The Best Tips for Writing Your Personal Statement for Residency Plus My Actual Personal Statement!

Summary

Dr. Alicia shares her expertise on crafting personal statements for medical school applications, having written many and reviewed over 400. She suggests a four-paragraph format, emphasizing unique backgrounds, specialty choices, significant experiences, and career goals. Her own personal statement, which aided her Stanford residency, is dissected for examples, highlighting the importance of clear communication, positive storytelling, and meticulous grammar. She advises keeping statements concise, relevant, and tailored to specific programs, ensuring a strong impression for residency interviews.

Takeaways

• 📝 Dr. Alicia shares her experience in writing and evaluating personal statements for scholarships, medical school, and residency.
• 🔍 Personal statements can show a program your values and future career goals, helping them decide if you're a good fit, but rarely guarantee an interview on their own.
• 📃 She recommends a format of about four paragraphs, each containing four to seven sentences, with a possible fifth if necessary, and ideally keeping it to one page.
• 👩‍⚕️ The first paragraph should introduce your background, unique characteristics, values, and reasons for choosing a career in medicine.
• 🩺 The second paragraph explains why you're choosing a specific specialty, supported by examples from clinical rotations or personal/family experiences.
• 🌟 The third paragraph is for discussing significant life experiences, such as volunteer or research work, and how they've shaped you as a future doctor.
• 🔍 The fourth paragraph should outline your career plans, what you're looking for in a residency program, and how you can contribute to it.
• 📝 Tailor your personal statement to specific programs, but ensure accuracy to avoid mismatches in program expectations.
• 📚 Examples are crucial; they make your statement memorable and convincing, showing rather than telling your passion for medicine.
• 🚫 Keep the tone professional; avoid unconventional formats or content that might detract from the seriousness of your application.
• 🔍 Grammar and spelling are critical; errors can lead to exclusion from interviews, especially for international medical graduates.
• 👀 Be prepared to discuss any examples or experiences you mention in your personal statement during interviews.

Q & A

What is the primary purpose of a personal statement in the context of medical school or residency applications?

The primary purpose of a personal statement is to showcase the applicant's values, future career goals, and to help the program decide if the applicant is a good fit based on their values and the program's requirements.

How many personal statements has Dr. Alicia estimated to have read in the last year?

Dr. Alicia has estimated to have read over 400 personal statements in the last year.

What is the recommended format for writing a personal statement according to Dr. Alicia?

Dr. Alicia recommends sticking to approximately four paragraphs, each about four to seven sentences long, with the possibility of a fifth paragraph if necessary, and keeping the length to about one page in ERAS.

What should the first paragraph of a personal statement introduce about the applicant?

The first paragraph should introduce the applicant's background, unique characteristics, values, and reasons for choosing a career in medicine.

What should the second paragraph of the personal statement focus on?

The second paragraph should explain why the applicant is choosing a specific specialty, backed up with examples from clinical rotations or personal/family experiences with the healthcare system.

What is the purpose of the third paragraph in a personal statement?

The third paragraph is for expressing what the applicant has learned from significant experiences in life, such as volunteer or research work, and how these experiences have shaped them into the future doctor they aim to be.

What should the final paragraph of a personal statement discuss?

The final paragraph should discuss the applicant's career plans, what they are looking for in a residency program, what they bring to the program, and their future career goals.

Why is it important to keep the personal statement positive, according to Dr. Alicia?

Keeping the personal statement positive helps to focus on how the applicant grew from personal difficulties or obstacles, which is more memorable and impressive than simply stating challenges they faced.

What is the significance of grammar and spelling in a personal statement?

Grammar and spelling are crucial as serious errors can potentially exclude an applicant from an interview, especially for international medical graduates (IMGs).

Why should an applicant avoid being 'weird' or unconventional in their personal statement?

Being 'weird' or unconventional can detract from the seriousness of the application and may not convey the applicant's suitability for the program, as it can overshadow their personal experiences and goals.

What is the importance of tailoring the personal statement to a specific program, and what precaution should be taken?

Tailoring the personal statement to a specific program can help personalize the application and show the applicant's interest in the program's specific offerings. However, it is crucial to ensure that the personal statement is addressed to the correct program to avoid confusion or misrepresentation.

Outlines

00:00

📝 Introduction to Personal Statements

Dr. Alicia begins the video by introducing the topic of personal statements, highlighting her experience both in writing and reviewing them. She emphasizes the importance of personal statements in reflecting one's values and career goals, and how they can help programs determine if an applicant is a good fit. She also shares her personal statement that contributed to her acceptance into Stanford for residency in internal medicine. Dr. Alicia clarifies that while personal statements are rarely the sole deciding factor for interviews, they can significantly impact an application if they contain errors or demonstrate poor judgment.

05:01

📋 The Structure of a Personal Statement

Dr. Alicia recommends a four-paragraph structure for personal statements, with each paragraph containing about four to seven sentences. She advises keeping the statement to approximately one page, as shorter statements might not convey enough about the applicant, and longer ones may not be fully read. The first paragraph should introduce the applicant's background and reasons for pursuing medicine. The second paragraph delves into the specific specialty the applicant is interested in, supported by examples from clinical rotations or personal experiences. The third paragraph discusses significant life experiences that shaped the applicant, including any challenges faced and lessons learned. The final paragraph outlines career plans and what the applicant can contribute to a residency program.

10:02

🌟 Crafting a Compelling Personal Statement

Dr. Alicia shares her personal statement from 2014, which she had not reviewed since its submission. Her statement includes her background growing up in a diverse San Francisco neighborhood, her experiences with her mother's health issues, and her passion for internal medicine. She discusses a specific patient case that exemplified the intellectual challenges and rewards of the field. Dr. Alicia's statement also touches on her future goals, including her interest in academic medicine and her desire to become a clinician-educator. She encourages applicants to use personal anecdotes and experiences to make their statements memorable and to keep the tone professional yet authentic.

15:03

🔍 Reflecting on Personal Statement Impact

In this section, Dr. Alicia reflects on her personal statement's effectiveness, noting that it was not perfect but served its purpose in illustrating her values, experiences, and future goals. She acknowledges that personal statements are a way for applicants to express their unique journeys and how they relate to their career aspirations. Dr. Alicia also invites viewers to ask questions about what to include or avoid in their personal statements, emphasizing the importance of sharing anecdotes and maintaining a positive tone throughout the application process.

Keywords

💡Personal Statement

A personal statement is a self-written essay that showcases an individual's background, experiences, and aspirations, often required as part of applications for higher education or professional programs. In the video, Dr. Alicia discusses her experience with personal statements, both in writing them for her own applications and in evaluating them for others, emphasizing their importance in reflecting one's suitability for a medical career.

💡Scholarships

Scholarships are financial awards given to students based on merit or need, which can help fund their education. Dr. Alicia mentions writing personal statements for scholarships, indicating that these essays are a common requirement to demonstrate a candidate's qualifications and potential to contribute to the academic community.

💡Medical School

Medical school is the educational institution where future physicians receive their professional degree. The script refers to Dr. Alicia's personal statements for medical school, highlighting the role of these statements in conveying her passion and qualifications for the field of medicine.

💡Residency

Residency is a period of medical training after medical school where doctors gain practical experience in their chosen specialty. Dr. Alicia shares that her personal statement helped her secure interviews and eventually match at Stanford for her residency in internal medicine.

💡Format

In the context of writing, format refers to the structure and organization of a document. Dr. Alicia recommends a specific format for personal statements, suggesting a concise length and a clear, traditional structure to effectively communicate one's story and goals.

💡Introductory Paragraph

The introductory paragraph of a personal statement sets the tone and provides an overview of the applicant's background and motivation for pursuing a career in medicine. Dr. Alicia advises using the first paragraph to express unique characteristics and values, as she did in her own statement by sharing her upbringing in San Francisco.

💡Specialty

A medical specialty is a specific branch of medicine that a physician chooses to focus on, such as neurology or psychiatry. The script discusses the importance of explaining one's choice of specialty in the personal statement, using examples and experiences to justify this choice.

💡Volunteer Experience

Volunteer experience refers to the time spent working for a cause or organization without compensation, often to gain experience or give back to the community. Dr. Alicia mentions volunteer work as a significant experience that can be included in a personal statement to demonstrate personal growth and commitment to medicine.

💡Career Goals

Career goals are the professional objectives one aims to achieve over time. In the video, Dr. Alicia talks about the final paragraph of a personal statement, where applicants should discuss their future plans, including what they are looking for in a residency program and their long-term aspirations in the medical field.

💡Grammar

Grammar refers to the rules governing the structure of a language. Dr. Alicia stresses the importance of perfect grammar and spelling in personal statements, as errors can detract from the applicant's credibility and may lead to being overlooked for interviews.

💡Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two unlike things to convey a particular meaning or create a vivid image. The script mentions the use of metaphors in personal statements, such as comparing medicine to playing basketball, but cautions against losing focus on personal experiences.

Highlights

Dr. Alicia shares her top tips for writing an excellent personal statement.

She has experience both writing and reading personal statements, including her own that got her into Stanford.

Personal statements are rarely solely responsible for securing an interview but can demonstrate values and career goals.

A recommended format for a personal statement is approximately four paragraphs, each four to seven sentences long.

The first paragraph should introduce the applicant's background and reasons for choosing medicine.

The second paragraph explains the choice of a specific medical specialty with examples from clinical rotations or personal experiences.

The third paragraph discusses significant life experiences, such as volunteer or research work, and personal growth.

The final paragraph outlines career plans, what the applicant brings to a residency program, and future goals.

Personal statements should be tailored to specific programs but with careful attention to detail to avoid errors.

Examples are crucial for making a personal statement memorable and impactful.

Maintaining a positive tone, even when discussing difficulties or obstacles, is recommended.

Avoid unusual or 'weird' content that might detract from the seriousness of the application.

Grammar and spelling are critical; the statement must be meticulously checked for errors.

Unconventional formats should be avoided in favor of a traditional, clear, and simple structure.

Metaphors can be used in personal statements but should highlight the applicant's personal experiences.

Dr. Alicia shares her personal statement from 2014, providing a real-world example of an effective statement.

Her statement includes her background, experiences with her mother's health, and her passion for internal medicine.

Dr. Alicia's statement concludes with her career aspirations and her desire to become a clinician educator.

Personal statements should be a reflection of the applicant's values, experiences, and how they relate to future goals.

Transcripts

hi everyone it's dr alicia so today

we'll be talking about personal

statements i have been on both sides of

personal statements at this point having

written many many personal statements

for scholarships and getting to med

school and residency and i've also been

on the receiving end of personal

statements having read probably over 400

personal statements in the last year so

today i'll be sharing with you my top

tips for writing an excellent personal

statement and a specific format you can

follow that can make the task of

starting out writing a personal

statement feel less daunting

and i'll also be sharing with you my

personal personal statement that i found

from when i wrote it back in 2014 that i

have not really looked at since then and

i know the title of this video is called

the personal statement that got me into

stanford and technically yes this is the

personal statement that i submitted that

did help me get interviews and

eventually i matched at stanford for

residency and internal medicine

most of the time though personal

statements really neither will greatly

help you or hurt you

you know they can hurt you if there is

just a lot of grammatical errors and

stories that might show like weird

judgment or something

and they can help you

in that they can show the programs like

your values your future career goals

and that helps the program decide if you

are a good fit for them based on their

values it is rare

for a personal statement to truly be so

life-changing groundbreaking that it

makes

you get an interview on its own merits

alone but i have seen it happen

just a personal statement that shows

such an extraordinary reflection on

someone's life that a program director

decides like i have to meet this person

so the format that i recommend you

follow is sticking to approximately

four

paragraphs that are each maybe about

four to seven sentences long

you can sometimes have a fifth paragraph

if you have so much to say in one of

these paragraphs that needs to be split

into two paragraphs but in general i

highly highly recommend that you stick

to approximately

one page in eras

you know the reason for this is that if

it looks like a little bit too short

like it's only half a page then you

might stand out for like not expressing

yourself enough when you had the chance

to

and then if it's too long like personal

statements that are two or three pages

program directors are probably just not

going to read past like the first

page and a paragraph i recommend

sticking to approximately a page if you

must maybe like a page and like a couple

bonus lines if you really can't edit it

down any further the first paragraph is

an intro to you

your background

and why you chose the career of medicine

in general

so this is really a time for you to

express your unique

background your unique characteristics

and values and i'll show you in my

personal statement which i'll share very

soon how i did that the second paragraph

is where you explain why you are

choosing the specific specialty that you

are applying to why do you have to be a

neurosurgeon of out of everything why

are you choosing to be a psychiatrist

for example and so the best way to back

this up is with a lot of examples from

your clinical rotations or from your own

personal or family experiences with the

health care system that can make a

convincing case for why you are choosing

this specialty

the third paragraph is where you can

express what you've learned from another

significant experience in your life so

this can be from

volunteer experience or research

experience if you've done extensive

amounts of volunteer research work

and how you grew from those experiences

and how they've shaped you into who you

are and the future doctor that you're

going to be

it can be a chance to talk about more

clinical examples and what you learn

from that

it can also be for people who have red

flags on their application

such as failed step exams or

courses that you had to remediate during

medical school this is where you would

explain

you know the circumstances around how

you incur those red flag situations and

what you've learned to grow from them as

well the final paragraph is where you

talk about your career plans this is

where you talk about what you are

looking for in a residency program

what you bring to any residency program

that you go to

and your future career goals as well

so

you can be specific

if you like to for example if you know

that you want to be a cardiologist your

heart is absolutely set on that you can

mention that in this part of the

personal statement

and the good thing is that it is not a

binding statement you know just because

you wrote you wanted to be a

cardiologist does not mean that a few

years later you're absolutely compelled

to have to apply for cardiology

fellowship so you're always allowed to

change your mind

if you are not sure it is absolutely

okay to keep it pretty general what

programs are doing with this information

is trying to figure out if you are a

good fit

for the program

and if you are if there's a particular

track in the program that you might be a

better fit for

so for example in internal medicine

there's

often times

a few different tracks including a

primary care track for people who want

to mostly go into outpatient medicine

and then also a categorical track for

people who want to do inpatient medicine

or who want to sub-specialize in

something like gi

so what you say here might help them

decide if you are a good fit for

the categorical versus the primary care

tract for example

people oftentimes use this section as

well to really personalize their

personal statement and tailor it to a

specific program that they're applying

to you can do this if you want for every

single program you reply to but it is

very very important that you not double

check but triple check

that you are addressing it to the

correct program so if you're saying you

know in the last sentence of your

personal statement

i believe that john hopkins is

the best fit for me given

you know

this and this reason

that you are sure that you're actually

matching that in eras with your

application for john hopkins and not

accidentally with like you know the

university of massachusetts or something

so making sure that you know if you're

saying

um

you know i'm looking for an academic

program in an urban area that you're not

sending that to a program that is in

like rural michigan

and is a community program so um you

know you you can always take out those

details that maybe don't match with a

particular

program that you're sending it to

otherwise you might wonder

why

are you applying to us if you're looking

for something like very different from

what we offer so next i'll offer some

general tips to help you

so the first thing is that examples are

everything and it is worthwhile to take

time to really reflect to make sure that

you have good anecdotes good examples to

share in your personal statements

you can say things like i am excited to

do medicine but your examples are much

more likely to

give off that impression to someone in a

way that is truly memorable so people

remember stories keep your personal

statement positive so oftentimes you

know we're writing about personal

difficulties tragedies obstacles

keep the focus on how you grew from

those experiences how you overcame those

obstacles don't be weird

so what i mean by this is that it is

okay to be boring i remember

reading a personal statement from

someone who

started off talking about their bowel

movements and poop and it was honestly

like

a really hilarious personal statement

but it was not necessarily the tone that

you want for something as serious as a

you know statement about your future

career and so you don't have to be

entertaining it's okay to be boring

people who write boring personal

statements get plenty of interviews all

the time

and in person you know during your

interview you then have the opportunity

to show people that you are engaging

easy to talk to not boring at all you

know just be true to the experiences

that you've had that have led you to

choosing this career and this specialty

that you want most importantly grammar

is everything grammar and spelling are

so so important make sure it is so

spell checked grammar checked that it

all looks really great from that

perspective

especially for imgs you know having

serious grammatical errors will possibly

exclude you from an interview

sometimes there can be

personal statements are very

unconventional

non-traditional in the ways that they're

formatted like i once read a personal

statement that had like 20 paragraphs

and each paragraph was only one to two

sentences so my recommendation is like

just keep it to like a very very

traditional format this is not the time

to like create new forms of literature

just make it like a very simple clear

communication

about

your experiences and your goals

as an aside oftentimes people will write

about

medicine

using a metaphor comparing it to

playing basketball or

to music

and that is okay to do but make sure

that you are still highlighting your own

personal experiences because sometimes

people can go so deep into this metaphor

comparing being a doctor to being kobe

bryant in the mba that it you can lose

you know who is the person writing this

what are their experiences

besides that they are clearly a big

basketball fan

get examples of personal statements from

friends and classmates that you know

that matched well and try to get people

who are the most nitpicky about grammar

and spelling to read your personal

statement anything that you talk about

in your personal statement

is

fair game for someone to ask you about

during the interview as well there's

like a patient example that you share in

your personal statement you'll be

prepared to answer questions from the

interviewer about like oh what happened

to that patient or what else did you

learn finally i'm going to show you my

personal statement so this is by no

means perfect

but i'm being very honest and sharing

basically exactly what i wrote

which i had not looked at since i wrote

it at this point nine years ago so

yeah let's take a look together i grew

up in a crowded one-bedroom san

francisco apartment i shared with four

family members after we immigrated from

beijing

on the streets below me i saw the double

epidemics of methamphetamine and hiv

agitating the streets of the tenderloin

district in the 1990s with daily scenes

of

deprivations of the elderly the mentally

ill and the poor

these scenes of suffering cultivated in

me a desire to create a place where

every individual is cared for

throughout college in berkeley i strived

to fulfill this vision by serving as the

coordinator of a homeless clinic held at

a women's shelter and as a hiv test

counselor and trainer of new counselors

at a free clinic both places that

delivered health care as a way of

arriving at human dignity

so

i think

you know in terms of like the objectives

of that first paragraph where it's about

an introduction

and about um

sharing your background a little bit of

why you chose medicine i think it does

do that you know it expresses kind of my

unique background growing up

in this particular neighborhood in san

francisco

um

and it i think it also expresses some of

the values behind why i chose the

extracurricular activities that i did so

i'm you know i think i'm okay with that

you know some people start their

personal statements with more of like a

traditional hook where you're like

in the middle of this action where like

the plane was about to land

um but what gave my life its

professional

direction was when my mother's

polycystic kidney disease advanced the

end-stage renal disease during my time

in college

she initially despaired over the burden

of being bound to her dialysis machine

every night but over time her medical

team helped her transform her

debilitating condition into a practice

and self-sufficiency

as she mastered home peritoneal dialysis

she grew to engage with her health and

the health care system on a personal

level from knitting holiday scarves to

her for her doctors to cooking our

family nutritious farmer's market beats

in the past decade since her diagnosis

of esrd is i advanced in my medical

training at the same time my expertise

in participating in her care has

deepened as well

from

translating her medical documents into

chinese and advocating for her family

meetings explaining her treatment course

and helping her make decisions on the

momentous day of her transplant

the physicians were most grateful to

were those whose thorough understanding

of her disease course was demonstrated

in their guidance and

reassurance i think it is very common

for people to write about

family health situations

in their personal statements and you

know some people may say that that's

overused

but you know for me

my experiences with

my mom going through her health

experiences and me being an advocate and

part of those experiences was like a

huge part of

something that helped me decide i wanted

to go into medicine and internal

medicine and so i think it's okay to

share that

and i think

i i

i like the examples i have of um

her making the scarves and like cooking

i remember now that she used to do um

she used to be yeah

and i think those examples

really helped make the story maybe a

little bit more vivid i hope the third

paragraph my mother's illness experience

informs how i'd like to navigate my

relationships with patients

i found that the kinds of cases i saw on

inpatient internal medicine most gave me

butterflies of excitement and i

remembered most vividly um that seems

like it's missing a few words but okay

like it it might not be the

grammatically the most correct

one such case was a homeless gentleman

in his 50s with terrible

uncontrolled diabetes resulting in

multiple past episodes of osteomyelitis

leading to bilateral below the knee

amputations found to have a recurrence

of mssa bacteremia

every moment in this diagnostic mystery

intrigued me and mattered deeply to the

patient and me

where did this infection come from was

there a potential source that was

overlooked on exam how would the return

of the cultures and diagnostic studies

that the patient and i anticipated

throughout the day prompt new questions

or help us find answers

and what new recommendations would

consulting infectious disease experts

yield for us i managed the patient's

symptoms of pain and delirium joked with

him about his love for diet snapple once

his mentation cleared and shared every

update in the diagnostic work up with

him the intensity of the discussions

within our team made me appreciate the

intellectual passion in teaching and

learning in academic medicine

in the end no source was found after an

extensive evaluation but the patient

felt better after the careful management

i was humbled by this example of the

uncertainties in medicine

i still remember this patient

and um now you know thinking

looking at his conditions this is like

such a common kind of internal medicine

type of um

condition

and

i think what i was trying to convey and

i think this works out is by asking

those questions i was trying to show

that like i think i could think like an

internal medicine doctor but also that

there was so much like excitement and

enthusiasm

for learning and you know resolving

these kind of these intellectual

mysteries

and um

and also you know i talk about

everything affecting me and the patients

and that we're like a team together

um so i think i'm trying to show

you know just how

there was trust and a good therapeutic

bond between the patients and me

so yeah i think that's my paragraph

where i explained basically why i chose

internal medicine because i focused you

know my second paragraph on my

experiences with my mom um there wasn't

as much room for me to talk about um

other experiences for example i could

have talked about like my research

experiences or other volunteer

experiences a little bit more as well

but you know those are kind of

individual choices that you can make in

your personal statement

and then the final paragraph you know

talking about goals so

i am drawn to becoming a hospitalist or

sub-specialist with inpatient

responsibilities at an academic hospital

by the intellectual fervor of medical

teams composed of learners at different

stages of learning

so

um

that's interesting i didn't remember

like what exactly i said was my goal at

that time

um

but

yeah i think this is a good example of

how you can

kind of state like what is the setting

you're interested in and what are your

like kind of general goals you know here

i kept it still like kind of open but

saying like i'm more interested in

patients

and

my interest in academic medicine stems

from my passion for becoming a clinician

educator and leader who can eventually

impart my enthusiasm to the diagnostic

puzzle to interdisciplinary teams this

year i am teaching medical students the

physical exam and helping to design a

quality

improvement project regarding

communication with patients and

inpatient medicine teams

these projects reveal the kind of

educational and systems level pursuits i

hope to work on as a physician

so i think that is actually good because

those are like very typical kind of like

med ed

and qi projects that

you know a lot of people tend to do that

shows kind of the general direction of

the career i was aiming for

my experiences advocating for my mother

and experiencing the lively intellectual

nature of internal medicine have led to

my love for caring for patients in a

creative process of teaching and

learning as an internist and clinician

educator it's a fine you know it's a

fine personal statement i wouldn't say

that it's like amazing

but

i think it kind of represents one way of

of how you can um

explain your values your experiences and

how you know they relate to your future

goals

so i hope that it's helpful to see

specific examples out there

because i know for me when i saw

specific examples of

other people's personal statements

when i was in pre-med i was like oh this

helps me so much to know like generally

what

you know an example of one would look

like so that i can kind of get over my

writer's block a little bit yeah please

feel free to ask any questions about

what to include what not to include

what's a good anecdote to share in your

personal statements you know in the

comments below thank you so much