Talking about disappointing EMS experience in Personal Statement?

[thaman91]

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[PanRoasted]

The only question I would have would be "how would being a PA or a nurse disallow you from being able to follow up patients that have been transferred to a hospital?"

To which you would probably give some other reason, to which I might have another question, and on it goes. Generally, I think it's better to write about why exactly you want to be a doctor, and not base your PS around why you don't want to be XYZ.

 

[SnakeOilForSale]

Two thoughts:

The question imposed on you is "Why do you want to be a doctor?" not "Why don't you want to be a nurse?"

Complaining about a profession that you, at one time, felt compelled to explore can make you come off as wishy-washy and unsure of your convictions. You want to address the fact that you are in another profession, show that you have been 100% committed to it, but have discovered that your goals extend further beyond it, without insulting said profession.

 

[SnakeOilForSale]

My main concern is that adcoms won't like that I said things like "unsatisfied" and "disappointed" to describe a clinical experience that I had, even though those feelings led me to want to be a doctor.

You're most likely right to feel that way. I wouldn't recommend you go about it in that manner.

Ex.: "I feel deeply disappointed in my current scope of practice and wish to have more contact with patients."

vs.

"The extensive experience I've had with patients has shown me the importance of each case, and how with having the ability to fully practice medicine, I can greater impact their lives."

Obviously you have your own convictions, just an example of how language can be used in both ways.

 

[alpinism]

Try to spin it in a positive light.

As in: I would like to have more responsibility, knowledge, and skills. I hope to gain the the ability to develop long term and meaningful relationships with patients as well as perform research to improve patient care...yada yada

Be passionate. Talk about your dreams, not your disappointments.

That's essentially how I answered the question of why I wanted to go from being a flight medic to a med student.

 

[maybemed2013]

I was going to write why I didn't want to be a NP or PA etc but I was told no by a few ppl so I didn't.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Two thoughts:

The question imposed on you is "Why do you want to be a doctor?" not "Why don't you want to be a nurse?"

Complaining about a profession that you, at one time, felt compelled to explore can make you come off as wishy-washy and unsure of your convictions. You want to address the fact that you are in another profession, show that you have been 100% committed to it, but have discovered that your goals extend further beyond it, without insulting said profession.

I partially disagree with this. I think most ADCOMs will realize that the pre-meds who pursue the entry-level clinical positions like EMT, scribe, tech, phlebotomist, or other similar jobs never had the intention of exploring those things as "careers." They were meant as application boosters. A majority of the pre-meds are not like those people in the cheesy daytime TV commercials who have realized their ultimate dream by becoming a medical assistant.

I would love to see someone come to an interview and answer why they want to be a doctor by saying: "I've always wanted to work in healthcare, but do more than answer phones."

I agree that an ADCOM might see this as being insulting, but done correctly, this is a strong way to show why you want to be a doctor. This is what non-traditional applicants with previous employment do. They talk about their lack of satisfaction with one position, and why being a doctor will be better for them. Depending on how you approach it, it doesn't have to be an insult.