Medical Should I write about these experience in personal statement?

[GoSpursGo]

Hi, I'd like some advice on what to include in my personal statement since I cannot include every experience and patient/healthcare anecdote. Last year I got into an SMP, and will be finishing with a 3.9 gpa and applying this cycle, with my personal statement that included my initial experience that drew me into medicine and the steps I've taken which have solidified that I know I want to be a doctor. The overall timeline is essentially ER volunteer -> EMT -> Medical Assistant with patient interactions that have stood out and why throughout. Since my acceptance I worked as a tech over the summer on a COVID floor in NYC suburb which I have included in my personal statement version as it stands now. This was a pretty intense experience and therefore a fairly long section including patient anecdotes as well as overall team environment in a crisis situation. However since beginning my SMP I have also worked as a contact tracer, volunteered as a crisis counselor and been a research assistant in a COVID study. My question is do you think I should focus on the more recent experience and maybe cut out prior anecdotes. I feel like my timeline is pretty crucial to creating the picture of what drew me to medicine and how I have actively taken steps to making this dream a reality. I want to also display continued engagement in my community hence the contact tracing, RA, and crisis counselor. TIA for any insights!

The personal statement isn't for regurgitating every experience that you have done--that is what the rest of the application is for. Pick the most meaningful experiences that tell a coherent story about why you want to go to med school, and importantly are experiences that you would like to talk about in an interview setting (ie, you think portray you in a very positive light and that you can talk about easily).

I think a lot of pre-meds get very nervous about the personal statement because it's so, well, personal. Ultimately I think it's important to remember that very few personal statements are going to move the needle--maybe 5% will be so thoughtful and well-written that it moves you from the "hold" pile to the "interview" pile, and maybe 10% are so horrendous that it can get you passed over (and btw, a PS that is just a jumble of all of your experiences would probably fall under the horrendous category). The other 85% are "fine" and will neither hurt nor help you, but will likely be used heavily by your interviewers as a jumping off point for your interview. Hence my advice to pick what you talk about in your PS based on what you would be most excited to talk about in an interview.

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[MusicDOc124]

I want to hear a mix of why you want to be a doctor and what attributes that will allow for it. Talk not just about medical field experience, but also about you. Remember it's a personal statement. What makes you a leader, decisive, confident.

As put above, you don't need to list every anecdote, and it's not just about the medical stuff.

Things you did will be on the application. Tell us all about you. Tell us about how you felt. Tell us your reactions and things you did within your experiences.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

WHY do you want to be a doctor You do not need to include 85 anecdotes to get that picture across. In your personal statement, use the most meaningful experiences that have driven you to want to become a physician. Your personal statement is not the time for a timeline. You put that stuff in your actual application.