This week, my attending, nurse, and I were featured in our hospital's newsletter for being published in a nationally-renowned rehabilitation medical journal. It was wonderful to receive this recognition and even more rewarding to be able to share our knowledge with the medical community.
When it comes to getting published, sharing information, and expressing yourself, you need to be able to write. As a physician a large part of our day is documentation. We write for patients, insurance companies, other doctors and healthcare professionals anywhere from notes to prescriptions, letters, articles, and instructions. Medicine is science, but it is also art and with it comes the art of writing.
One of the biggest challenges we face in our career is that of writing the personal statement. We have to do this not just for college or medical school but also for residency and fellowship programs. Having both written and edited several of these, I developed my own list of tips and tricks to perfecting the personal statement:
When writing your first draft, do not confine yourself to word limits. Just write whatever stream of consciousness comes to mind to put everything you want to say into words. You can always go back and edit.
Show Don't Tell
Come up with 5 different experiences you have had, whether it’s working with a specific physician, treating a patient, an interaction, or a personal story.
Theme
Try to pick a theme that connects from beginning to end. This could be a theme of "doors opening" or global health, preventative medicine, family, a sport you play, etc. In my college personal statement, I drew an analogy to driving.
Now it's time for you to take a look in the mirror, find a comfy seat and get to work!
Structure
Introduction paragraph
This can include your experience. You could start your paragraph with a quote, dialogue, or imagery. Introduce your theme.
Second paragraph
Discuss your reasoning for going into medicine/why you want to be a doctor or why you want to go into a specific field/fellowship – this is an opportunity to highlight some of your qualities. Add a sentence or two about your interest in the school or program's philosophy.
Third paragraph
Talk about your activities, from your major to extracurriculars (include how these taught you about time management and other important skills). If applying for residency, gear this toward your patient encounters in medicine. If applying for a fellowship, focus on your residency experiences, your involvement with your program and what led you to pursue this specific area.
Fourth paragraph
What are you looking for in a medical school/residency/fellowship program? Research? Global health opportunities? What is your ideal curriculum or rotation schedule like? Where do you see your career as a physician going?
Conclusion paragraph
Emphasize why this medical school, residency, or fellowship program should choose you and what sets you apart from other applicants. Use the last sentence to tie back to your overarching theme - this will help the reader remember your essay's beginning and how it relates to the end.
Leave a comment with any questions and good luck!
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