Personal Statements

We have all frantically googled

“how to write a personal statement”

It is inevitable. There are countless lists of “10 questions to consider” or how to brainstorm, but rarely is there advice on how to structure or theme your personal statement to residency.

Until now.

Disclaimer: this is my opinion. This should not be taken as fact, guarantee to get interviews, or any sure-fire way to game the system. Instead, I am a way to view an approach to the personal statement and frame or structure your personal essay.

The Breakdown

Whenever I read a personal statement, I want to make sure it answers two main points:

Does this personal statement convey the personal qualities this person has to be successful in this specific field of medicine?
Does this personal statement convey the concrete and specific reasons that this person is passionate about this specific field of medicine?

The personal statement should not read like your CV or ERAS. I have that. I do not need things listed. Instead, I want to know if you are self-reflective enough to understand both the qualities and strengths that are vital to the field and if your passion is based on reasonable data and sound logic versus a superficial understanding.

The personal statement allows you to convey who you are and where you came from. The bulk of the essay should explain this, first by ‘showing’ and then by explicitly stating key points. The last paragraph should be about where you are going. What do you want in a residency program and why are you applying to that particular program? This is a great time to consider tailoring it if there is a specific program you are obsessed with or if you have a particular must-have region.

This is the major framework that I like to structure personal statements around. Now that we have the larger framework, we can dive into the brainstorming aspect of things.

Brainstorming Part 1

Does this personal statement convey the personal qualities this person has to be successful in this specific field of medicine?

There is a logical way to approach this.

First, make a table of 3 columns.

Step 1: Fill in 5-7 of your favorite qualities. Note, this does not have to be medical related. It could be that you are funny, you love to dance, you are musical, you sing beautifully, etc. This isn’t about what qualities particular to medicine but instead what are your best qualities that make you unique and interesting.

Step 2: Create and brainstorm 1 non-medical vignette and 1 medical vignette to showcase each of those qualities

Step 3: Write down why this would be important to your specific field or how this quality would make you a better resident/doctor in this field

Use something like this:

Templates for Brainstorming

See below for a quick brainstorm template. Feel free to sketch out your ideas on a piece of lined paper or a blank sheet - just go with the flow. Copy the columns below, be sure to include detailed vignettes that garner examples from non-medicine AND medicine. Most importantly, think hard about why these qualities are important in medicine.

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Now, you have a ton of ideas to both help you during interviews and to brainstorm for your personal statement.

Now, let us move onto the second core essence that should shine through your personal essay.

Does this personal statement convey the concrete and specific reasons that this person is passionate about this specific field of medicine?

Brainstorm your favorite reasons why you are interested in pursuing that field.

Write down the five top patient experiences you remember from medical school.

Each of these patient experiences should elucidate to you what draws you to medicine. Think about what larger “themes” you can draw upon from this.

Now it is time to write!

HOT TIPS

Some other hot tips:

The personal essay draft 1.0 can be as long as you like. It is 1,000 times easier to cut down and synthesize words but adding in words to convey your meaning is harder. Start long and verbose and then cut out the fluff once you have your meaning
You want each paragraph to “show” what you are trying to say. Then, consider ending each paragraph with one sentence that actually SAYS plain and simple what you are trying to say. You can delete that last “obvious” sentence in your final edits, but it is a great exercise to make sure you are conveying what you want to convey.
The devil is in the details. Proof-read 1,000 times. Read it out loud. Make sure medical and non-medical people read the essay. Have them read it and ask them does it fulfill the #1 and #2 criteria?
Once you are done with it, put it away for one week. Then come back to it.
Having people make suggestions are just that – suggestions. If you feel strongly about keeping it in, then keep it. Ask the editor why they made suggestions or the thought process to make an informed decision about whether or not to keep their suggestions.
If you are applying to a surgical specialty, please make sure there is at least 1-2 sentences about your love of surgery. This is my own personal bias, so I’m sure everyone has different feelings, but I feel as though personal statements are important and someone who is going to transfer out of a surgical residency because they do not like surgeries is more likely to be someone that did not mention it in their personal statement. Take it as you will.

Good luck writing!