Writing your medicine personal statement
With only 4000 characters and 47 lines allotted to you to persuade medical schools why you will make the ideal medical student and future doctor, the personal statement can be a daunting task. However, armed with thorough research and all of the skills and experiences that you’ve picked up along the way on your journey to medical school, articulating yourself in this highly concise piece of writing is wholly possible. There is no right or wrong way to write a personal statement, and there’s no definitive structure out there that will guarantee that you gain that coveted place at medical school. Regardless, here are a few tips I’ve compiled that have helped me to develop my own personal statement and will hopefully give you a few pointers in writing your own.
Have you done your research? Before writing your personal statement, you need to make sure you have all the information you need. Different medical schools place emphasis on different aspects of your application, and since you can’t tailor your personal statement to suit the requirements of one university alone, you need to make sure that your personal statement meets the criteria for all of the choices you’ve made. This is a good time to go onto individual university websites or to flick through prospectuses, going through the course structure of each medical degree and familiarising yourself with the kind of medical applicant each university is looking for. Also, this is a good time to rule out any medical schools whose teaching styles don’t suit you. Once you’ve compiled enough information about what each medical school is looking for in an applicant, the extracurricular activities they may be interested in and the qualities and experiences they would like to see evidence of, it’s time to start writing your personal statement.
Why do you want to do medicine? This is a question that you’ll get asked at almost every stage on your way to medical school, and maybe even beyond. In fact, my friend who is now a third year medic was asked this recently, and I found myself asking the doctors I was shadowing what drew them to medicine as well. The amount of times I’ve been asked this question myself on my work experience alone was enough to tell me that this question is important and will continue to be brought up. It is therefore crucial that you have some sort of viable answer to this question. I struggle with this one a lot myself, and there may be many reasons for your interest in medicine that you can’t go into in too much detail in a document like a personal statement, where a character limit restricts you in terms of what you can share. However, what you do need to show is that medicine has been a continuous thought process. With a career as demanding as medicine, no admissions tutor wants to see a potential medic declare that their path to medicine was decided by an epiphany one afternoon, or that the answer to this question came to them in a dream. You need to show that you’ve given this huge decision the contemplation and thought it deserves. What is it you like about medicine? Maybe you’ve always had an interest in science, particularly the practical side of things. How did this lead to deciding on medicine? What made you certain that this was a career for you?
What sort of work experience do you have? This links nicely to the previous paragraph. To prove that you’ve given medicine some thought, you need to provide evidence that you understand the demands of the profession and that to some extent, you have an understanding of the career you’re getting yourself into. This paragraph is a good place to talk about some of the key things you’ve seen whilst on work experience. Don’t be tempted to write about every amazing procedure you’ve witnessed, or get too caught up in sharing all of the new medical terminology you’ve learnt. There really isn’t enough space to write about all of this (trust me - it’s been really difficult trying to choose what to include and what I can sacrifice!), but remember that you can save a lot of what you’ve learnt throughout your work experience for your interviews. Choose a few things that taught you about what it’s like to be a doctor, what qualities a doctor should have and maybe share some of the things that surprised you or even the negatives. There’s always something to be learned from bad experiences as well. How did the doctor you were shadowing deal with a difficult situation? What did this teach you about doctor-patient interactions? Draw on your experiences, but don’t just list them. Be introspective.
How can you show a commitment to medicine and healthcare? In this paragraph, it’s important to discuss any voluntary work you’ve undertaken that might have solidified your decision to become a doctor. Mention any long term (or short term) volunteering you’ve been doing, but most importantly, mention what you’ve gained from this. For example, has your volunteering made you more aware of the importance of other healthcare professionals? Has it taught you the importance of empathy? Do you now have a deeper appreciation for the emotional difficulties of the healthcare profession as a result of your volunteering? What have you enjoyed about it, and ultimately, in what ways do you think your volunteering has prepared you for a career in medicine?
What do you like to do in your spare time? Your life can’t be all about medicine, all of the time. Having now spent over half of your personal statement discussing all of the ways in which you’ve shown your dedication to the medical field, you also need to show that there are other dimensions to your character. Are you involved in any clubs or societies at school or university? Why do you enjoy attending these? Do you participate in sports? Do you play an instrument? Are you artistic? Do your other A level subjects supplement your interests? It is important to show that you have interests outside of medicine because medical schools need to see that you have a balance in your life. Maybe your artistic hobby allows you time to relax from your obviously busy schedule, or maybe your involvement in sports is a good stress relief and helps to keep you fit and healthy.
Why should the medical schools choose you? Finally, conclude with a few closing sentences summarising what you’ve said. Perhaps mention that you are well informed about all of the demands a medical career can have upon a person, and that your journey in conclusively deciding whether medicine is for you hasn’t always been easy. However, your experiences should have culminated in you ultimately deciding that this is a path worth pursuing, otherwise you wouldn’t be writing your personal statement for medical schools. What skills and qualities do you have that will make you a good candidate for medical school? Close with a reflective, resolute, well thought out statement that summarises why medicine is the most suitable fit for you.
Overall, you really have to sell yourself in your personal statement. Make the medical schools see exactly why you’ll make a good doctor, and show them that you haven’t just woken up one day and suddenly decided that you’ll give medicine a go. Prove that you’ve given this potential career plenty of consideration, show them that you are a multifaceted person with varied interests and emphasise the qualities you believe will make you an excellent candidate for medical school. Be enthusiastic! There must be something you enjoy about medicine, so make sure that this passion shines through! Trying to do all of this whilst being concise is definitely a challenge, so be prepared to write several drafts of your personal statement before you get to a place where you’re 100% happy with it. Utilise the people around you - get your teachers or university tutors to read your personal statement, even your friends and family and maybe some of the contacts you’ve made whilst on work experience. Take their tips on board, but ultimately, make sure that your personal statement remains personal. Good luck!
Reblogging for any premedlings who follow me!
