Writing the Personal Statement for Residency

1. Writing the Personal Statement for Residency

2. Goals for the Personal Statement essay: Get an interview Guide the interviewer

3. Agenda for today • What Program Directors are looking for in the Personal Statement essays. • How to write the essay.

4. What are the program directors looking for? What are the reviewers trying to learn about you from the essay?

5.   For the personal statement, I’m looking for something that lets me know about the applicant as a person, to learn what distinguishes her or him from everyone else.  The essay might convey something about what matters to her or him, or particular experiences (which might be unusual experiences or more usual experiences with that person’s unique interpretation).

6. “Make yourself memorable.” Reading a personal statement is like meeting someone. It’s like remembering a face– ‘Oh yes, I remember her.’ Some personality, some individuality should come through. I want to be able to say, “That’s the person who….”

7. Excellent candidates demonstrate “personal growth through reflection.” When did you leave your comfort zone for “the growth zone?”

8. “Focus on events.” “Personal life events that had an impact on you are important, positive or negative, but don’t spend half the essay on them.”

9. “Grab my attention.” “I want to know who you are, why you are in medical school and why you want to become an anesthesiologist [or xxxx] and where you’re possibly going with this training in the future.”

10. “Show your strengths.” “Somewhere in the essay, work in some comments about your strengths. All residency directors know that not every student will be at the top of the class or have every possible “stellar resident” attributes. However, some comments about determination, hard work, intellect, values, and special skills will catch my attention.”

11. 4 things reviewers want to learn about you

12. 1. Your personal story “Who are you?”

13. Personal story “Just a bit if it is conventional, more if it is unusual & relevant.” But actually….

14. Personal story Concrete, not abstract: “I look for personal stories that really tell me something about the applicant. The ‘I love kids’ doesn’t work as well as a patient encounter or any kind of story about how things could have been done better. Insight is always good.”

15. 2. Special experiences that guided you to select this specialty “Why do you think you’re well-suited to this field?”

16. Selecting the specialty “Most of the reasons we’ve heard before. But an applicant’s own process of decision making is individual. I want to hear it in his or her own words.”

17. Selecting the specialty “I like the essays that tell about the applicant’s past– if it was a struggle, or why in general he or she would make a good [ pediatrician, anesthesiologist, surgeon, etc.]. Show some insight.”

18. “Let me know what you are looking for in a program. I’m going to invite people to interview who I believe are looking for the things that we offer. Be honest about your future goals. If you want to do clinical or basic science research, make sure you bring it up.”

19. 3. Significant academic difficulty Address it. Don’t ignore it. “What happened? Will this continue to be a problem?”

20. “Not mentioning significant academic difficulty doesn’t mean we won’t see it on the transcript or read it in the Dean’s letter. This is a good opportunity to explain what happened– and is particularly important if the explanation suggests that the problem is not likely to recur.”

21. 4. What the applicant chooses as avocations “What else are you invested in? What matters to you?”

22. Avocations “This might not be appropriate in an essay that is, of necessity, very serious or in which a good portion of effort is devoted to explaining academic difficulty, for example.”

23. Avocations • Should come together, make a Point about you. • So, think about what Point you want to make.

24. 5 things reviewers want to know about you • Personal story (Who are you?) • Why this specialty? (How is it a fit for you?) • Significant academic difficulty (Should we be worried about choosing you?) • Avocations (Who are you?) • Why our program? (What are your goals? How is our program a fit?)

25. “The personal statement should be personal and real. I use it a lot to structure my interview.”

26. “Above all, be honest. Dishonesty will kill the application.”

27. So, how to write the essay?

28. Use the essay for your application to medical school as a guide.

29. 3 areas of attention • Content • Form • Mechanics

30. Content Create a coherent life story

31. coherent Sticking together, Logically connected & intelligible

32. Coherent? • It had been dry for a long time. No rain had fallen for more than a month. • They had a beautiful home. • Now I want to be a dermatologist.

33. A coherent life story • Direction • Dedication • Purpose • Energy

34. A coherent life story? • 12 year old sister with leukemia died • Played basketball for K-State • Rafting instructor for 3 years after college • Decided to go to medical school

35. A coherent life story? • 12 year old sister with leukemia died. • Volunteered at hospital 3 years in college. • Did research in oncology lab at KU for 2 summers. • Decided to go to medical school. Hope to become a pediatric oncologist.

36. Concrete, not abstract

37. The Red WheelbarrowWilliam Carlos Williams so much dependsupon a red wheelbarrow glazed with rainwater beside the whitechickens.

38. Form:How to structure the essay Hook your reader. Show logical flow.

39. Many begin with a hook (“It was dank and cold in the dark cave in Borneo when I was startled by the quick movement of the brown tarantula…”), followed by a clever way of telling about every experience the person wants to brag about without seeming to brag, ending with something that circles back to the hook, letting the reader know what an inspired, dedicated, and energetic person the writer is.

40. The formula Begin with a personal story. Go to theme (what the story shows). Circle back at the end.

41. Explore alternatives to the formula Slight rearrangements A different opening, though not boring.

42. Form • No longer than one page. • 6 paragraphs maximum. • “Leave some white space! One big gray page turns me off.”

43. Touchstones • Who are you? (What do you most want us to know about you?) • Why this specialty? (Why are you a good fit?) • What are you looking for in a program? (Why are you a good fit?)

44. Block it first. Then write the paragraphs.

45. 5 things reviewers want to know about you • Personal story (Who are you?) • Why this specialty? (How is it a fit for you?) • Significant academic difficulty (Should we be worried about choosing you?) • Avocations (Who are you?) • Why our program? (What are your goals? How is our program a fit?)

46. Mechanics Grammar, spelling, diction, syntax, punctuation, tone, and style.

47. Personal Statement and CV

48. Personal Statement and CV

49. Mechanics of good writing “Make sure to check for errors– this is the biggest no- no to me. If you don’t write well, it doesn’t bode well for you.”

50. Mechanics of good writing • Competently written in standard English. • Workmanlike to Creative: the continuum.