Sample Personal Statements

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Permalink Reply by Sara Roberts MD on January 25, 2009 at 1:05pm

PERSONAL STATEMENT (INTERNAL MEDICINE)

Choosing a specialty in medicine, like medical school in general is a unique experience that will make a tremendous impact on the rest personal and professional life. I saw a lot of my classmates are dead set on specific careers before they even make their first shaky incision of a cadaver in anatomy lab. Others think they know which field they ultimately want to pursue, only to discover later on that everything about their chosen specialty disagree with them. Then there are people like me, who went to medical school decided to become a physician, but not really knowing which kind. I also saw some seniors in medical school who ending up changed their specialties like three times before they finally feel comfortable with what they are doing. So, I decided to wait and experience my clinical years in medical school before deciding which specialty that I’d like to choose. But I could not deny how I really enjoy studying pathology, physiology and pharmacology at the most.

Throughout my clinical years in medical school, working directly with people at the hospitals and clinical settings has always interested me. I have the passions to keenly learn about the clinical findings and symptoms that the patients have in order to make a correct diagnosis and treat them. The most precious moments in my life were my clinical rotation in Internal Medicine Department of M.Hoesin General Hospital, Palembang, Indonesia where my medical school affiliated with. I met a lot of Residents who were kindly help me to know more about the clinical findings and symptoms of common diseases that we found in the wards, as well as how to establish the diagnosis and treatment.

I cannot forget the day when I had a night duty and we were lacking of medical students and residents. I was responsible to do complete physical exams and taking histories of newly admitted patients. Since we were lacking of people at that time, I was responsible to take care of four wings of subspecialty, Infectious Diseases, Gastroenterology-Hepatology, Pulmonology and Nephrology. There were a patient came with severe diarrhea that ended up having hyperthyroidism as final diagnosis. Jaundiced patient who ended up having metastases colon cancer and there were a delirious patient that were diagnosed with meningitis that later on we figured out that he has a typhoid fever. The chief resident in charged that night allowed me to do follow up everyday and wrote some prescriptions and certain supplements for this typhoid patient under his approval. I made a case report presentation regarding this patient and I got some compliments from my peer medical students, senior residents and the attending physicians. After I was done with my presentation, one of the resident who was in charged in Infectious Diseases Subspecialty told me that the patient who had the typhoid fever is being discharged today and supposed to be at 7 am, but he and his family patiently waited for me for over 5 hours. They thank me for all my cares and what I have done so that the patient now recovered. They thought I was one of the attending physicians. I was so touched. I told them that I was only a medical student and that I was just doing my duties. But they did not believe that, they said they can feel the sincerity and passions in my cares toward the patient and they think not very many physicians nor other healthcare providers that have those characters nowadays. My tears was fallen, that was the best experience during my whole clinical rotations as well as the best day in my life

After I graduated from medical school, soonly after I met all the requirements to earn my practicing license in primary care medicine and I was practicing general medicine and worked in some clinics before I finally came to the United States. In the middle of my preparations to meet all the requirements for the MATCH, I managed to get some licenses in allied health and had some more wonderful experiences in Internal Medicine, especially in Endocrinology and realized how my enthusiasm is growing even more in Internal medicine.

My enthusiasm in Internal Medicine just cannot be stopped. Now I just realized the connections between Pathology, Physiology and Pharmacology as the foundation of Internal Medicine. The variety of patients and diseases that I found in the setting draws me toward this field and grow the enthusiasm even more. After all, that was my reasons of becoming a physician, to diagnosed and treat the diseases in order to help relief other people suffers. I intend to take full advantage of the training offered and become an extremely competent, well-trained and respected physician so that I can be a resource for my patients and a source of appropriate medical care as well. I look forward to being able to employ that knowledge competently and effectively throughout the course of my career in medicine.

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Permalink Reply by Cyber MD on January 30, 2009 at 10:04am

Orthopedic Personal Statement:

As I approach the next step in my medical education, I look back over my twenty-five years and see several experiences that have led me to pursue a career in orthopedic surgery. These experiences have allowed me to develop certain traits that would make me a valuable member of an orthopedic team. When I was growing up, my father was always working on a project around the house. From building a deck in the backyard, to replacing the brakes or exhaust system on the family car, I was frequently out there helping him. Learning about the mechanisms that make things work became very fascinating to me. Additionally, using my hands to create or to fix things that were broken became quite enjoyable, and seeing the end results of my efforts brought me a sense of pride and accomplishment. These interests in how things work, and subsequently how to repair them when needed, led me to pursue studies in the sciences. Further education in the sciences drew me to medicine, and specifically to orthopedics. As an orthopedist, I envision having the same kind of feelings. Whether repairing a fractured bone or replacing a worn-out joint, I would again initially consider the mechanisms involved in normal function, and then use my hands to fix things that were broken or create something entirely new. The end result, a return to normal or near-normal function and subsequent improvement in quality of life, would be extremely satisfying to the patient as well as to me. Years of involvement in team athletics have also contributed to shaping my career path. Engaging in football, basketball, and baseball, from Little League all the way to college intramurals, has taught me many important lessons: the value of hard work, how to function well with others as part of a unit, and about making personal sacrifices for the greater good of the team. While these values are important in virtually any career, they seem especially critical for a resident physician in a surgical field. Sometimes an athlete must risk personal harm in order to advance the goals of the team. In fact, it was an athletic injury that provided me with my first exposure to the field of orthopedic surgery. While playing intramural football during my freshman year of college, I tore the medial meniscus in my right knee. Due to the symptoms associated with the injury, I subsequently underwent arthroscopic surgery twice. During both operations, regional anesthesia was used, which allowed me the opportunity to be conscious during the surgery. Because my orthopedist was very interested in his role as an educator as well as a healer, he was more than willing to explain what he was doing as I followed along on one of the television monitors. The ability to perform technologically advanced surgery through such small incisions was immediately fascinating to me. By the time the second surgery took place, medical school was already in my future, and pursuing a career in orthopedic surgery became a distinct possibility. Embarking upon my clinical rotations, I vowed to keep an open mind regarding residency selection, to see what the various medical and surgical fields were like. Feeling the most excited yet most comfortable in the operating room made my choice between surgical and medical fields rather easy. After further contemplating my experiences and options, I realized that orthopedic surgery was what I saw for my future. Of all the factors involved in making my decision, the most vital one was actually the simplest. The ability to enjoy going to work every day is very important to me. It was during the orthopedics rotation that I would wake up in the morning before my alarm clock went off, eagerly anticipating what the day would bring, and finally leaving at night in disbelief that so many hours could seemingly pass so quickly. This was all the evidence that I needed to ensure that this was the right choice for me. As for what the future holds, although I am not sure which orthopedic subspecialty I might pursue after residency, my plan is to combine my interests in clinical care, education, and research into developing a well-rounded practice. Through this practice, I look forward to making meaningful and rewarding contributions to my patients, my colleagues, and to the field of orthopedics.

source: www.alphaomegaalpha.org

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Permalink Reply by Cyber MD on July 15, 2009 at 4:19am

PEDIATRICS SAMPLE - Univ of North Carolina

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Permalink Reply by Cyber MD on July 15, 2009 at 4:21am

Internal Medicine Sample PS - Univ of North Carolina

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Permalink Reply by Cyber MD on July 15, 2009 at 4:22am

FAMILY MEDICINE- SAMPLE PS- Univ of North Carolina

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