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JUST GETTING STARTED: Personal Statement for the Health Professions

JUST GETTING STARTED: Personal Statement for the Health Professions. Kim Sauerwein Dartmouth College Career Services. The Personal Statement: The purpose of this workshop. Brainstorm ideas Put “pencil to paper” Making progress toward your goal

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JUST GETTING STARTED: Personal Statement for the Health Professions

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  1. JUST GETTING STARTED:Personal Statement for the Health Professions Kim Sauerwein Dartmouth College Career Services

  2. The Personal Statement: The purpose of this workshop • Brainstorm ideas • Put “pencil to paper” • Making progress toward your goal • Meeting in Spring will go more into specifics (audience, content, tone, etc.)

  3. Autobiographical Sketch Goes to your composite writer through LEO 1-2 pages – formatting okay Can be more casual Helps your writer(s) get to know your character, personality, motivation for going to medical school Personal Statement Part of AMCAS Application 5300 characters – no formatting More professional Helps readers get to know your character, personality, motivation for going to medical school Autobiog v. Personal Statement

  4. Exercise: Essay Brainstorm • Paper/Pen or Laptop • Focus • 2 minutes for each question • Only you will see this • List or prose (or artistic doodles…) • Keep writing or typing for the full 2 minutes • Title the page “Personal Statement for Medical/Dental/Vet School”

  5. Essay Brainstorm • Why do you want to be a doctor?

  6. Essay Brainstorm • What is important to you? What are your highest priorities in life? • What motivates you? Why? • What have been the pivotal moments in your life? How were you affected?

  7. Essay Brainstorm • When have you overcome adversity? When have you failed or experienced conflict? • Who are the most influential people in your life? Who are the most influential people in your decision to go into healthcare?

  8. Essay Brainstorm • What three personal characteristics would you want to convey to medical schools? Give specific examples. • Aside from healthcare, what are you passionate about? How might you relate this to your future career? • What healthcare-related experiences have influenced your decision to apply to medical school? How?

  9. Essay Brainstorm: Last Question • Why do you want to be a doctor?

  10. Priorities Motivation Characteristics Healthcare Experience Adversity Influential People Pivotal Moments Which question(s) were easiest to answer? Which were most difficult? Which struck a nerve? Which ones did you just want to keep writing? Which answers surprised you? So what do I write about?

  11. Next Steps • Put your answers away for a while • Use them for Autobiographical Sketch • Write a draft based on the information that seems most personally relevant (add and subtract info) • Ask a trusted friend to read it – Is it a genuine representation of you?

  12. More Personal Statement Info coming in Spring… Book is available in Career Services Write for Success: Preparing a Successful Professional School Application (3rd edition) by Evelyn Jackson & Harold Bardo (National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, Inc. 2005).

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