PS too specific???!

[osumc2014]

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So I want to be a orthopedic surgeon and my personal statement indicates how my life experiences have led to that. My question is that is this wayyy too specific and adcoms will think that I do not know anything and should be open to any field? Because this is something I'm truly passionate in and my life has sorta led me to this specific field.

 

[Isoprop]

So I want to be a orthopedic surgeon and my personal statement indicates how my life experiences have led to that. My question is that is this wayyy too specific and adcoms will think that I do not know anything and should be open to any field? Because this is something I'm truly passionate in and my life has sorta led me to this specific field.

if you have very strong evidence that you would make a good orthopod, then mentioning a desire to pursue this specialty shouldn't hurt. but , moderate your passion because it can come off as naive.

e.g. my experience with dr. ___ sparked my interest in medicine and orthopedic surgery.

or

I tested my enthusiasm for medicine by working with ___, an orthopedic surgeon.

Remember, the central message in your PS should be "I will be a good doctor because..." not "I will be a good <specialist> because..."

 

[flip26]

Way too specific...seek the "broader theme" in the PS...OK to mention what sparked your interest, but not a good idea to conclude from that (a shadowing experience) what specialty you are shooting for.

 

[TexasPhysician]

I won't tell you what is right or wrong because there is no clear cut answer.

Just be aware that everyone reading your statement will probably be primary care related. Ortho pods don't usually have time to read personal statements.

 

[tdittyx2x3]

Do NOT risk anything in a PS. This is one part of your app you have complete control over.. make it a serious asset and leave out anything questionable.

 

[BlueElmo]

If you are truly passionate, it will show. Do what you think will demonstrate passion.

 

[slight365]

In your personal statement, you will bring up questions about yourself to start. Wrap the PS up with answering those questions, in a manner of speaking, and that's the basis for a good one, among other things.

 

[osumc2014]

Thanks for the responses guys,

In your personal statement, you will bring up questions about yourself to start. Wrap the PS up with answering those questions, in a manner of speaking, and that's the basis for a good one, among other things.

ok so is it not a good idea to just write about a specific story in my life that made me realize that I want to be a physician?

 

[slight365]

I was indicating the form in writing you have to keep in mind. As you start the statement, you will raise questions about yourself in the reader's mind. After that intro, you want to make sure you close all those questions, to a reasonable extent, of who you are. You don't want the reader to wonder about anything you said there because there's nothing concrete to close it with.

Just don't put anything in you're not going to answer and don't put anything in that will raise more questions than you have room to answer.

 

[LizzyM]

Thanks for the responses guys,



ok so is it not a good idea to just write about a specific story in my life that made me realize that I want to be a physician?

Sure a particular story is fine but could you imagine finding yourself attracted to other medical specialties? What is so great about orthopaedics? What attracts you to it? You can certainly say that your experience or exposure to orthopaedics opened your eyes to the opportunities to [tasks doctors do] and that you found the role of a physician in taking care of people with x, y and z to be very [positive attributes] and that you look forward to getting to know more about other medical specialties and finding the one that is the best fit for you.

I think that sometimes there is a fear that someone who comes in gung-ho for a particular specialty will slide over or be disinterested in areas of study that are unrelated (why should I care about renal physiology?) Also, there is the worry that someone will get into a clerkship and discover that the area they thought that they'd love is horrible when you get up close. (I had a student who discovered she hated OB-GYN although she'd been involved in women's health issues for years & years). Are you going to be happy in some other area of medicine if your narrowly focused dream doesn't work out? You might be asked that at an interview.

 

[Lukkie]

Just be aware that everyone reading your statement will probably be primary care related.

what? how do you know???

 

[Van Chowder]

If you had two pieces of a brain to somehow connect , you would know that 1. you should not specify what you want to specialize ( especially something as competitive as ortho surg) and 2. If you do tell them what you want to do, you say primary care... because if the LACK of primary care physicians right now

 

[osumc2014]

If you had two pieces of a brain to somehow connect , you would know that 1. you should not specify what you want to specialize ( especially something as competitive as ortho surg) and 2. If you do tell them what you want to do, you say primary care... because if the LACK of primary care physicians right now

ouch

 

[Mobius1985]

Downplay your specific passion. Emphasize how your experiences made you interested in medicine in a more general way.

 

[TexasPhysician]

what? how do you know???

haha. First of all. It is more common for PCP's to hold non-clinical academic positions. Probably because there are more of them, and it isn't as high of a pay cut. Secondly because of the shortage of PCPs, a lot of people at medical schools want to help fix this problem. I work directly with the admissions department at my school. They all LOVE primary care people.

Those that want to sub-specialize are a dime a dozen.

 

[osumc2014]

How colloquial can a PS be?