Graduate - Medicine - Personal Statement Workshop

8/17/2019 Graduate - Medicine - Personal Statement Workshop

1/22

The Medical SchoolPersonal Statement

and Essays

Office of Career Services

Spring 2014


2/22

The Personal Statement

“If we wish to know a man, we must ask, ‘Whatis his story, his real, inmost story?’ for each of usis a biography, a story. Each of us is a singular

narrative, which is constructed continually andunconsciously by, through, and in us—throughour perceptions, our feelings, our thoughts, ouractions; and, not least, through our discourse,our spoken narrations. Biologically,

physiologically, we are not so different fromeach other; historically, as narratives, we areeach of us unique.”

-Oliver Sacks, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat


3/22

Topics to Cover

1. Primary & secondary essays; additional

comments on AMCAS

2. Purpose of the personal statement3. What to discuss and highlight

4. How to approach/craft your essay

5. Do’s & don’ts6. Feedback & resources

7. Q&A


4/22

Types of essays

Personal comments:

• “Use the space provided to explain why you

want to go to medical school”

• 5300 characters – 1.5 single-spaced pgs


5/22

Types of essays

Activities section:

• Experience description (700 or fewer

characters)

• Select three as “most meaningful

experiences:”

Summarize why selected (maximum of1325 characters)


6/22

Types of essays

MD/PhD additional essays:

• Reasons for wishing to pursue combined

MD/PhD degree (maximum of 3000

characters)

• Describe significant research experiences

including supervisor, nature of problemstudied, contribution to project (maximum

of 10,000 characters)


7/22

Types of essays

Examples of secondary questions:

• What do you think will be your greatest personal

challenge as a physician, and how will you address this?

• How will you contribute to the diversity of your medicalschool class?

• Are there any special circumstances that we should be

aware of?

• Describe your interest in our med school.• Tell us about a difficult or challenging situation that you

have encountered and how you dealt with it.

• more on the handout…


8/22

Special circumstances

Questions on the AMCAS:

• Institutional Action: If you answer “yes” to

this question, you must include anexplanation. (Limited to 1325 characters orapproximately 1/4 page)

• Felony: If you answer “yes” to this question,

you must include an explanation. (Limited to1325 characters or approximately 1/4 page)


9/22

Special circumstances

Disadvantaged status:

“Explain why you believe you should be

considered a disadvantaged applicant”

(maximum of 1325 characters)

This is an optional question:Be prepared to discuss anything in your AMCAS

application during your medical school interview; if you

can’t/don’t want to talk about, don’t write about it


10/22

Purpose of the personal statement

1. To discover the person behind the numbers

and in the context of the rest of your

application

2. To hear what has motivated you to pursue

a career in medicine, how you know

3. To see a sample of your writing


11/22

Questions to consider

• How do you know—not simply why do you

know—that you want to be a doctor? How you

have demonstrated this interest?

• How has your interest in medicine changed anddeveloped over time?

• How did you overcome your doubts?

•

Why medicine and not other career fields, e.g.,teaching, science, public health, nursing, etc.?


12/22

Questions to consider

• Have you faced any obstacles in your life (for

example, economic, familial, or physical)? How

did you handle these?

• How have you been influenced by certainevents and people?

• Recall a time when you had a positive impact

on another person. How did you and the

person change as a result?

• What were major turning points in your life?

• What do you want the committee to know that

is not apparent elsewhere?


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Drawing from your experiences:

• Use a concrete anecdote/experience to draw

the reader in; perhaps circle back to it at the

end to create bookends

• Approach the essay as a chance to share the arc

of your journey to this point

• Reflections can be unique even if

opportunities/experiences are not

• Consider whether to discuss fluctuations in

performance, hardship affecting academic

record, and/or personal medical situation


14/22

Stuck?

• Pretend you are writing to a friend, not an

admissions committee; free write

• Ask a friend/family member which qualities

they think distinguish you from others

• Reflect on two or three personality

characteristics that you feel are your strengths


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Do’s

Tell a story

Keep it interesting by using specific examplesand anecdotes

Provide information, insight, or a perspectivethat cannot be found elsewhere in yourapplication

Describe experiences in terms of what theymean to you and what you learned

Make sure the reader learns about you, not just what you did

Use strong action verbs and vivid images;paint a picture


16/22

Do’s (cont’d)

Be concise. Make sure every sentence needs to bethere

Describe what you learned in your research, not

the details of the specific research project (unlesswriting the MD/PhD essay)

Allow plenty of time to write, revise, reflect,revise, etc. Step away often so you can revisit youressay with fresh eyes

Proofread. Spell checking will will () not catcheverything! Then, proofread again and getsomeone else to do the same


17/22

Don’ts

Just list or summarize your activities. This is nota resume and can be found elsewhere

Try to impress the reader with the use of formalor “fancy” language

Directly tell

the reader that you arecompassionate, motivated, intelligent, curious,dedicated, unique, different than mostcandidates, etc.

Focus only on childhood experiences Use slang or forced analogies

Lecture the reader, e.g., on what’s wrong withmedicine, what doctors should be like


18/22

Don’ts (cont’d)

Make excuses for poor grades

Begin every sentence or paragraph with “I”

Overwork the essay to the point where you loseyour own voice

Make it your premier creative writing piece

Use generalizations and clichés

Follow the advice of too many people

Try to share everything there is to know aboutyou


19/22

Getting feedback

Ask family, friends, and advisors:

• Does this sound like me?

• Do you want to meet this person?

• Could someone else write this essay?


20/22

Group exercise

Review of EXAMPLE 1:

“I’ve been asked many times why I wish to

become a physician. Upon considerable

reflection, the thought of possessing the abilityto help others provides me with tremendous

internal gratification and offers the feeling that

my life’s efforts have been focused in a positive

direction. Becoming a physician is the

culmination of a lifelong dream; and I am

prepared to dedicate myself, as I have in the

past, to achieving this goal. “


21/22

Group exercise

EXAMPLE 2:

“I also shadowed a cardiologist, Dr. A., and later a team of immunologists led by Dr. B, seeking insights on

how physicians make use of technology and the nature of their daily routine. While volunteering for Dr. A., I

could not help but contrast his daily experience to mine as an engineer. His superlative relationship with his

patients crystallized the unique responsibilities and rewards of being a doctor in my mind. I admired many

things about his work: the dedication to serving others with a dignity and sincerity mostly absent from the

“business” world, the importance of his ability to educate, and his palpable sensitivity toward the concerns

expressed by his patients.

Most of all, I witnessed the importance of trust. In order for Dr. A. to effectively treat his heart failure

patients, they had to confide in him a completely honest account of their lives and trust his expertise when

prescribing medication and changes in lifestyle. Furthermore, by simply allowing me in the room to

observe, both doctor and patient had also placed trust in my ability to keep confidentiality on everything I

saw and “do no harm.” It was a privilege to simply shadow, much less to wear the shoes of a physician….

…After working at a totally different career for nearly three years, and watching doctors like Dr. A. and Dr.B., I’ve found that I’m inspired most when using my talents to make a tangible, immediate difference in other

people’s lives… I often mingle with CS students who admire the geek-centric universe portrayed in new

movies like The Social Network and namedrop internships they’re landing at Google and Microsoft. Coding

JavaScript in a terminal on my laptop, I’ll be showing a small group how to put create a mobile app and

deploy it online. Inevitably at some point they’ll ask me about my future plans and their response is

bewildered: to them, it’s like Mark Zuckerberg wanting to become a paleontologist. So, they ask me why I’d

want to be a doctor… I think about Dr. A. and Dr. B.—the amazing work that they get to do every day, how

to explain my feelings about it… The words are bursting from the tip of my tongue. I need to stay calm!”


22/22

Resources

• Premed tutors (resident and non-res)

• Writing center

http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/undergrad.html • Applicant Website:

• www.aamc.org/amcas

•

Telephone: 202-828-0600 (M-F 9am-7pmEST)

• Email: [email protected]
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/undergrad.htmlhttp://www.aamc.org/amcashttp://www.aamc.org/amcashttp://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/undergrad.html

Graduate - Medicine - Personal Statement Workshop

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