How to write a Personal Statement for
residency
How to
begin
- Daily
start writing down ideas in Evernote/any app which lets you take notes
- Think
of a strong patient interaction/personal story where you helped the
patient and which also shows your medicine-related skills/knowledge/work
ethic. Make it about yourself, what you did, and how it helped you. Do not
write the entire history of the patient.
- Either
with the same story as above or explain the reason/reasons why you are
interested in that particular field.
- Make a list of your hobbies/ non-medical experiences and find a common
connection between that skill set, which can actually help you during
residency.
- Read loads of sample personal statements from google!!!
- Do
not copy them (plagiarism is HARMFUL).
- Once you are done, send your draft to mentors/English professors/seniors etc.
- Make sure there are absolutely no grammatical errors. (English being a 2nd
language is not an excuse for poor grammar).
Don’t’s
•
This is not the time to show off your creative
writing skills. We are applying for a residency, not a literature graduate
position. Keep it simple and easy to read.
•
Do not use super-long sentences. IMGs have a
tendency of using a lot of ‘and’ and writing 3-4 line long sentences. Keep it
short.
•
Target content that fits into one page. 600-700
words approx. Don’t go over 800, don’t stay under 500.
•
Do not use negative incidents/ bad mouth your
home school or resources.
•
Don’t lie. You will get caught. If you say you
have worked on multiple research projects and if you are unable to answer basic
questions regarding your research, you WON’T be selected.
•
You never know how much importance programs give
to the PS, so always make sure it is a well-written PS.
•
Don’t quote your CV.
•
Don’t use clichés or common quotes.
•
Don’t start every sentence with “I.”
•
Come across as arrogant. This is the place to
showcase your strengths, but in a humble way.
How to
divide paragraphs: 1st paragraph
•
The first and last paragraphs are the most
commonly read parts. Make them interesting and strong. It should be
personalized.
•
Begin strong: Story/Hobby/What got you into
medical school or you can skip that and talk about what got you interested in
your specialty.
•
It should be a story about yourself and how it relates to your specialty, not just a history
of the patient you saw.
DON’T’s
·
“Every patient has a story to tell.”
·
Some major illness in the family/ death
motivated me to become a physician.
·
“I love to travel. Each journey takes us down a
different path. Each journey inspired a new thought. I feel medicine is similar
to traveling. Every patient has his own journey and I want to be there to make
it fruitful for them.” (This is not the right analogy. Travel and medicine have
nothing in common)
·
“I will never forget ___”
·
“I grew up with dermatology in my blood”
DO’s
·
“Growing up in rural ____, I experienced ____.
Here I realized _____. The strict value system of perseverance and dedication
led me to ____.”
·
Start with your hobby.
E.g. Football….team sport….captain of the football team….motivated my team,
resolved conflicts. At the same time I realized, that whenever someone got
hurt, I would assist my coach with first aid. I realized that my inclination
for helping my injured team mates extended beyond the football field. Bridge it
into medical school and how you continued doing the same. Got you interested in
EM/ortho etc.
·
“Medicine is a field in which my love for
pathophysiology and my commitment to serving others can continue to grow. I
have a strong desire to use my problem-solving abilities while helping people
through their most difficult times.” And then give an example justifying these 2
statements.
How to
divide paragraphs: 2nd, 3rd and 4th paragraphs
•
Talk about your strengths in a very SUBTLE way,
citing examples.
•
Talk about your achievements and extra
curriculars, your motivation and end it with what skill-set you derived from
it.
•
Include hobbies. Connect them with medicine and
how it will make you a better resident.
•
Relate how your actions and experiences during
medical school will make you a strong physician.
•
What will you bring to their program?
•
Don’t quote your CV.
•
Show who you are as a person, not just as an
ideal medical student.
DO’s
•
Talk about your strengths in a very SUBTLE way,
citing examples.
•
Talk about your achievements and extra
curriculars, your motivation and end it with what skill-set you derived from
it.
•
Include hobbies. Connect them with medicine and
how it will make you a better resident.
•
Relate how your actions and experiences during
medical school will make you a strong physician.
•
What will you bring to their program?
•
Don’t quote your CV.
•
Show who you are as a person, not just as an
ideal medical student.
DON’T’s
·
I love IM as it is such a broad field with a vast number of diseases.
(Same goes for FM and Peds and all other branches. Avoid such blanket
statements.)
·
I want to be trained to manage patients on my own and do right by them to be one of the best in my field.
(Umm…isn’t this what residency is about. Everyone wants that. What is it that
you are specifically looking for?)
·
Also, avoid “I love” “I want to”
·
“IM combines the wide spectrum of exotic and
the mundane illness, providing a scope of touching maximum lives.”
Do you mean to say FM/EM/ortho/surgery etc. do not provide this?
·
“My mentor taught me more about medicine and how
to approach a patient better than I had learned in all of my classes.”
Do not put your other classes in a negative light.
How to
divide paragraphs: last paragraph
•
Summerise.
•
Tie in all your major attributes.
•
Talk about: What you are looking for in a
program
•
Talk about: Where do you see yourself in a few
years?
DO’s
•
I will bring to residency energy, enthusiasm,
integrity, and ability. I expect a challenging, rich environment in which to
learn and practice good medicine.
•
I know I have set high goals for myself:
clinician, educator, and health advocate. The majority of the time I find
working with underserved populations extremely rewarding; however, it can also
be emotionally demanding.
•
The combination of working at an individual
level to address health needs and at a more macroscopic level to affect health
policy is synergistic for me.
•
I eagerly await the unique privilege of
participating in such a rewarding and exciting field of patient care.
DON’T’s
•
Don’t be too specific regarding fellowship goals
unless you are absolutely sure.
•
If you are sure regarding your fellowship, your
CV should have enough experience to back it up.
•
“Medicine encompasses numerous areas that I have
always found intriguing. Becoming a physician is a lifelong dream that will
fulfill both my personal and career goals.”
What are the goals? State them. What are the intriguing areas? It is a vague
sentence. Avoid fluff.
•
“My career goal is to enter a university-based
anesthesiology program.”
Then community programs (forming a major chunk of interviews for IMGs, will not
call you for an interview. Be diplomatic.
Time
Frame
•
June 1st half: Begin jotting down
ideas and writing sentences. Focus on ideas. Don’t worry about sounding
smart/grammar right now.
•
June 2nd half: Start compiling the
ideas and sentences into paragraphs. Check the flow. Keep reading samples to
understand how to write it.
•
July 1st half: Make your 1st
draft. Send it to seniors/attendings/mentors.
•
July 2nd half: Incorporate the
changes suggested by them and make another draft.
•
Aug 1st half: Send it out for
suggestions again.
•
Aug 2nd half: Make a final draft.
Here your ideas, stories, hobbies, major points should be finalized and free-flowing. Now run a final grammar check. Send it to someone with professional
level English for edits and grammar.
•
Sept 1st week: Final draft ready
Take
away
•
Personal Statements might not fetch you
interviews unless it is extra-ordinary. You will get interviews based on your
scores and other aspects of the application.
•
You may lose out on an interview due to a bad PS.
(Incorrect grammar, poorly written)
•
Interviewers love to talk about the hobbies
mentioned in the personal statement, so make sure they are real!!
•
They are looking to know you as a person, so
make sure your PS does not describe 1000s of other medical students as well.
•
Once you land an interview, the PS might play a
role in getting you ranked high. The program wants a candidate that would
‘Match’ their expectations!
