You’re at the the end of your third year or the beginning of your fourth year of medical school, and you can visualize walking across the stage to get your degree: Doctorate in Medicine. But before you start determining how you’ll pronounce yourself to your future patients, you must get through the residency application process. Besides having to determine your specialty of choice (and perhaps a backup in case), study for USMLE Step 2CK and CS, find a list of programs to apply to, and get your letters together, you must finalize your personal statement. Yes, this means having to spend time getting your thoughts together and convincing an admission board that you deserve a residency interview. However, what goes into this letter? That’s where I come in to provide a helping hand.
To be honest, I had six different revisions of my personal statement, and the first two were completely demolished by close attendings that wanted nothing but the best for me. Being naive, I simply rewrote why I wanted to be a PHYSICIAN instead of explaining why I wanted to be an INTERNIST (or insert your specialty here). It was explained to me that I’m already on the verge of becoming a doctor, so no admission board wants to hear about that discussion. Rather, they want to know why I want to enter the field of INTERNAL MEDICINE and why I would be an amazing fit at THEIR program. It took some time, but I was able to succinctly describe why my specialty of choice fit my personality and what I would offer the program by becoming one of their own. These are the two biggest thing you can do to help craft a strong personal statement. Rather than to continue to lecture you, I will include my personal statement as an example of how to possibly frame your letter.
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Life experiences of those around me piqued my interest in medicine, but it was not until I was a patient myself that I realized Internal Medicine would be the specialty for me. During the spring semester of my freshman year of college, I suddenly felt unwavering fatigue. It was soon followed by an excruciating headache and muscle pains. I lost most of my appetite and wanted to do nothing more than sleep, because this was the only time I experienced relief. Over two weeks, I grew weaker and weaker. At the insistence of my roommate, I was taken to the hospital where I was frightened and simply wanted to get better. I underwent numerous blood draws, a CT scan, an MRI, various cultures and swabs, and lastly a lumbar puncture. In a cold room with nothing but a thin gown covering me, I felt exposed in a room full of strangers. Despite my fear and eventual diagnosis of viral meningitis, I maintained confidence in my physicians’ ability to manage complex medical conditions. (After all, I was being managed by internists.)
Unfortunately, my story did not end there. I was eventually discharged, prescribed a medication, and readmitted to a different hospital in less than 48 hours. After driving 1.5 hours to my hometown, my mother insisted that I visited my family physician for follow up. In the waiting room, I experienced what I now know as a dystonic reaction from side effects of my prescribed medication. Having no idea why my neck was turning on its own or why I began grinding my teeth uncontrollably, an ambulance was called. Next thing I knew, lines were inserted in my veins and a second team of physicians managed my care. Fearfully, all I could hear was the resident stating my vitals and going through various organ systems: cardiac, pulmonary, musculoskeletal, neuro, etc. Seamlessly, the team discussed differential diagnoses and various tests that needed to be performed. Although my medical knowledge was limited, I could still comprehend the amount of detail that streamed from their lips without missing a beat. For the first time, I was witnessing hospital medicine, the medicine I would later decide to pursue as a future physician.
Becoming an internist affords me the opportunity to understand the delicate intricacies of adult medicine in a variety of patient settings. Being the eldest of five children provided me with numerous situations to develop proper leadership and delegation skills that I would later use in professional settings. Despite heading undergraduate organizations, being the chair of both the Internal Medicine Interest Group and American Medical Student Association at the same time was the most strenuous. Nevertheless, balancing this with medical school forced me to grow as a leader to increase my qualities of adaptability, time-management, efficient collaborative skills, compassion, and thirst for life-long learning. Having my medical school training at Grady Memorial Hospital introduced me to an inner city underserved population with severe pathological presentations. From a clinical perspective, it strengthened my approach in terms of addressing illnesses by priority, proper follow-up, understanding my limitations, and knowing when to consult other professionals. Socially, it not only allowed me to interact with individuals from all over the globe, but it also deepened my understanding of cultural family dynamics and social determinants of health. Internal medicine will teach me how to properly dissect an illness and develop adequate treatment plans while remaining at least one step ahead of the disease process. Residency in an internal medicine program will increase my knowledge, while still providing the opportunity to subspecialize if I choose. The options are endless with Internal Medicine.
I am searching for a program that stimulates my curiosity and takes the effort to train me to become an excellent physician. I also desire a program that invests in me and my growth as an individual through mentorship and leadership opportunities. I imagine a residency program that embraces diversity of all kinds, cultivates comradery amongst residents and staff, and focuses on serving the underserved populations in its immediate community. I was raised hearing the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child”. Collectively, as physicians, we are the village blessed with the right to care for our child, the patient, and have an impact on the life of the patient, family, and community. Living by that philosophy, I intend to serve my patients with the best of my ability as an Internal Medicine physician.
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Again, I am being open with my audience to show an example of how one of my drafts looked for my personal statement. Good luck in your writing process.
Keep in mind that others can determine if you are plagiarizing information. There’s no need to be caught stealing as you’re applying for residency. :-)
As always feel feel to contact me here or on @TheNaijaDoc.