Should shadowing/work experiences be discussed in the personal statement?

[drawingdentist]

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Hey everyone!

I have been seeing a lot of sample PS that discuss shadowing and work experiences and was wondering if that is recommended. My current personal statement does not really touch on these topics as I had assumed that discussing them in the experiences and work sections of the application was enough. I tried to focus on other aspects of my personality that are not mentioned in the experiences section.

Would you recommend mentioning shadowing and work in the PS? Will I be at a disadvantage if I did not?

I appreciate and welcome all of your advice,

Thank you so much!

 

[tiper15]

I think your personal statement should be an overall explanation of why you want to be a dentist and what would make you a good dentist. People would put in shadowing stuff to show that yes they have seen it and then explain how they liked it or how it applies to them being a better dentist because of what they have learnt. Like while shadowing something must have shown and you were like oh wow this is really what I want to do. Just what I think.
I don't think youll necessarily be at a disadvantage from not putting it in.

 

[Bingwen]

I think one of the big reasons that it is included is that your PS should be about who you are and why dentistry at its core. For many people, this includes something from a shadowing or work experience. As long as you answer the two above points it doesn't really matter how you do it. I don't think not including it will put you at any disadvantage.

 

[doc toothache]

Let's see. Dentistry is about dental procedures. It probably would be nice to know that there is some interest in performing them.

 

[drawingdentist]

Let's see. Dentistry is about dental procedures. It probably would be nice to know that there is some interest in performing them.

I briefly mentioned shadowing but didn't really go into depth or mentioned specifics since I addressed those things under the experiences section.

 

[RuffDay]

I briefly mentioned shadowing and my dental lab work experience as well. They were essential to me because both events reinforced why I chose dentistry in the first place compared to other health fields. These experiences were brought up multiple times, and the interviewers admired them as well.