A Start to Your Personal Statement

Written by Adam Ephraim

Toward the end of your third year in medical school, your memories with patients during rotations likely blend. In preparation for residency applications, think about 3 to 5 of your most poignant patient interactions and write them down in narrative format. Describe the case, and include specific dialogue you had with the patient. Make sure to explain in great detail the way you felt throughout the patient interaction. Demonstrate that you can reflect upon how the patient must have felt during their hospital stay or clinic visit. Show that you have continued to reflect on this patient, and how it has changed the way you think about future interactions with patients. Also, explain what you learned from this experience with the patient.

Your 3 to 5 key patient interactions that you are writing don't all have to be with patients in the specialty you are applying into. But try to explain why these foundational interactions with patients informed your decision to pursue this specialty.

Once you have completed these write-ups, read through them and see if any common threads can be identified. This will get the creative process flowing for your personal statement. A good personal statement might start with a patient encounter and describes what you learned from the experience and concisely informs your decision to pursue your specialty of choice.

Having these patient stories will also serve you well on the interview trail, and I will get into that in detail as interview season approaches. The more you document your experiences with patients, the easier interviews will be.