PS Advice

[boogiecousins94]

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I'm currently writing my PS and am having a little difficulty. My interest in medicine is primarily in the brain, specifically stuff like Parkinson's, stroke, TBI, neurodegenerative diseases etc. I've worked in 3 different research labs that all focused on the brain ranging from neurobio of metabolism, exercise, memory, and movement disorders. I published a paper on movement disorders as well.

All of the research is what made my want to pursue medicine but many have asked me why I don't want to do a PhD. My main response is I want to work with people not mice but I feel like that is too simple/cliche to put in a PS...any advice on how I can convey this? I've done clinical volunteering with helping mobilize patients and move around, I just don't know how to effectively answer the "why not PhD" besides saying I like people

 

[LizzyM]

Do you realize that there are PhDs that work with human subjects. I see quite a few who work in research settings in a rehabilitation setting with physical therapists to develop devices to help people recover from spinal cord injuries, strokes, etc and to understand the underlying physiology in brain injured people (lots of transcrandial stimulation, EMG, etc).

On the flip side, what if the only residency you could get was in family medicine? Could you see yourself doing that and being satisfied? Can you see yourself spending a year doing surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, OB just for the chance to do a few weeks of neurology? Are you going to be disinterested in renal physiology, cardiac output, etc?

 

[boogiecousins94]

Do you realize that there are PhDs that work with human subjects. I see quite a few who work in research settings in a rehabilitation setting with physical therapists to develop devices to help people recover from spinal cord injuries, strokes, etc and to understand the underlying physiology in brain injured people (lots of transcrandial stimulation, EMG, etc).

On the flip side, what if the only residency you could get was in family medicine? Could you see yourself doing that and being satisfied? Can you see yourself spending a year doing surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, OB just for the chance to do a few weeks of neurology? Are you going to be disinterested in renal physiology, cardiac output, etc?

I enjoy learning in general and would like doing all of these rotations-I'm not against any of them and I could see myself switching to one. I'm not dead set on neurology or anything its just that thats been my "narrative" for the past few years and every EC or research I have done has revolved around the brain so thats where my interest in medicine came from.

I just mentioned working with mice as thats what I've done for the past few years in lab. I just didn't know if its to narrow to say my interest in the brain prompted me to want to be doctor. I'm most definitely not against any other specialty I think they're all cool, I just have no experience with them so I can't talk about why medicine in my PS in terms of an OBGYN or psychiatry etc. but I can discuss my experience with neurological stuff.

Basically I don't know how to discuss the "why medicine" without talking about the brain as thats what got me interested in the first place, just don't know if its too specific

 

[LizzyM]

You need to do some shadowing or some volunteering or get a job in a clinical setting and find a way to care about the people who are patients. Once you care about patients, you'll be able to write a PS that covers more than just the brain.

 

[boogiecousins94]

You need to do some shadowing or some volunteering or get a job in a clinical setting and find a way to care about the people who are patients. Once you care about patients, you'll be able to write a PS that covers more than just the brain.

I've shadowed a neurologist, general surgeon, obgyn, and trauma surgeon. I have also volunteered helping mobilize patients and walk with them around the hallways to promote movement/prevent being bed ridden for 1.5 years and recently started volunteering in a hospice with Alzhemiers patients.

I understand what you're saying I guess I'm just having a lot of trouble figuring out what to write about, specifically what to focus on since I've seen a lot of threads mention not to mention everything in your resume etc. so I feel like I can't talk about all of these since I don't really know if there was a single moment when I decided to pursue medicine

I think I'm just focusing too narrow and on the wrong thing

 

[CyrilFiggis]

You need to be honest in your reflection. I was not one of those people who knew since birth I wanted to be a physician. So I didn't have one of those stories. For me it was a series of events - observations, patient interactions, etc - that served as reaffirmations of my decision. Getting to the point of applying is a long, hard road. What things kept you going? What recharged your batteries?

 

[Lardy Boy]

Time to sit under a waterfall


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[boogiecousins94]

You need to be honest in your reflection. I was not one of those people who knew since birth I wanted to be a physician. So I didn't have one of those stories. For me it was a series of events - observations, patient interactions, etc - that served as reaffirmations of my decision. Getting to the point of applying is a long, hard road. What things kept you going? What recharged your batteries?

thanks for the advice that makes sense...i definitely don't have a big story either. I started getting interested in medicine after my first research job after my sophomore year, that strongly correlates with my upward trend (2.75 to 3.66 after that summer). But yea I have to reflect more on what kept me going that makes a lot of sense

 

[LizzyM]

You could start your essay with the brain, describe it as the next unexplored frontier, and then go on to say that your involvement in research, shadowing and patient care started with the brain and has developed your interest in learning more and do more to alleviate suffering, to cure when possible and to care always. (that might be part of a famous quote... check into it). Use what you've done related to the brain as a jumping off point for your interest in the career rather than the brain as the destination in your career.

 

[purplefrog13]

When I wrote my PS, I had a word document that was probably 7 or 8 pages long that I had filled up over a few months with stories or experiences that I thought defined my interest in medicine. When it came to actually writing my essay, I could go back through and see what I thought showed my interest in medicine and how I explored it.

Obviously you don't have a few months, but maybe take an hour or two and just do a word flow- type out everything that comes to mind. It doesnt have to be organized and it only needs to make sense to you. I did mine in roughly chronological order to see if I had a defining timepoint.

You say brain research got you interested in medicine in your sophomore year. What got you interested in brain research? Did you work with physicians in some way? What caused you to have interest in medicine and not research as a career? Why not both? Reseach can't be the only thing that makes you want to enter the medical field...what else? These I think are questions you need to know the answer to for yourself, not necessarily for your essay.

Like LizzyM said, the interest in the brain part is a good place to start...you just need to find the end and how your journey has evolved since then.