USMLE Forum Archives - The Match & Residency - Personal Statement Tips
Personal Statement Tips
imgprep - 04-02-11 23:19
Rose asks: It is time to write the personal statement for Match 2011, but I have some questions about it. Should I discuss the following difficulties that I have experienced to emphasize my personal strengths? I had a hard childhood, and as a physician, I experienced the deaths of both of my parents. I had multiple attempts on the test, but finally got certification. Now I am an independant woman trying to survive in the US, where I have to work to pay bills and keep a stable job so that I can get a green card (not yet approved.) Thank you!
First of all, we’d like to commend you for your hard work and achievement. You have managed to overcome great obstacles so far, and we are confident that your willpower will take you even further. Great work!
At IMGPrep, we recommend that you pick a “theme” for your statement …and that you then stick with it. So far, it sounds as though you’re thinking of focusing on overcoming adversity in your quest to becoming a physician. That’s a legitimate theme, and many applicants do choose to focus on the difficulties they’ve overcome, but we’d advise you to shift to a more positive, future-oriented theme. Instead of focusing on what you’ve overcome, why not focus on what you are? What qualities do you have that make you a good physician? Discuss these at length; elaborate on them! Provide vivid examples and tell stories that will convince the reader that you’ll be an asset to their program.
As far as the specific points you’ve raised, discuss only those difficulties that have directly affected your philosophy and career goals as a physician. Don’t stay mired in the past: let the reader know how your background will affect your future.
For example, you mentioned having overcome a difficult childhood. Only devote space to this if it’s affected your outlook or career goals –did your childhood influence your decisions to become a pediatrician and service underprivileged communities? Do you want to shower your patients with the care you never received? Definitely let the reader know how your background has affected you –because it will continue to affect and influence your career decisions. But if you just wanted to relate another difficulty that you faced, skip it, and use the space to discuss more relevant topics.
Your parents’ death must have been a very traumatic experience, and one that definitely had a great impact upon your personal life. Again, however, we’d recommend discussing this only if it will affect your future approach to medicine. We’ve had clients who lost close relatives to diabetes discuss how they will use a preventative approach to medicine to save others from this trauma; we’ve had other clients discuss how their losses have made them more compassionate physicians. If you want to discuss this, be sure to let the reader know how this experience will continue to affect you for the good.
We wouldn’t recommend discussing your struggle to make it in the U.S. This process is tough, and stressful, and you deserve recognition for your struggles, but a residency application just isn’t the place to get it. It doesn’t add anything to your application, and wastes valuable space in your ERAS application.
Program directors already know that you’ve had multiple attempts on your USMLE exams. If they won’t consider an applicant with multiple attempts, they certainly won’t read your personal statement. We’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. You have a limited amount of space in your PS. Why would you use up that space discussing your failures, when you could just as soon be talking about your strengths?
Use your PS to discuss your strengths. You’ve made it through a lot –a difficult childhood, a challenging immigration, med school –and you couldn’t have done that without talent. Think forwards: what sort of resident will you be? What sort of physician will you make? Show your readers what you have to offer them. Remember, focus on the positive, and that’s what your readers will see!
Best of luck,
The IMGPrep Team
imgprep - 04-02-11 23:19
Rose asks: It is time to write the personal statement for Match 2011, but I have some questions about it. Should I discuss the following difficulties that I have experienced to emphasize my personal strengths? I had a hard childhood, and as a physician, I experienced the deaths of both of my parents. I had multiple attempts on the test, but finally got certification. Now I am an independant woman trying to survive in the US, where I have to work to pay bills and keep a stable job so that I can get a green card (not yet approved.) Thank you!
First of all, we’d like to commend you for your hard work and achievement. You have managed to overcome great obstacles so far, and we are confident that your willpower will take you even further. Great work!
At IMGPrep, we recommend that you pick a “theme” for your statement …and that you then stick with it. So far, it sounds as though you’re thinking of focusing on overcoming adversity in your quest to becoming a physician. That’s a legitimate theme, and many applicants do choose to focus on the difficulties they’ve overcome, but we’d advise you to shift to a more positive, future-oriented theme. Instead of focusing on what you’ve overcome, why not focus on what you are? What qualities do you have that make you a good physician? Discuss these at length; elaborate on them! Provide vivid examples and tell stories that will convince the reader that you’ll be an asset to their program.
As far as the specific points you’ve raised, discuss only those difficulties that have directly affected your philosophy and career goals as a physician. Don’t stay mired in the past: let the reader know how your background will affect your future.
For example, you mentioned having overcome a difficult childhood. Only devote space to this if it’s affected your outlook or career goals –did your childhood influence your decisions to become a pediatrician and service underprivileged communities? Do you want to shower your patients with the care you never received? Definitely let the reader know how your background has affected you –because it will continue to affect and influence your career decisions. But if you just wanted to relate another difficulty that you faced, skip it, and use the space to discuss more relevant topics.
Your parents’ death must have been a very traumatic experience, and one that definitely had a great impact upon your personal life. Again, however, we’d recommend discussing this only if it will affect your future approach to medicine. We’ve had clients who lost close relatives to diabetes discuss how they will use a preventative approach to medicine to save others from this trauma; we’ve had other clients discuss how their losses have made them more compassionate physicians. If you want to discuss this, be sure to let the reader know how this experience will continue to affect you for the good.
We wouldn’t recommend discussing your struggle to make it in the U.S. This process is tough, and stressful, and you deserve recognition for your struggles, but a residency application just isn’t the place to get it. It doesn’t add anything to your application, and wastes valuable space in your ERAS application.
Program directors already know that you’ve had multiple attempts on your USMLE exams. If they won’t consider an applicant with multiple attempts, they certainly won’t read your personal statement. We’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. You have a limited amount of space in your PS. Why would you use up that space discussing your failures, when you could just as soon be talking about your strengths?
Use your PS to discuss your strengths. You’ve made it through a lot –a difficult childhood, a challenging immigration, med school –and you couldn’t have done that without talent. Think forwards: what sort of resident will you be? What sort of physician will you make? Show your readers what you have to offer them. Remember, focus on the positive, and that’s what your readers will see!
Best of luck,
The IMGPrep Team
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