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Residency Statement Guide
Constructing your personal statement for residency
programs may revive old feelings of frustration and
despair similar to concocting your personal statement
for medical school some four or more years ago. Just
like your AMCAS personal statement, the essay for
residency programs in the field(s) of your choice
represents the only portion of your application over
which you have complete autonomy. For this reason, many
residency directors place great import on this
statement.
This document is intended to assist you in crafting an
effective residency personal statement by providing a
brief overview of the application system, and the "do's"
and "don'ts" in your essay.
OVERVIEW OF ERAS
The Electronic Residency Application Services (ERAS)
provided by the American Association of Medical Colleges
(AAMC) is much akin to the American Medical College
Application Service (AMCAS) that most of you used to
apply to medical school. In 2003, 95% of all accredited
U.S. residency programs will utilize ERAS. ERAS allows
you to upload your entire residency application online
and forward it to all programs to which you wish to
apply that participate in the National Residency
Matching Program (NRMP). Please note that the following
specialty programs participate in a separate early match
outside of the NRMP:
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Urology
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Ophthalmology
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Neurology
-
Neurosurgery
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Otolaryngology
Starting with the 2003 application process, the American
Urological Association has placed most of its programs
under the ERAS system. The other four specialties
participate in the SF Match, a separate early match
program. Please refer to each of these fields for their
own special application criteria.
Please refer to the following URL to gather more
specific information on ERAS:
http://www.aamc.org/students/eras/
HOW TO CRAFT YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT
The personal statement can be no longer than one typed
paged on the ERAS system. This usually corresponds to a
document between 750 and 850 words. Ensure that your
statement fits in the ERAS allotted space, because the
program will eliminate all lines that exceed its length
restrictions.
Key differences from medical school personal
statement (MSPS)
A) You actually have to provide your application
reviewers with valuable information. If you discuss
nothing else, the following three topics must be
addressed in your statement.
1. Why are you interested in the field of your choice?
2. What are you looking for in a residency program?
3. How the field aligns with your professional goals?
B) Originality and creativity do not hold the same
importance that they did in your MSPS. Once again,
your application reviewers will be reading several
hundreds of applications; so you will need to present an
attention-grabbing statement. However, the fluffiness
and individuality so valued in MSPSs are secondary to
addressing the three themes I mentioned in section A.
While discussing your personal development always
distinguishes you, you should focus such development in
the context of your decision to pursue a chosen medical
field.
C) Advisors in the specific field(s) of your choice
are essential to determining the appropriate themes of
your personal statement. Unlike your MSPS, in which
an individualized, focused essay providing some sort of
self-profile serves as the desired prototype, each
specialty and subspecialty has certain types of
individuals for which they are searching. For instance,
many primary care fields place a huge emphasis on your
community service involvement whereas more competitive
specialties such as dermatology and orthopedic surgery
seem to be more concerned with research endeavors and
publications in their field. You should identify both a
resident, who has just gone through the application
process, and an attending physician, who is well-versed
in the nuances of your desired specialty, to serve as
advisors regarding the content of your personal
statement.
General "Do's"
1.
Unite your essay with a central theme. If possible paint
multiple pictures of your medical school development
around this theme, and link it to your field of choice.
2. Unless you pursued another degree or participated in
some significant research or community service project
during your preclinical years, most of the content of
your statement should address your clinical development
during clerkships. Most residency programs express
minimal concern for your preclinical performance,
presuming that you suffered no academic failures or
setbacks. If your institution has grades, your
transcript will speak for your preclinical performance.
The only information that you should address during your
preclinical years of medical school should be related to
obtaining other degrees or discussing significant
volunteer or research endeavors. You should be able to
relate the latter to your current interest to pursue the
field of your choice.
3. Use interesting or unique background experiences to
complement your personal statement. This will be your
"anti-clone" factor that distinguishes you from every
other individual applying in your field. You will need
to ensure that these personal factors, triumphs,
obstacles, or experiences are clearly relevant to the
progression of your essay. Fluffy and tangential topics
will not be tolerated as well in residency personal
statements as they were in MSPSs.
4. Utilize the following advice, which applies to all
admissions essays:
-
Begin your statement with an attention-grabbing
first paragraph.
-
Provide specific narratives or examples in order to
demonstrate any personal attributes you cultivated
or lessons you learned. Avoid making statements such
as "I am determined and hardworking" without backing
them up with solid evidence.
-
Keep your sentences concise and direct. Many of the
physician application reviewers are busy people who
cannot decipher advanced literary writing
techniques.
-
Link your conclusion back to your introduction.
General "Don'ts"
1. Your statement should not be an expanded version of
your CV. The ERAS application allows more than ample
space for you to discuss your paid work and volunteer
experiences, research endeavors and publications,
language fluency, hobbies and interests, and other
awards and accomplishments. Only mention relevant
endeavors or poignant experiences.
2. You should avoid including any information in your
essay that you could not discuss for at least an hour or
that may be contradicted by other written evidence.
Though this may seem facetious, some applicants will
exaggerate their role in particular research projects or
community service activities, but be unable to discuss
them thoroughly in interviews. This can prove to be
extremely detrimental to your candidacy. Also, some
applicants have written things in these statements that
directly contradict information written by their
recommenders. Because waiving your rights to viewing
letters of recommendation is the norm, you often will
not know what your letter writers will say about you.
Thus, only truthful information should appear in your
statement.
3. Your essay should avoid the following common
indicators of poorly written or edited documents:
SUMMARY
Overall, the most important advice to remember when
crafting your personal statement is to provide yourself
with plenty of time to write it. Two or three months
prior to the date you wish to submit your final
applications should prove sufficient. While respecting
the different perspectives of each individual you wish
to comment on your drafts, you should limit your
statement to only a few individuals, making sure that
one or two physicians in your desired field are among
them. Also, do not be afraid to scrap one draft
completely, and start another thought from scratch.
Finally, be true to yourself in this essay. This is your
once chance to show the unique side of yourself. Do not
overdo it, but do not fail to do it. Good luck with your
application process. |
