what did you write your PS about?

[brightshadows]

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I am currently thinking about what to write about but am so lost. how did you all go about brainstorming to drafting and what did you ultimately end up writing about?

 

[ChrisMack390]

3 experiences - the one that made me want to be a doctor in the first place, and then 2 others that broadened my perspective and/or reinforced my decision.

 

[meditative_premed]

3 experiences - the one that made me want to be a doctor in the first place, and then 2 others that broadened my perspective and/or reinforced my decision.

Agree with this. Also, try to come at it from a unique and interesting perspective, too many people write about their grandpa with cancer or their mom being a doctor or "just always knowing"...try to avoid these. I tied my desire to become a physician to my background as an artist but kept the "why medicine" theme very strong throughout. Whatever you do, make sure you are answering the question "why medicine" and you will be fine. And have multiple people edit it.

 

[brightshadows]

That sounds like a good idea. I definitely have clinical experiences that cemented my desire to go into medicine but I don't have one single memory that made want to pursue those experiences. For many it is a grandpa with cancer or their own patient experiences but I don't have any sort of compelling story like that :/

 

[meditative_premed]

That sounds like a good idea. I definitely have clinical experiences that cemented my desire to go into medicine but I don't have one single memory that made want to pursue those experiences. For many it is a grandpa with cancer or their own patient experiences but I don't have any sort of compelling story like that :/

I didn't have a single moment either, for me it was the boring ol' reasons no adcom wants to read about. So, instead of going that route, I took my PS a completely different direction and used it as an opportunity to highlight a talent of mine. You can really take any hobby or talent you have and find a way to tie it to the characteristics a good physician needs to have. Competitive chess player? Critical thinking skills. Yoga instructor? Instilling calm and confidence in those around you. Don't completely center your PS around your hobby - open with it, lead your story into medicine, and from there take it into your clinical experiences that solidified your desire to become a physician.

EDIT: Also, don't just open with "I like sports..." or something really boring and straightforward. Think of an interesting story that happened while doing your hobby, or while traveling, or during any type of experience you want to talk about. It doesn't matter what you write about as long as it tells the adcom "WHY MEDICINE?". Everyone's story is different, just make sure yours is fun to read and makes the adcom want to meet you.

 

[DRsmartypants]

In my opinion, write it from your own perspective and thoughts, the best essays are written about something you are really passionate about. However, keep in mind adcoms. If you have an adcom reading hundreds of PS, at least 50-60% are going to be "my mom died", my dad was a doc etc. All great(or the parent dying not so great). Such a thing will not keep you going while in medicine and adcoms know that, so if that is your main "excuse", they don't like that. Write it like a few short stories, or tie your interest in medicine with a hobby. Keep it conversational, but not casual. Think of it like you are talking to them in a professional situation, that will keep a good tone. There are lots of guides on the internet. If you want to go cliche, no one is going to stop you, but make it very interesting cliche. I suggest if you want to utilize a cliche topic, look up what others did with cliches, and don't do that.

 

[brightshadows]

bump!

 

[calisurfer19]

Just kept it simple. I used my PS to answer the questions "Who are you?" and "Why medicine?". Everything else I felt would've been posturing. I revised the thing several times, had people who I knew weren't afraid to be forthright with me tell me what they thought, and also sent it to some folks on SDN. Also, look for threads on writing your PS, there are plenty here.

 

[TMC07]

I tried and could not pull off the whole "X,Y,Z experiences made me want to be a doctor." I just did not have enough depth when writing from that angle. Those that read it said it was well written but boring. So, I scrapped it and wrote about a significant, longitudinal experience (unrelated to science and healthcare) that has profoundly impacted my perspective on healthcare and medicine and that has reaffirmed my decision to become a physician. I have had about fifteen people read it so far and they have all said wonderful things.

I suggest writing about what comes the easiest to you and what is most sincere.

 

[Marine2MD]

I created a story format based on combat experience and mixed in an explanation of red flags (2 semesters of bad GPA), focusing on internal struggle/conflict and how I got there. Best advice, be sincere and words will flow out. Then you just need to rearrange, proof, polish, and let others give you feedback. Find people who will be brutally honest with you and have had experience for constructive feedback. I went through about 25 people before I submitted a finished PS.

 

[IPICU]

Definitely write about whatever you're most passionate about. It will make the writing process a million times easier. I mean obviously that would need to play into a career in medicine somehow, but still, if it's a topic you feel strongly about, it will be a much less painful process. For example, I'm a cancer survivor, so I wrote about cancer. Because my goal is to become a pediatric hematologist/oncologist, I wrote about my experience as a patient, and my experience returning to the clinic and shadowing my oncologist, and how the combination of the two experiences has influenced my belief that the doctor patient relationship is one of the most important aspects of medicine.

 

[Astra]

I created a story format based on combat experience and mixed in an explanation of red flags (2 semesters of bad GPA), focusing on internal struggle/conflict and how I got there. Best advice, be sincere and words will flow out. Then you just need to rearrange, proof, polish, and let others give you feedback. Find people who will be brutally honest with you and have had experience for constructive feedback. I went through about 25 people before I submitted a finished PS.

Thank you for your service

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

I did the relatively cliche parent died topic and it worked well for me. I think the risk a lot of people run into when using this topic is writing about the parent or experience, but not adequately tieing it back into "why medicine".

If you can focus on why the experience made you pursue medicine, then it can make a very powerful PS. Just my opinion though.

 

[Abraxas305]

I did the relatively cliche parent died topic and it worked well for me. I think the risk a lot of people run into when using this topic is writing about the parent or experience, but not adequately tieing it back into "why medicine".

If you can focus on why the experience made you pursue medicine, then it can make a very powerful PS. Just my opinion though.

Same here, but I opened up with a pretty meaningful scribe experience that showed diversity, while introducing my thesis of "why medicine?" Then I transitioned into that parent death thing in a short paragraph, but wrote it in a way that it was just one of many factors that influenced my passion for medicine and didn't refer back to it until the end where I summed up my points. Of course I was using an active voice with "show not tell" sentences throughout my PS. Also, try not to make it a sob story. I had a bunch of people read it and I had to edit it enough that it still showed meaningfulness, while not trying to "capture" the adcoms emotions.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

try not to make it a sob story. I had a bunch of people read it and I had to edit it enough that it still showed meaningfulness, while not trying to "capture" the adcoms emotions.

Quoted for emphasis!

 

[Hospitalized]

I wrote about how I overcame my D's in school

Wait, Hospitalized... You're a great student. What D's are you talking about?





























Deez nuts

 

[Lost in Translation]

Sunday's with m'dad.

Volunteering in various capacities in a hospital.

 

[mrpeduncle]

I consulted the book "essays that will get you into medical school" for examples. This really helped me get started.

I opened my PS by discussing the first time I had to dissect post-mortem neonatal human brains for my thesis project. I was so nervous for several important reasons and almost couldn't do it.

Then I switched gears and talked about growing up in poverty... How stressful it was... And how that experience made me interested in the impact of stress on health. From there I talked about my most formative research and volunteer experiences. I mentioned why I chose each activity (they were all related to stress in some way) and discussed how each activity helped me decide on a career in medicine and helped me develop the skills necessary to become a compassionate physician. I tried to highlight various themes/traits that describe me as a person: resilience, compassion, humility, and curiosity.

I maturely addressed red flags, mainly my lower than average GPA. I had a 2.0 sGPA at one point.

I ended by tying everything back to the intro. Ultimately, I was able to complete the dissections...but not without a little self-reflection and a pep talk.

Some parts of my ps were probably a little corny, but adcoms seemed to like the overall product. I got several compliments on the interview trail and had a successful cycle.

My advice would be to look at many examples then start writing just to get ideas on paper. There's no way I could have come up with my final PS without the many, many drafts that came before it.

 

[BaseballGuru11]

I wrote about how much I love watching baseball lol and how that led me to be interested in medicine. Like someone said before, just be passionate about the topic 🙂

 

[Abraxas305]

I consulted the book "essays that will get you into medical school" for examples. This really helped me get started.

I opened my PS by discussing the first time I had to dissect post-mortem neonatal human brains for my thesis project. I was so nervous for several important reasons and almost couldn't do it.

Then I switched gears and talked about growing up in poverty... How stressful it was... And how that experience made me interested in the impact of stress on health. From there I talked about my most formative research and volunteer experiences. I mentioned why I chose each activity (they were all related to stress in some way) and discussed how each activity helped me decide on a career in medicine and helped me develop the skills necessary to become a compassionate physician. I tried to highlight various themes/traits that describe me as a person: resilience, compassion, humility, and curiosity.

I maturely addressed red flags, mainly my lower than average GPA. I had a 2.0 sGPA at one point.

I ended by tying everything back to the intro. Ultimately, I was able to complete the dissections...but not without a little self-reflection and a pep talk.

Some parts of my ps were probably a little corny, but adcoms seemed to like the overall product. I got several compliments on the interview trail and had a successful cycle.

My advice would be to look at many examples then start writing just to get ideas on paper. There's no way I could have come up with my final PS without the many, many drafts that came before it.

Great advice. Seems like your PS was very genuine and expressed a lot about who you are through your activities in a unique way.
Also, congrats on your app cycle! Nice to see a former low GPA'er turn it around and get a ton of interviews/acceptances!