A stellar personal statement will help set your residency application apart from the rest.
If you’re applying for the 2017 Match, now’s the perfect time to start thinking about your residency application—namely, your personal statement. Prospective residents often put off this part of their residency application until the last minute, not realizing how much weight it carries—but the reality is your personal statement is a major part of the residency application.
Why start early on your residency application personal statement?
First of all, starting early benefits you. The more time you give yourself to reflect, craft, revise, and polish, the better it will be. The process of writing your personal statement also allows you to consider how far you’ve come and to crystallize what you think are the crucial next steps that line up with your vision of an outstanding career in medicine. Starting early will minimize stress about your application, and just maybe, permit this to be a pleasurable experience where you can reflect on this amazing journey you’re on.
Getting a head start is also helpful to others in your application process. It gives the reviewer an opportunity to learn something about your value system and approach to medicine. It’s also good to complete your personal statement before you ask for letters of recommendation. It will allow your writers to get a more well-rounded picture of who you are and can make your letter more personalized and focused.
Here are some tips to consider before you sit down to write:
What to write about
Since my daughter is in high school, I recently attended a college application workshop. The panelists provided interesting advice about writing an effective and strong college personal statement.
For example, they advised college hopefuls to think about the time when they were either most happy or deeply sad, then to write about the events that immediately preceded or happened right afterwards. While your personal statement for residency should not necessarily reflect an emotional and deeply introspective journey, it should delineate those events that occurred in medical school or practice that affected you in a profound way.
Write about a moving patient interaction, a leadership role you played, a philanthropic activity you engaged in, or that ‘aha’ moment where you absolutely knew what kind of physician you were going to be. It should be that event or series of events that you were most enthusiastic about and what you learned about yourself as a result.
If something tragic happened in your personal life that affected your approach to medicine and how you wish to practice in the future, that’s an interesting approach as well. If you overcame adversity in medical school or on the path to medical school, write about that.
Make sure to write about what you’re looking for in a residency. Are you seeking an academic institution with a strong emphasis on research or a clinical experience that emphasizes primary care? It will help you maximize interviews at the kind of medical program that best suits your needs.
What not to write about
Your personal statement should give the program director and recruitment committee an opportunity to learn something about your personality that can’t be gleaned from facts on an application. Do not simply recap all of the research, leadership, and educational activities you’ve engaged in. That’s what the application is for.
Also, do not personalize the personal statement to reflect the medical program you feel is your first choice for residency. It can get tricky deciding which personal statement to send to which program, and mistakes can easily be made. It is always a turnoff when I review a personal statement to find that the candidate’s fondest dream is to end up at a medical program that isn’t mine.
Other considerations
The personal statement shouldn’t be too short, or too long, but just right. If it’s too short, we have to wonder if the candidate is one dimensional or missed opportunities to make the best out of those experiences that led up to the residency application. Make the statement fit in the area formatted for the personal statement.
Know that you may be asked to expand on anything you wrote in your personal statement in your interview and pick your words accordingly. For example, many candidates choose to begin with a strong opening statement such as a quote. If you’re going to do that, know who wrote the quote, and speak intelligently about why it’s your favorite quote. The personal statement is often a jumping off point for the interview.
Fresh pair of eyes
Have a trusted advisor review your personal statement for grammatical errors and misspelled words. Physicians are expected to be excellent written communicators, and problems in this area will raise eyebrows and send the message that you just didn’t care enough to put your best foot forward.
If possible, ask an attending with experience in recruitment to review your personal statement for content and to make sure that the tone reflects the right blend of humility and ownership. While it’s possible for a medical student to singlehandedly save someone’s life, it doesn’t happen as often as I’m lead to believe in the personal statements I come across.
Of course, another way to enhance your residency application is with a great score on the USMLE. Check out our live online USMLE courses with Kaplan—the world leader in test prep.
The post Your Residency Application Personal Statement appeared first on Residency Secrets.