission. Each of five docs spends a part of a year abroad, with the remainder covering the practice at home where they collect practice receipts to help fund the guy/gal who's away. You could also do locum tenens contact work, where it's totally your choice of when and where to work to protect your time off. One could also make the argument that you could stay at home and work to support others providing medical care in your birth country or to support med students there if they'd practice in the area your family comes from.

 

[Ilovewater]

I wrote about that in my PS, but it made sense because I grew up in a third-world country, and I actually dealt with the lack of access to health care. Just make sure there is more to it than that...like any other experiences that confirm your desire to be a physician.