Question about Personal Statement Topic

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[CliveStaples]

I would recommend you speak in broad terms about a family member having a medical illness and then focus on how that led you to pursuing clinical experiences, as you have described.

I would just recommend you avoid the term mental illness or suicide in your description of your family member's health.

Remember, personal statements very, very rarely are a big "win" in someone's application. But they can much more commonly end up a "loss."

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Welcome to the forums.

Why don't you pursue clinical psychology?

 

[LunaOri]

I think it’s okay to begin with that topic, but the focus should be on how it affected you and your path to medicine. Do not go into dramatic detail about the event itself. We don’t want to read about sirens and flashing lights. I have seen plenty of personal statements that mention psychiatric issues of family members; just remember that the essay is about you, not them.

 

[LizzyM]

I say this at least once a year, but be sure that EVERYONE is on-board with this big reveal. You'd be amazed that sometimes someone you do not know, and who has never met you, but who knows someone in your family will be reading your application and feel uncomfortable learning what has been something of a family secret.

Can you use phrases such as "chronic illness" and "near death"?

Also, if this family member is still alive, keep in mind that they could, over the course of the application cycle, pass away and you might end up being asked about them due to the essay. I almost had this situation but didn't ask why the candidate had rescheduled the interview that was to have taken place the previous week. It was to attend the funeral of the person they'd wrote about!! Someone told me later and I was so glad I didn't ask about it but it explained why the applicant seemed so emotionally fragile.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Seeing a little more clearly about this discussion...

This is not a contest to compare "woe is me" stories. A colleague mentioned that one of their student mentees disclosed how they summarize the admissions process as being more interested in looking at people through their scars and wounds than their dreams and passion for medicine. I've been thinking about that along with feedback about adcoms reading OIE essays becoming either potentially traumatized or numbed to shocking story after another. (I would suggest putting your story into OIE but think carefully about it.)

I will tell people that you disclose a triggering story, be prepared to be asked about it. LizzyM's story refraining from asking the question is not the norm; plenty of traditional interviewers like to ask follow-ups on what you wrote in your essays to figure out if you wrote them or if a coach or chatbots did.

How would your experience with your family members' struggles with mental health be helpful for the geriatric patient you'll meet? Why should they know about the suicide attempt? How about your peers and the attending when you become a resident? If you're interested in geriatrics, show us examples how you connect with geriatric patients and their struggles. You don't need to throw in the trauma words of "suicide" into it.

 

[targetdreamart]

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[Mr.Smile12]

is it alright if my personal statement then mainly consists of clinical experiences rather than community service/anything else. I do have those activities listed on my application, but I feel as though these three clinical experiences (shadowing, individual interaction with patient, and then broader patient advocacy) tie into my narrative well. I know its a bit difficult when I explain the essay quite vaguely, but happy to get a bit more advice from you all. Thank you again!

There aren't any specific rules, but are any of them going to be expanded upon in MME's? How do you expect to discuss them in secondaries? One should be aware not to draw stories from the same experiences too many times to avoid appearing too superficial with your involvement.

 

[LizzyM]

Three clinical experiences in different settings (shadowing, advocacy and direct patient engagement) are fine in my book.

 

[LizzyM]

I will tell people that you disclose a triggering story, be prepared to be asked about it. LizzyM's story refraining from asking the question is not the norm; plenty of traditional interviewers like to ask follow-ups on what you wrote in your essays to figure out if you wrote them or if a coach or chatbots did.

In that particular case, the applicant had also written about a first degree relative who had died a year earlier (someone I had met briefly years before) and we talked about that and it seemed to me that the applicant was pretty fragile given the death a year earlier and later I learned from someone in the office that the re-schedule had been due to a sibling's funeral! Sometimes it is not possible to ask about everything in the application and I was trying not to make the applicant cry - which seemed a real possibility.