Fourth-year medicine students are hard at work preparing for their final year at NEOMED, which includes creating high stakes writing manuscripts such as their Curriculum Vitae, personal statements and culminating in submitting their Electronic Residency Application (ERAs). Many students ask if there is a formula for the personal statement. While I suggest there are no formulas to writing one’s own narrative, there is a way to help get all the information on paper for the first draft.
Requirements:
- Single Spaced; 11 pt or 12 pt font
- No more than one single page
- It must be your story. You are the main character. It must be personal.
Suggestions:
- Avoid the “Hero Stories.”
- Avoiding quoting from other sources, or famous cliches and quotes.
- Provide new information that cannot be found on the CV or Transcript.
- Tell a story that provides insight into how you handle struggles and failures.
- Do not tell what the program will do for you. Show what you will do for the program.
Potential Paragraph Outline:
- Paragraph One: Write about a time that you struggled with something or a time in your life that makes meaning out of your medical school experience.
- Paragraph Two: Show the reader how you turned that struggle into success. (What did you learn from this struggle?)
- Paragraph Three: How did this struggle narrative lead you to your specialty? How can you apply what you learned in your narrative to your specialty and medical education?
- Paragraph Four: What about this specialty is the best fit? (This can be a specific program or general.)
- Paragraph Five: What are you looking for in a program and why are you a great fit.
Once the first draft is written, have your draft reviewed by the Writing Center staff.
– submitted by Brian Harrell, writing specialist