Reusing Experiences for Secondaries

[Clmed162]

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If a secondary asks about your most meaningful clinical experience, could you reuse one from your primary personal statement but draw a different lesson from the encounter since it was my most meaningful experience? Thank you!

 

[Catalystik]

If a secondary asks about your most meaningful clinical experience, could you reuse one from your primary personal statement but draw a different lesson from the encounter since it was my most meaningful experience?

Yes, and also switch it up with different vocabulary, organization, and maybe an anecdote.

 

[JimKimSlim]

That’s exactly what I did. I listed my volunteering/shadowing at a cardiology unit on my primary and how cool the human heart is, etc. On secondary, I drew a lesson about communication and how doctors deliver bad news to patients from the same experience. But yeah, avoid repetition of words and structures.

 

[Clmed162]

If a secondary asks about your most meaningful clinical experience, could you reuse one from your primary personal statement but draw a different lesson from the encounter since it was my most meaningful experience? Thank you!

Yes, and also switch it up with different vocabulary, organization, and maybe an anecdote.

Thank you for the advice! Would it be too repetitive to use the same anecdote from my primary personal statement? I wasn’t able to fully talk about the experience due to word count but I learned a few other lessons from that specific encounter?

 

[Catalystik]

Would it be too repetitive to use the same anecdote from my primary personal statement? I wasn’t able to fully talk about the experience due to word count but I learned a few other lessons from that specific encounter?

It would be repetitive, but you can make it seem fresh by instituting the other strategies mentioned and by adding additional insights/lessons learned.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

It's all about walking the tightrope between making this experience a theme, and not becoming repetitive.

For example, I had a heavy EMS background and answered several of my questions using these experiences. I was careful to not be too duplicative, but using different parts of that experience made it very clear that it was my most important experience and gave me a brand. Interviewers recollected my application as 'the EMS guy' which was a good sign.

David D MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
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