Strong religious themes in personal statement

[RTC19]

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Deleted. Thank you all so much for your help.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

Ok for a handful of schools. Potentially alienating to interviewers/reviewers at many others.

 

[libertyyne]

IMO, If you plan on only applying to loma linda and liberty and other institutions with religious backgrounds it might work well. For the other 140 schools probably not.

 

[RTC19]

Ok for a handful of schools. Potentially alienating to interviewers/reviewers at many others.

IMO, If you plan on only applying to loma linda and liberty and other institutions with religious backgrounds it might work well. For the other 140 schools probably not.

I will totally redo it then! Thank you both so much for your feedback! 🙂

 

[ciestar]

Being deeply rooted in faith is absolutely fine, but while reading this I got more of a preachy feel and that almost like, an missionary type approach? Explaining how your faith shaped how you approached hospice isn’t a bad direction, but talking about spreading the word of God and the light of the world stuff isn’t necessary. You can simply say you were involved in bible study and got inspired to volunteer that way.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

I will totally redo it then! Thank you both so much for your feedback! 🙂

No problem! Definitely some valid reasons for pursuing medicine and good overall themes but perhaps not something everyone can relate to and certainly risks feeling a bit heavy handed the way you describe it currently.

 

[allantois]

You are not applying to divinity school. Also how does it explain why medicine?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I have Christian themed stuff all over my app, including my PS and secondaries, including writing specifically that I feel God has called me to serve others through medicine. It hasn't hurt my secondaries to II ratio, and I've interviewed at two schools so far (with a third one in a week) with 4 interviewers, and it was not mentioned in a negative light in the slightest with any of them. It is pretty obvious when someone is the Bible-thumping type.

It may be a turn off if you sound like a zealot, but if you write it in a grounded way that doesn't make you sound like you are blindly following a voice in your head, I would not expect it to hurt you at all.

Edit: oh, and my interviews are all at non-religious schools.

 

[datboi_58]

I wrote in my personal statement that my faith was very important to me. I think it's important to distinguish between faith-motivated and proselytizing. If you're faith-motivated, you're trying to love people and spread love by serving. If you're proselytizing, you're spreading "Christian love" whatever that means. It's fine to be motivated by faith. It is not fine to use medicine as a way to push Jesus on to patients.

And to make you less hesitant to be faith-motivated, I have gotten 2 IIs and they're both non-religious, good schools. Be honest and be yourself.

 

[stayathomemom]

I am a person of the Christian faith, too, but I was brought up in a non-Christian home and we were relentlessly prosthelytized to. It causes me to be leary of hardcore Christian proselytizers, even now. When you mentioned the part about "spreading the Christian love" all I can hear is "spreading Christianity" even though I know what you mean. With your words you seem to imply that you'll be actively pushing your "Christian love" on people, instead of Christ's love for you motivating you to serve the hurting and sick without expectation of reciprocity of your faith.

 

[Goro]

Hi! ADCOMS come from all different religions and backgrounds and I wanted to consult the hive mind to see if placing faith based themes/motivations in my personal statement could be poorly received.

Question:
I worry they will think I will proselytize to patients. I would never do that but I don't want to send a message that I would with this faith-based personal statement. Thoughts?

I also don't want to risk offending anyone.

Thoughts?

Honest opinion? You really went overboard and it's off putting.

It's OK to be religious, and to be inspired to seek a medical career, but don't wear it on your sleeve or jump off a cliff with it. My late mother-in-law had her depression go untreated because her doctor was a God-intoxicated fool who would rather quote Scripture at her.

You'll be fine at Loma Linda and LUCOM; not so much for the Touros or Einstein.

 

[Skeletorr]

If I was in your shoes, I would play it safe and keep it secular.

 

[NeuResurgens]

Sorry a little late. As someone who is religious myself, I did use my experiences to talk about medicine, but I focused on how I'd use the love and respect for all people I had gained in order to help patients. On top of that, I talked about how my mission experience taught me to work successfully with people from all backgrounds, and how that would help me when working with patients from all walks of life. I disagree with those who say to leave it out entirely because it's a big part of who you are. However, you need to be cognizant of the way you word it, and using certain phrases like the one about spreading Christian love can come across as proselytizing. I'd say mostly focus on how it will help you love all of your patients, how it will motivate you to care for them all equally with the highest quality, and how it will lead you to be an advocate for your patients.

My interviews were all at secular schools and I had some christian themes in my app, but I took the above approach and I think it came off well as being a part of who I am that I'll use to help my patients, without allowing those religious aspects to cause me to treat them negatively as sometimes happens with religious individuals.