what to include in a medicine personal statement

2024 How to Write a Medical School Personal Statement (11 Steps)

• By Med School Insiders
• December 2, 2023
• Medical Student , Pre-med
• Medical School Application , Personal Statement

Each piece of a med school application brings a unique set of anxiety-ridden challenges, but few equal that of the personal statement. A personal statement is much, much more than a narrative-version of your CV. Reiterating your grades and extracurriculars in complete sentences is not how to write a medical school personal statement.

A personal statement is an opportunity to tell your story. Why do you want to study medicine? What drives you? This is your chance to let an admissions committee know who you really are beyond your grades.

Of course, you’re studying to become a doctor, not a novelist, which means the idea of crafting your personal statement may seem daunting, to say the least.

In this guide, we’ll take a comprehensive, step-by-step look at how to write a medical school personal statement, including how to get started, everything you need to include, and common mistakes to avoid.

Article Sections

• Anatomy of Medical School Personal Statement

What Med School Admissions Committees Look For

How to get started.

• How to Write a Personal Statement

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Medical school personal statement examples, anatomy of a medical school personal statement.

A personal statement has a 5,300 character maximum, about 1.5 pages of single-spaced 12-point Times New Roman font. The challenge isn’t trying to fill in words; the challenge is selecting the key moments in your life that made you want to be a doctor and expressing them concisely.

A personal statement is made up of three parts:

Introduction

It’s essentially a short essay that uses your life experience to succinctly demonstrate why you’re the right person for the job. If someone’s making a movie about your life and the events that shaped your desire to become a doctor, what key moments do you want to highlight?

Your introduction must capture an admissions committee’s attention. Use the introduction to hook your readers. The first few sentences should entice them to read more.

There isn’t a perfect number of paragraphs or set structure. This is where you discuss the experiences that have shaped your personality, your desire to study medicine, and your dreams for the future.

This is the summary of your statement, and it should tie in directly to your introduction. Now is the time to emphasize why you want to be a physician and your future goals.

Learn more about the Anatomy of a Stellar Medical School Personal Statement .

Admissions committees need to know they’re accepting students who are ready to face the rigorous day-and-night grind of medical school. They have your CV and transcripts; now you need to demonstrate you have what it takes to succeed.

The personal statement is your chance to display your personality and highlight the experiences that shaped you. What drives you? What strengths and experiences will you bring to medical school? Why are you an asset?

The admissions committee isn’t looking for a list of your accomplishments. They want to know your story . Don’t tell the admissions committee you’re compassionate and driven; show them with tangible examples from your life.

So you’re a great listener. What’s a moment in your past that demonstrates this? If you care deeply about the wellbeing of others, what story from your life illustrates that passion?

1 | Read Real Personal Statement Examples

Right off the bat, it’s important to remember that you’re not alone—far from it. Every medical student who came before you has written personal statements, which means you have a wealth of examples to read and learn from.

Every personal statement is unique to the writer. Don’t expect to find a perfect blueprint you can copy off of, but reading several different personal statements will give you a sense of the themes, concepts, strategies, and stories that can help you find success.

If you know people in your own life who have successfully matriculated to med school, it’s a good idea to ask them if you can take a look at their personal statement. Med School Insiders compiled a database of personal statements donated by successful medical school applicants. Reading successful personal statements will give you an idea of what’s expected.

Reading bad personal statements can also give you an idea of what mistakes to avoid. Learn from our bad personal statement examples , which includes key insights into what you should do instead.

2 | Reflect on Past Experiences

Take this as an opportunity to reflect. Don’t think of it as brainstorming, and don’t worry about being creative just yet. Simply think back on key moments from your past.

Think of your personal statement like your superhero origin story. You may have excellent grades, abilities, and a natural aptitude for science, but why are you pursuing medicine? What moment or moments in your life revealed to you why you had to be a doctor?

Take Spider-Man. Yes, Peter Parker received his superpowers from a radioactive spider bite, but that’s not why he fights crime; Spider-Man fights crime so that what happened to his Uncle Ben never happens to anyone else. Bruce Wayne is incredibly smart, incredibly strong, and incredibly rich, but that’s not why he fights crime as Batman. Bruce Wayne became Batman so that no one else would lose their parents to a random act of violence like he did.

The truth is, a lot of superheroes have pretty similar motivations, and doctors have similar motivations, too. Your desire to become a doctor likely stems from a genuine intellectual interest in medicine, a desire to work closely with other humans, and a drive to help people and save lives. The other med school hopefuls you’re applying with have very similar motivations.

The key is digging deep and determining what you value most about becoming a doctor. Once you know that, think about the tangible experiences in your life that helped you realize those values.

Utilize our list of 25 medical school personal statement prompts as you ideate and reflect on your life to date.

3 | Choose Which Experiences/Traits to Highlight

Identify three to four personal strengths you are particularly proud of and want the admissions committee to know. Where did these strengths shine in your premedical years? What experiences helped you build on these strengths? This will make up the body of your personal statement.

Remember: writing a personal statement takes time—and lots of it. It will likely take several different attempts and drafts. After discussing your selected strengths, you may find that they don’t define you well enough or that there are better options. Don’t be discouraged. Give yourself plenty of time to reflect on and explore a variety of different strengths.

Don’t forget about the interview; the admissions committee will certainly ask you to further elaborate on the experiences outlined in your personal statement. Share personal stories that you want to be asked about and feel comfortable addressing.

Generally, personal statements involve experiences in the following categories:

• A passion for patient interaction
• Intellectual curiosity for medicine (academics, research, etc.)
• Dedication and discipline (medicine or another pursuit)
• Perseverance in the face of adversity
• Interpersonal and professional skills

How to Write a Medical School Personal Statement

4 | show, don’t tell.

If essays or storytelling aren’t necessarily your strong suit, think back to math class and those equations where the teacher made you show your work for the full grade. It’s not enough that you got the answer right; you had to show how you arrived at the answer.

Think of this in the same way. It’s great that you’re compassionate, but the admissions committee isn’t going to take you at your word. They want you to back up that claim with evidence. It is vital that you show the admissions committee you’re compassionate with concrete examples from your life that illustrate your journey to medicine.

It’s much more impactful to share a story that demonstrates specific qualities than it is to tell someone you have those qualities directly. Saying you are hardworking or resilient is not enough. You need to craft a story that allows the reader to infer those qualities about you.

5 | Leverage the Narrative-Based Approach

You are applying to medical school along with an immense number of other students with great grades, stellar qualifications, and impressive clinical hours. These are all key to your medical school application, but the best grades in the world won’t set you apart in the eyes of the admissions committee.

Your personal statement is a chance to stand out in a crowded field. Too many personal statements read like a CV but with full paragraphs, which quickly becomes monotonous.

Leverage a narrative-based approach so that the admissions committee is excited to learn more about you. Your entire application should illustrate your compelling journey toward becoming a doctor. Highlight how your experiences make you an asset who will contribute uniquely to the medical school.

It’s not enough to simply check off the boxes. The admissions committee wants to know your story.

Learn How to Develop a Cohesive Narrative for Medical School Applications .

6 | Create an Outline

After taking the time to reflect on the experiences and traits you want to include in your personal statement, create an outline to structure your approach .

You do not need to stick to it, but this is the general structure of most personal statements:

• Introduction (A strong hook to catch the reader’s attention—usually an anecdote or reflection that introduces the theme of your story. Hook the reader with the opening sentence.)
• Experience 1
• Experience 2
• Experience 3
• Conclusion (Tie your story back to the opening hook/theme. Summarize why you want to be a physician and what your future goals are.)

Remember, this is not a list of your accomplishments. The personal statement must read like a cohesive narrative, not a resume.

Establish a theme in the introduction that’s central to your desire to become a doctor. Each following paragraph will illustrate how your personal experiences have shaped that desire and prepared you for your journey. In the conclusion, gracefully tie back to your central theme or hook to turn the personal statement into a consistent, interconnected story.

7 | Force Yourself to Start Writing

It’s understandable and common to feel overwhelmed while writing a personal statement. In fact, if you don’t feel overwhelmed, it’s safe to say that you’re not taking this seriously enough.

Start with a theme, but don’t get stuck trying to come up with the perfect opening sentence. That comes later. Once you have a general outline, just start writing. See what happens, and—most importantly—be kind to yourself.

The first words you write won’t be perfect, but they will get you started. You should fully expect the first draft of your personal statement to be terrible. That’s okay. First drafts are never perfect.

Your first draft probably won’t look anything like your final essay. Put one foot in front of the other and just start writing. Get the ideas out and worry about editing later.

8 | Keep it Concise and Direct

In your subsequent drafts, focus on cutting down your words and being concise. It’s not your use of flowery language that will impress the admissions committee. Forget about extravagant word choices and convoluted sentence structure. You don’t have the space for poetic tangents anyway.

Use your words efficiently, and favor clear language over long, complicated words. It’s easy for readers to spot when you’re using a thesaurus, and it will only take away from your end message. Find the simplest way to say something.

For example:

Hard-working over Assiduous

Compassion over Magnanimity

Agree over Concur

Use tools like the Hemingway App to keep your language direct and concise.

9 | Take Some Time Away

Take time away from your drafts. Once you complete a draft, take a break, and let it sit. Go for a walk, watch some TV, or work on a completely different activity. After your break, come back to your personal statement with fresh eyes. You may find that the fantastic opening line you came up with isn’t so fantastic anymore, or that sentence you weren’t so sure about actually works really well.

Writing your personal statement will take time. Even if you feel extremely confident in your personal statement, take time away from it and come back.

10 | Refine, Review, and Edit

We recommend using editing apps like Grammarly and Hemingway Editor , but don’t rely on bots alone to catch possible mistakes.

Ask your friends and family for their first impressions on the content of your personal statement. Tell them to be brutally honest (because the admissions committee certainly will be.) Reach out to a mentor or people who have been through this process before.

Spelling or grammar mistakes indicate carelessness on your part and are an automatic red flag for admissions committees. Read over your work carefully, and ask others you trust to do the same.

The editing process is such a critical phase for your personal statement. Learn how to edit your personal statement to impress admissions committees.

11 | Invest in Essay Editing Services

Your medical school personal statement is arguably the most important piece of your application. While an excellent essay can lock-in your interview offer, a poorly-written personal statement can ruin your chances—even with stellar grades, impressive academic awards, and a notable list of extracurriculars.

Don’t risk your acceptance. Essay editing services can provide the help that friends, family, and mentors cannot.

Med School Insiders Personal Statement Editing Services includes careful analysis of content and tone as well as helpful insights into how you can improve your essay and impress admissions committees.

Avoid the following common personal statement mistakes .

• Don’t list your accomplishments or rehash your CV and extracurriculars.
• Don’t make spelling or grammar errors.
• Don’t overuse the word I. Doing so makes you more likely to state your accomplishments instead of telling a story.
• Don’t use flowery language or words you found in a thesaurus.
• Don’t explain to a physician what medicine is all about. Talk about yourself and your experiences; the admissions committee already understands medicine.
• Don’t state the obvious or use clichés. (Every applicant likes science and wants to help people.)
• Don’t lie or fabricate your personal stories.
• Don’t make excuses for poor grades or a low MCAT score.
• Don’t speak negatively about another physician or healthcare professional.
• Don’t plead for an interview or acceptance.
• Don’t edit your personal statement by yourself.
• Don’t procrastinate.

Learn more: 20 Personal Statement: Dos and Don’ts .

It’s important to read the personal statements of matriculated students. While you won’t be able to mimic someone else’s personal statement, you can still learn a lot from them, and reading different statements can spark ideas for your own essay.

We compiled a selection of real medical school personal statements from successful applicants. These statements are for reference purposes only and should not be plagiarized in any way. Plagiarism detection software is used when evaluating personal statements, and plagiarizing is grounds for an automatic disqualification.

Be sure to read the included feedback regarding the personal statements as well, as this will give you extra insight into what admissions committees are looking for.

Read Real Medical School Personal Statement Examples .

Medical School Personal Statement Editing

Don’t write your medical school personal statement alone—we can help. Med School Insiders offers a range of personal statement editing packages , from general editing to unlimited, in-depth editing with a physician who will be there to advise you every step of the way.

Learn more about our Comprehensive Medical School Admissions Packages . Our team of doctors has years of experience serving on admissions committees, so you’ll receive key insights from people who have been intimately involved with the selection process.

Next read: Guide to Understanding the Medical School Application Process

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Don't underestimate the power of the medical school personal statement to make a strong, positive impression on an admissions committee. Combined with your interview performance, your personal statement can account for 60% (or more) of your total admissions score!

Medical schools want to enroll bright, empathetic, communicative people. Here's how to write a compelling med school personal statement that shows schools who you are and what you're capable of.

Personal Statement Topics

Your medical school personal statement is a component of your primary application submitted via, TMDSAS (for Texas applications), or AACOMAS (NB: If you are applying to medical school in Canada, confirm the application process with your school, as not all application components may be submitted through AMCAS).

These applications offer broad topics to consider, and many essay approaches are acceptable. For example, you could write about:

• an experience that challenged or changed your perspective about medicine
• a relationship with a mentor or another inspiring individual
• a challenging personal experience
• unique hardships, challenges, or obstacles that may have influenced your educational pursuits
• your motivation to seek a career in medicine

You'll write an additional essay (or two) when you submit secondary applications to individual schools. These essays require you to respond to a specific question. Admissions committees will review your entire application, so choose subject matter that complements your original essay .

Read More: Strategies for Secondary Applications

How to Write a Personal Statement for Medical School

Follow these personal statement tips to help the admissions committee better understand you as a candidate.

1. Write, re-write, let it sit, and write again!

Allow yourself 6 months of writing and revision to get your essay in submission-ready shape. This gives you the time to take your first pass, set your draft aside (for a minimum of 24 hours), review what you’ve written, and re-work your draft.

2. Stay focused.

Your personal statement should highlight interesting aspects of your journey—not tell your entire life story. Choose a theme, stick to it, and support it with specific examples.

3. Back off the cliches.

Loving science and wanting to help people might be your sincere passions, but they are also what everyone else is writing about. Instead, be personal and specific.

4. Find your unique angle.

What can you say about yourself that no one else can? Remember, everyone has trials, successes and failures. What's important and unique is how you reacted to those incidents. Bring your own voice and perspective to your personal statement to give it a truly memorable flavor. 

5. Be interesting.

Start with a “catch” that will create intrigue before launching into the story of who you are. Make the admissions committee want to read on!

6. Show don't tell.

Instead of telling the admissions committee about your unique qualities (like compassion, empathy, and organization), show them through the stories you tell about yourself. Don’t just say it—actually prove it.

7. Embrace the 5-point essay format.

Here's a trusty format that you can make your own:

• 1st paragraph: These four or five sentences should "catch" the reader's attention.
• 3-4 body paragraphs: Use these paragraphs to reveal who you are. Ideally, one of these paragraphs will reflect clinical understanding and one will reflect service.
• Concluding paragraph: The strongest conclusion reflects the beginning of your essay, gives a brief summary of you are, and ends with a challenge for the future.

8. Good writing is simple writing.

Good medical students—and good doctors—use clear, direct language. Your essays should not be a struggle to comprehend.

9. Be thoughtful about transitions.

Be sure to vary your sentence structure. You don’t want your essay to be boring! Pay attention to how your paragraphs connect to each other.

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10. Stick to the rules.

Watch your word count. That’s 5,300 characters (including spaces) for AMCAS applications, 5,000 characters for TMDSAS, and 4,500 characters for AACOMAS.

11. Stay on topic.

Rambling not only uses up your precious character limit, but it also causes confusion! Think about the three to five “sound bytes” you want admissions committee to know and remember you by.

12. Don't overdo it.

Beware of being too self-congratulatory or too self-deprecating.

13. Seek multiple opinions.

Before you hit “submit,” ask several people you trust for feedback on your personal statement. The more time you have spent writing your statement, the less likely you are to spot any errors. A professor or friend whose judgment and writing skills you trust is invaluable.

Read More: 12 Smart Tips for Your AMCAS Application

14. Double-check the details.

Always check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. This goes for the rest of your application (like your activities list), too. A common oversight is referencing the wrong school in your statement! Give yourself (and your proofreaders) the time this task truly requires.

15. Consult the experts about your personal statement strategy.

Our med school admissions counselors can diagnose the “health” of your overall application, including your personal statement. Get expert help and guidance to write an effective personal statement that showcases not only your accomplishments, but your passion and your journey.

Want to get an edge over the crowd?

Our admissions experts know what it takes it get into med school. Get the customized strategy and guidance you need to help achieve your goals.

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Great Medical School Personal Statement Examples (2024-2025) Insider’s Guide

A physician and former medical school admissions officer teaches you how to write your medical school personal statement, step by step. Read several full-length medical school personal statement examples for inspiration.

In this article, a former medical school admissions officer explains exactly how to write a stand-out medical school personal statement!

Our goal is to empower you to write a medical school personal statement that reflects your individuality, truest aspirations and genuine motivations.

This guide also includes:

• Real life medical school personal statement examples
• Medical school personal statement inventory template and outline exercise
• AMCAS, TMDSAS, and AACOMAS personal statement prompts
• Advanced strategies to ensure you address everything admissions committees want to know
• The secret to writing a great medical school personal statement

So, if you want your medical school personal statement to earn more more medical school interviews, you will love this informative guide.

Let’s dive right in.

Table of Contents

Medical School Personal Statement Fundamentals

If you are getting ready to write your medical school personal statement for the 2024-2025 application year, you may already know that almost 60% of medical school applicants are not accepted every year . You have most likely also completed all of your medical school requirements and have scoured the internet for worthy medical school personal statement examples and guidance.

You know the medical school personal statement offers a crucial opportunity to show medical schools who you are beyond your GPA and MCAT score .

It provides an opportunity to express who you are as an individual, the major influences and background that have shaped your interests and values, what inspired you to pursue medicine, and what kind of a physician you envision yourself becoming.

However, with so much information online, you are not sure who to trust. We are happy you have found us!

Because the vast majority of people offering guidance are not former admissions officers or doctors , you must be careful when searching online.

We are real medical school admissions insiders and know what goes on behind closed doors and how to ensure your medical school personal statement has broad appeal while highlighting your most crucial accomplishments, perspectives, and insights.

With tight limits on space, it can be tough trying to decide what to include in your medical school personal statement to make sure you stand out. You must think strategically about how you want to present your personal “big picture” while showing you possess the preprofessional competencies med schools are seeking.

When a medical school admissions reviewer finishes reading your medical school personal statement, ask yourself:

• What are the most important things you want that person to remember about you?
• Does your medical school personal statement sum up your personality, interests, and talents?
• Does your medical school personal statement sound as if it’s written from the heart?

It’s pretty obvious to most admissions reviewers when applicants are trying too hard to impress them. Being authentic and upfront about who you are is the best way to be a memorable applicant.

The Biggest Medical School Personal Statement Mistakes

The most common medical school personal statement mistake we see students make is that they write about:

• What they have accomplished
• How they have accomplished it

By including details on what you have accomplished and how, you will make yourself sound like every other medical school applicant. 

Most medical school applicants are involved in similar activities: research, clinical work, service, and social justice work. 

To stand out, you must write from the heart making it clear you haven’t marched through your premedical years and checking boxes.

We also strongly discourage applicants from using ChatGPT or any AI bot to write their medical school personal statement. Writing in your own voice is essential and using anything automated will undermine success.

The Medical School Personal Statement Secret

MedEdits students stand out in the medical school personal statement because in their personal statements they address:

WHY they have accomplished what they have.

In other words, they write in more detail about their passions, interests, and what is genuinely important to them. 

It sounds simple, we know, but by writing in a natural way, really zeroing in on WHY YOU DO WHAT YOU DO, you will appeal to a wide variety of people in a humanistic way. 

MedEdits students have done extremely well in the most recent medical school admissions cycle. Many of these applicants have below average “stats” for the medical schools from which they are receiving interviews and acceptances.

Why? How is that possible? They all have a few things in common:

• They write a narrative that is authentic and distinctive to them.
• They write a medical school personal statement with broad appeal (many different types of people will be evaluating your application; most are not physicians).
• They don’t try too hard to impress; instead they write about the most impactful experiences they have had on their path to medical school.
• They demonstrate they are humble, intellectual, compassionate, and committed to a career in medicine all at the same time.

Keep reading for a step by step approach to write your medical school personal statement.

“After sitting on a medical school admissions committee for many years, I can tell you, think strategically about how you want to present your personal “big picture.” We want to know who you are as a human being.”

As physicians, former medical school faculty, and medical school admissions committee members, this article will offer a step by step guide to simplify the medical school personal statement brainstorming and writing process.

By following the proven strategies outlined in this article, you will be and to write a personal statement that will earn you more medical school interviews . This proven approach has helped hundreds of medical school applicants get in to medical school the first time they apply!

Learn the 2024-2025 Medical School Personal Statement Prompts ( AMCAS , TMDSAS , AACOMAS )

The personal statement is the major essay portion of your primary application process. In it, you should describe yourself and your background, as well as any important early exposures to medicine, how and why medicine first piqued your interest, what you have done as a pre med, your personal experiences, and how you became increasingly fascinated with it. It’s also key to explain why medicine is the right career for you, in terms of both personal and intellectual fulfillment, and to show your commitment has continued to deepen as you learned more about the field.

The personal statement also offers you the opportunity to express who you are outside of medicine. What are your other interests? Where did you grow up? What did you enjoy about college? Figuring out what aspects of your background to highlight is important since this is one of your only chances to express to the med school admissions committee before your interview what is important to you and why.

However, it is important to consider the actual personal statement prompt for each system through which you will apply, AMCAS, AACOMAS, and TMDSAS, since each is slightly different.

Getting into a medical school has never been more competitive. Let the experts at MedEdits help you with your medical school application materials. We’ve worked with more than 5,000 students and 94% have been admitted to medical school.

Need help with your Personal Statement?

Schedule a free 15 Minute Consultation with a MedEdits expert.

2024 AMCAS Personal Statement Prompt

The AMCAS personal statement instructions are as follows:

Use the Personal Comments Essay as an opportunity to distinguish yourself from other applicants. Consider and write your Personal Comments Essay carefully; many admissions committees place significant weight on the essay. Here are some questions that you may want to consider while writing the essay:

• Why have you selected the field of medicine?
• What motivates you to learn more about medicine?
• What do you want medical schools to know about you that hasn’t been disclosed in other sections of the application?

In addition, you may wish to include information such as:

• Unique hardships, challenges, or obstacles that may have influenced your educational pursuits
• Comments on significant fluctuations in your academic record that are not explained elsewhere in your application

As you can see, these prompts are not vague; there are fundamental questions that admissions committees want you to answer when writing your personal statement. While the content of your statement should be focused on medicine, answering the open ended third question is a bit trickier.

The AMCAS personal statement length is 5,300 characters with spaces maximum.

2024 TMDSAS Personal Statement Prompt

The TMDSAS personal statement is one of the most important pieces of your medical school application.

The TMDSAS personal statement prompt is as follows:

Explain your motivation to seek a career in medicine. Be sure to include the value of your experiences that prepare you to be a physician.

This TMDSAS prompt is very similar to the AMCAS personal statement prompt. The TMDSAS personal statement length is 5,000 characters with spaces whereas the AMCAS personal statement length is 5,300 characters with spaces. Most students use the same essay (with very minor modifications, if necessary) for both application systems.

You’ve been working hard on your med school application, reading medical school personal statement examples, editing, revising, editing and revising.  Make sure you know where you’re sending your personal statement and application.  Watch this important medical school admissions statistics video.

2024 AACOMAS Personal Statement Prompt

The AACOMAS personal statement is for osteopathic medical schools specifically. As with the AMCAS statement, you need to lay out your journey to medicine as chronologically as possible in 5,300 characters with spaces or less. So you essentially have the same story map as for an AMCAS statement. Most important, you must show you are interested in osteopathy specifically. Therefore, when trying to decide what to include or leave out, prioritize any osteopathy experiences you have had, or those that are in line with the osteopathic philosophy of the mind-body connection, the body as self-healing, and other tenets.

Medical School Application Timeline and When to Write your Personal Statement

If you’re applying to both allopathic and osteopathic schools, you can most likely use the same medical school personal statement for both AMCAS and AACOMAS. In fact, this is why AACOMAS changed the personal statement length to match the AMCAS length several years ago.

Most medical school personal statements can be used for AMCAS and AACOMAS.

Know the Required Medical School Personal Statement Length

Below are the medical schools personal statement length limits for each application system. As you can see, they are all very similar. When you start brainstorming and writing your personal statement, keep these limits in mind.

AMCAS Personal Statement Length : 5,300 characters with spaces.

As per the AAMC website :   “The available space for this essay is 5,300 characters (spaces are counted as characters), or approximately one page. You will receive an error message if you exceed the available space.”

AACOMAS Personal Statement Length : 5,300 characters with spaces

TMDSAS Personal Statement Length : 5,000 characters with spaces

As per the TMDSAS Website (Page 36): “The personal essay asks you to explain your motivation to seek a career in medicine. You are asked to include the value of your experiences that prepare you to be a physician. The essay is limited to 5000 characters, including spaces.”

Demonstrate Required Preprofessional Competencies

Next, your want to be aware of the nine preprofessional core competencies as outlined by the Association of American Medical Colleges . Medical school admissions committees want to see, as evidenced by your medical school personal statement and application, that you possess these qualities and characteristics. Now, don’t worry, medical school admissions committees don’t expect you to demonstrate all of them, but, you should demonstrate some.

• Service Orientation
• Social Skills
• Cultural Competence
• Oral Communication
• Ethical Responsibility to Self and Others
• Reliability and Dependability
• Resilience and Adaptability
• Capacity for Improvement

In your personal statement, you might be able to also demonstrate the four thinking and reasoning competencies:

• Critical Thinking
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Written Communication
• Scientific Inquiry

So, let’s think about how to address the personal statement prompts in a slightly different way while ensuring you demonstrate the preprofessional competencies. When writing your personal statement, be sure it answers the four questions that follow and you will “hit” most of the core competencies listed above.

1. What have you done that supports your interest in becoming a doctor?

I always advise applicants to practice “evidence based admissions.” The reader of your essay wants to see the “evidence” that you have done what is necessary to understand the practice of medicine. This includes clinical exposure, research, and community service, among other activities.

2. Why do you want to be a doctor?

This may seem pretty basic – and it is – but admissions officers need to know WHY you want to practice medicine. Many applicants make the mistake of simply listing what they have done without offering insights about those experiences that answer the question, “Why medicine?” Your reasons for wanting to be a doctor may overlap with those of other applicants. This is okay because the experiences in which you participated, the stories you can tell about those experiences, and the wisdom you gained are completely distinct—because they are only yours. 

“In admissions committee meetings we were always interested in WHY you wanted to earn a medical degree and how you would contribute to the medical school community.”

Medical school admissions committees want to know that you have explored your interest deeply and that you can reflect on the significance of these clinical experiences and volunteer work. But writing only that you “want to help people” does not support a sincere desire to become a physician; you must indicate why the medical profession in particular—rather than social work, teaching, or another “helping” profession—is your goal. 

3. How have your experiences influenced you?

It is important to show how your experiences are linked and how they have influenced you. How did your experiences motivate you? How did they affect what else you did in your life? How did your experiences shape your future goals? Medical school admissions committees like to see a sensible progression of involvements. While not every activity needs to be logically “connected” with another, the evolution of your interests and how your experiences have nurtured your future goals and ambitions show that you are motivated and committed.

4. Who are you as a person? What are your values and ideals?

Medical school admissions committees want to know about you as an individual beyond your interests in medicine, too. This is where answering that third open ended question in the prompt becomes so important. What was interesting about your background, youth, and home life? What did you enjoy most about college? Do you have any distinctive passions or interests? They want to be convinced that you are a good person beyond your experiences. Write about those topics that are unlikely to appear elsewhere in your statement that will offer depth and interest to your work and illustrate the qualities and characteristics you possess.

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Complete Your Personal Inventory and Outline (Example Below)

The bulk of your essay should be about your most valuable experiences, personal, academic, scholarly, clinical, academic and extracurricular activities that have impacted your path to medical school and through which you have learned about the practice of medicine. The best personal statements cover several topics and are not narrow in scope. Why is this important? Many different people with a variety of backgrounds, interests, and ideas of what makes a great medical student will be reading your essay. You want to make sure you essay has broad appeal.

The following exercise will help you to determine what experiences you should highlight in your personal statement. 

When composing your personal statement, keep in mind that you are writing, in effect, a “story” of how you arrived at this point in your life. But, unlike a “story” in the creative sense, yours must also offer convincing evidence for your decision to apply to medical school. Before starting your personal statement, create an experience- based personal inventory:

• Write down a list of the most important experiences in your life and your development. The list should be all inclusive and comprise those experiences that had the most impact on you. Put the list, which should consist of personal, extracurricular, and academic events, in chronological order.
• From this list, determine which experiences you consider the most important in helping you decide to pursue a career in medicine. This “experience oriented” approach will allow you to determine which experiences best illustrate the personal competencies admissions committees look for in your written documents. Remember that you must provide evidence for your interest in medicine and for most of the personal qualities and characteristics that medical school admissions committees want to see.
• After making your list, think about why each “most important” experience was influential and write that down. What did you observe? What did you learn? What insights did you gain? How  did the experience influence your path and choices?
• Then think of a story or illustration for why each experience was important.
• After doing this exercise, evaluate each experience for its significance and influence and for its “story” value. Choose to write about those experiences that not only were influential but that also will provide interesting reading, keeping in mind that  your goal is to weave the pertinent experiences together into a compelling story. In making your choices, think about how you will link each experience and transition from one topic to the next.
• Decide which of your listed experiences you will use for your introduction first (see below for more about your introduction). Then decide which experiences you will include in the body of your personal statement, create a general outline, and get writing!

Remember, you will also have your work and activities entries and your secondary applications to write in more detail about your experiences. Therefore, don’t feel you must pack everything in to your statement!

Craft a Compelling Personal Statement Introduction and Body

You hear conflicting advice about application essays. Some tell you not to open with a story. Others tell you to always begin with a story. Regardless of the advice you receive, be sure to do three things:

• Be true to yourself. Everyone will have an opinion regarding what you should and should not write. Follow your own instincts. Your personal statement should be a reflection of you, and only you.
• Start your personal statement with something catchy.  Think about the list of potential topics above.
• Don’t rush your work. Composing thoughtful documents takes time and you don’t want your writing and ideas to be sloppy and underdeveloped.

Most important is to begin with something that engages your reader. A narrative, a “story,” an anecdote written in the first or third person, is ideal. Whatever your approach, your first paragraph must grab your reader’s attention and motivate him to want to continue reading. I encourage applicants to start their personal statement by describing an experience that was especially influential in setting them on their path to medical school. This can be a personal or scholarly experience or an extracurricular one. Remember to avoid clichés and quotes and to be honest and authentic in your writing. Don’t try to be someone who you are not by trying to imitate personal statement examples you have read online or “tell them what you think they want to hear”; consistency is key and your interviewer is going to make sure that you are who you say you are!

When deciding what experiences to include in the body of your personal statement, go back to your personal inventory and identify those experiences that have been the most influential in your personal path and your path to medical school. Keep in mind that the reader wants to have an idea of who you are as a human being so don’t write your personal statement as a glorified resume. Include some information about your background and personal experiences that can give a picture of who you are as a person outside of the classroom or laboratory.

Ideally, you should choose two or three experiences to highlight in the body of your personal statement. You don’t want to write about all of your accomplishments; that is what your application entries are for!

Write Your Personal Statement Conclusion

In your conclusion, it is customary to “go full circle” by coming back to the topic—or anecdote—you introduced in the introduction, but this is not a must. Summarize why you want to be a doctor and address what you hope to achieve and your goals for medical school. Write a conclusion that is compelling and will leave the reader wanting to meet you.

Complete Personal Statement Checklist

When reading your medical school personal statement be sure it:

Shows insight and introspection

The best medical school personal statements tell a great deal about what you have learned through your experiences and the insights you have gained.

You want to tell your story by highlighting those experiences that have been the most influential on your path to medical school and to give a clear sense of chronology. You want your statement always to be logical and never to confuse your reader.

Is interesting and engaging

The best personal statements engage the reader. This doesn’t mean you must use big words or be a literary prize winner. Write in your own language and voice, but really think about your journey to medical school and the most intriguing experiences you have had.

Gives the reader a mental image of who you are

You want the reader to be able to envision you as a caregiver and a medical professional. You want to convey that you would be a compassionate provider at the bedside – someone who could cope well with crisis and adversity.

Illustrates your passion for, and commitment to, medicine

Your reader must be convinced that you are excited about and committed to a career in medicine!

Above all, your personal statement should be about you. Explain to your reader what you have done and why you want to be a doctor with insight, compassion, and understanding.

Medical School Personal Statement Myths

Also keep in mind some common myths about personal statements that I hear quite often:

My personal statement must have a theme.

Not true. The vast majority of personal statements do not have themes. In fact, most are somewhat autobiographical and are just as interesting as those statements that are woven around a “theme.” It is only the very talented writer who can creatively write a personal statement around a theme, and this approach often backfires since the applicant fails to answer the three questions above.

My personal statement must be no longer than one page.

Not true. This advice is antiquated and dates back to the days of the written application when admissions committees flipped through pages. If your personal statement is interesting and compelling, it is fine to use the entire allotted space. The application systems have incorporated limits for exactly this reason! Many students, depending on their unique circumstances, can actually undermine their success by limiting their personal statement to a page. That said, never max out a space just for the sake of doing so. Quality writing and perspectives are preferable to quantity.

My personal statement should not describe patient encounters or my personal medical experiences.

Not true. Again, the actual topics on which you focus in your personal statement are less important than the understanding you gained from those experiences. I have successful clients who have written extremely powerful and compelling personal statements that included information about clinical encounters – both personal and professional. Write about whichever experiences were the most important on your path to medicine. It’s always best, however, to avoid spending too much space on childhood and high school activities. Focus instead on those that are more current.

In my personal statement I need to sell myself.

Not exactly true. You never want to boast in your personal statement. Let your experiences, insights, and observations speak for themselves. You want your reader to draw the conclusion – on his or her own – that you have the qualities and characteristics the medical school seeks. Never tell what qualities and characteristics you possess; let readers draw these conclusions on their own based on what you write.

Medical School Personal Statement Examples and Analysis for Inspiration

Below are examples of actual medical school personal statements. You can also likely find medical school personal statements on Reddit.

AMCAS Medical School Personal Statement Example and Analysis #1 with Personal Inventory  

We will use Amy to illustrate the general process of writing an application to medical school, along with providing the resulting documents. Amy will first list those experiences, personal, extracurricular, and scholarly, that have been most influential in two areas: her life in general and her path to medical school. She will put this personal inventory in chronologic order for use in composing her personal statement.

She will then select those experiences that were the most significant to her and will reflect and think about why they were important. For her application entries, Amy will write about each experience, including those that she considers influential in her life but not in her choice of medicine, in her application entries. Experiences that Amy will not write about in her activity entries or her personal statement are those that she does not consider most influential in either her life or in her choice of medicine.

Amy’s personal inventory (from oldest to most recent)

• Going with my mom to work. She is a surgeon — I was very curious about what she did. I was intrigued by the relationships she had with patients and how much they valued her efforts. I also loved seeing her as “a doctor” since, to me, she was just “mom.”
• I loved biology in high school. I started to think seriously about medicine then. It was during high school that I became fascinated with biology and how the human body worked. I would say that was when I thought, “Hmm, maybe I should be a doctor.”
• Grandmother’s death, senior year of high school. My grandmother’s death was tragic. It was the first time I had ever seen someone close to me suffer. It was one of the most devastating experiences in my life.
• Global Health Trip to Guatemala my freshman year of college. I realized after going to Guatemala that I had always taken my access to health care for granted. Here I saw children who didn’t have basic health care. This made me want to become a physician so I could give more to people like those I met in Guatemala.
• Sorority involvement. Even though sorority life might seem trivial, I loved it. I learned to work with different types of people and gained some really valuable leadership experience.
• Poor grades in college science classes. I still regret that I did badly in my science classes. I think I was immature and was also too involved in other activities and didn’t have the focus I needed to do well. I had a 3.4 undergraduate GPA.
• Teaching and tutoring Jose, a child from Honduras. In a way, meeting Jose in a college tutoring program brought my Guatemala experience to my home. Jose struggled academically, and his parents were immigrants and spoke only Spanish, so they had their own challenges. I tried to help Jose as much as I could. I saw that because he lacked resources, he was at a tremendous disadvantage.
• Volunteering at Excellent Medical Center. Shadowing physicians at the medical center gave me a really broad view of medicine. I learned about different specialties, met many different patients, and saw both great and not-so-great physician role models. Counselor at Ronald McDonald House. Working with sick kids made me appreciate my health. I tried to make them happy and was so impressed with their resilience. It made me realize that good health is everything.
• Oncology research. Understanding what happens behind the scenes in research was fascinating. Not only did I gain some valuable research experience, but I learned how research is done.
• Peer health counselor. Communicating with my peers about really important medical tests gave me an idea of the tremendous responsibility that doctors have. I also learned that it is important to be sensitive, to listen, and to be open-minded when working with others.
• Clinical Summer Program. This gave me an entirely new view of medicine. I worked with the forensics department, and visiting scenes of deaths was entirely new to me. This experience added a completely new dimension to my understanding of medicine and how illness and death affect loved ones.
• Emergency department internship. Here I learned so much about how things worked in the hospital. I realized how important it was that people who worked in the clinical department were involved in creating hospital policies. This made me understand, in practical terms, how an MPH would give me the foundation to make even more change in the future.
• Master’s in public health. I decided to get an MPH for two reasons. First of all, I knew my undergraduate science GPA was an issue so I figured that graduate level courses in which I performed well would boost my record. I don’t think I will write this on my application, but I also thought the degree would give me other skills if I didn’t get into medical school, and I knew it would also give me something on which I could build during medical school and in my career since I was interested in policy work.

As you can see from Amy’s personal inventory list, she has many accomplishments that are important to her and influenced her path. The most influential personal experience that motivated her to practice medicine was her mother’s career as a practicing physician, but Amy was also motivated by watching her mother’s career evolve. Even though the death of her grandmother was devastating for Amy, she did not consider this experience especially influential in her choice to attend medical school so she didn’t write about it in her personal statement.

Amy wrote an experience-based personal statement, rich with anecdotes and detailed descriptions, to illustrate the evolution of her interest in medicine and how this motivated her to also earn a master’s in public health.

Amy’s Medical School Personal Statement Example:

She was sprawled across the floor of her apartment. Scattered trash, decaying food, alcohol bottles, medication vials, and cigarette butts covered the floor. I had just graduated from college, and this was my first day on rotation with the forensic pathology department as a Summer Scholar, one of my most valuable activities on the path to medical school. As the coroner deputy scanned the scene for clues to what caused this woman’s death, I saw her distraught husband. I did not know what to say other than “I am so sorry.” I listened intently as he repeated the same stories about his wife and his dismay that he never got to say goodbye. The next day, alongside the coroner as he performed the autopsy, I could not stop thinking about the grieving man.

Discerning a cause of death was not something I had previously associated with the practice of medicine. As a child, I often spent Saturday mornings with my mother, a surgeon, as she rounded on patients. I witnessed the results of her actions, as she provided her patients a renewed chance at life. I grew to honor and respect my mother’s profession. Witnessing the immense gratitude of her patients and their families, I quickly came to admire the impact she was able to make in the lives of her patients and their loved ones.

I knew I wanted to pursue a career in medicine as my mother had, and throughout high school and college I sought out clinical, research, and volunteer opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of medicine. After volunteering with cancer survivors at Camp Ronald McDonald, I was inspired to further understand this disease. Through my oncology research, I learned about therapeutic processes for treatment development. Further, following my experience administering HIV tests, I completed research on point-of-care HIV testing, to be instituted throughout 26 hospitals and clinics. I realized that research often served as a basis for change in policy and medical practice and sought out opportunities to learn more about both.

All of my medically related experiences demonstrated that people who were ‘behind the scenes’ and had limited or no clinical background made many of the decisions in health care. Witnessing the evolution of my mother’s career further underscored the impact of policy change on the practice of medicine. In particular, the limits legislation imposed on the care she could provide influenced my perspective and future goals. Patients whom my mother had successfully treated for more than a decade, and with whom she had long-standing, trusting relationships, were no longer able to see her, because of policy coverage changes. Some patients, frustrated by these limitations, simply stopped seeking the care they needed. As a senior in college, I wanted to understand how policy transformations came about and gain the tools I would need to help effect administrative and policy changes in the future as a physician. It was with this goal in mind that I decided to complete a master’s in public health program before applying to medical school.

As an MPH candidate, I am gaining insight into the theories and practices behind the complex interconnections of the healthcare system; I am learning about economics, operations, management, ethics, policy, finance, and technology and how these entities converge to impact delivery of care. A holistic understanding of this diverse, highly competitive, market-driven system will allow me, as a clinician, to find solutions to policy, public health, and administration issues. I believe that change can be more effective if those who actually practice medicine also decide where improvements need to be made.

For example, as the sole intern for the emergency department at County Medical Center, I worked to increase efficiency in the ED by evaluating and mapping patient flow. I tracked patients from point of entry to point of discharge and found that the discharge process took up nearly 35% of patients’ time. By analyzing the reasons for this situation, in collaboration with nurses and physicians who worked in the ED and had an intimate understanding of what took place in the clinical area, I was able to make practical recommendations to decrease throughput time. The medical center has already implemented these suggestions, resulting in decreased length of stays. This example illustrates the benefit of having clinicians who work ‘behind the scenes’ establish policies and procedures, impacting operational change and improving patient care. I will also apply what I have learned through this project as the business development intern at Another Local Medical Center this summer, where I will assist in strategic planning, financial analysis, and program reviews for various clinical departments.

Through my mother’s career and my own medical experiences, I have become aware of the need for clinician administrators and policymakers. My primary goal as a physician will be to care for patients, but with the knowledge and experience I have gained through my MPH, I also hope to effect positive public policy and administrative changes.

What’s Good About Amy’s Medical School Personal Statement:  

Paragraphs 1 and 2: Amy started her personal statement by illustrating a powerful experience she had when she realized that medical caregivers often feel impotent, and how this contrasted with her understanding of medicine as a little girl going with her mother to work. Recognition of this intense contrast also highlights Amy’s maturity.

Paragraph 3: Amy then “lists” a few experiences that were important to her.

Paragraph 4: Amy describes the commonality in some of her experiences and how her observations were substantiated by watching the evolution of her mother’s practice. She then explains how this motivated her to earn an MPH so she could create change more effectively as a physician than as a layman.

Paragraph 5: Amy then explains how her graduate degree is helping her to better understand the “issues in medicine” that she observed.

Paragraph 6: Amy then describes one exceptional accomplishment she had that highlights what she has learned and how she has applied it.

Paragraph 7: Finally, Amy effectively concludes her personal statement and summarizes the major topics addressed in her essay.

As you can see, Amy’s statement has excellent flow, is captivating and unusual, and illustrates her understanding of, and commitment to, medicine. She also exhibits, throughout her application entries and statement, the personal competencies, characteristics, and qualities that medical school admissions officers are seeking. Her application also has broad appeal; reviewers who are focused on research, cultural awareness, working with the underserved, health administration and policy, teaching, or clinical medicine would all find it of interest.

med school personal statement examples

Osteopathic Medical School Personal Statement Example and Analysis #2

Medical School Personal Statement Example Background: This is a nontraditional applicant who applied to osteopathic medical schools. With a 500 and a 504 on the MCAT , he needed to showcase how his former career and what he learned through his work made him an asset. He also needed to convey why osteopathic medicine was an ideal fit for him. The student does an excellent job illustrating his commitment to medicine and explaining why and how he made the well-informed decision to leave his former career to pursue a career in osteopathic medicine.

What’s Good About It: A nontraditional student with a former career, this applicant does a great job outlining how and why he decided to pursue a career in medicine. Clearly dedicated to service, he also does a great job making it clear he is a good fit for osteopathic medical school and understands this distinctions of osteopathic practice.. 

Working as a police officer, one comes to expect the unexpected, but sometimes, when the unexpected happens, one can’t help but be surprised. In November 20XX, I had been a police officer for two years when my partner and I happened to be nearby when a man had a cardiac emergency in Einstein Bagels. Entering the restaurant, I was caught off guard by the lifeless figure on the floor, surrounded by spilled food. Time paused as my partner and I began performing CPR, and my heart raced as I watched color return to the man’s pale face.

Luckily, paramedics arrived within minutes to transport him to a local hospital. Later, I watched as the family thanked the doctors who gave their loved one a renewed chance at life. That day, in the “unexpected,” I confirmed that I wanted to become a physician, something that had attracted me since childhood.

I have always been enthralled by the science of medicine and eager to help those in need but, due to life events, my path to achieving this dream has been long. My journey began following high school when I joined the U.S. Army. I was immature and needed structure, and I knew the military was an opportunity to pursue my medical ambitions. I trained as a combat medic and requested work in an emergency room of an army hospital. At the hospital, I started IVs, ran EKGs, collected vital signs, and assisted with codes. I loved every minute as I was directly involved in patient care and observed physicians methodically investigating their patients’ signs and symptoms until they reached a diagnosis. Even when dealing with difficult patients, the physicians I worked with maintained composure, showing patience and understanding while educating patients about their diseases. I observed physicians not only as clinicians but also as teachers. As a medic, I learned that I loved working with patients and being part of the healthcare team, and I gained an understanding of acute care and hospital operations.

Following my discharge in 20XX, I transferred to an army reserve hospital and continued as a combat medic until 20XX. Working as a medic at several hospitals and clinics in the area, I was exposed to osteopathic medicine and the whole body approach to patient care. I was influenced by the D.O.s’ hands-on treatment and their use of manipulative medicine as a form of therapy. I learned that the body cannot function properly if there is dysfunction in the musculoskeletal system.

In 20XX, I became a police officer to support myself as I finished my undergraduate degree and premed courses. While working the streets, I continued my patient care experiences by being the first to care for victims of gunshot wounds, stab wounds, car accidents, and other medical emergencies. In addition, I investigated many unknown causes of death with the medical examiner’s office. I often found signs of drug and alcohol abuse and learned the dangers and power of addiction. In 20XX, I finished my undergraduate degree in education and in 20XX, I completed my premed courses.

Wanting to learn more about primary care medicine, in 20XX I volunteered at a community health clinic that treats underserved populations. Shadowing a family physician, I learned about the physical exam as I looked into ears and listened to the hearts and lungs of patients with her guidance. I paid close attention as she expressed the need for more PCPs and the important roles they play in preventing disease and reducing ER visits by treating and educating patients early in the disease process. This was evident as numerous patients were treated for high cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and diabetes, all conditions that can be resolved or improved by lifestyle changes. I learned that these changes are not always easy for many in underserved populations as healthier food is often more expensive and sometimes money for prescriptions is not available. This experience opened my eyes to the challenges of being a physician in an underserved area.

The idea of disease prevention stayed with me as I thought about the man who needed CPR. Could early detection and education about heart disease have prevented his “unexpected” cardiac event? My experiences in health care and law enforcement have confirmed my desire to be an osteopathic physician and to treat the patients of the local area. I want to eliminate as many medical surprises as I can.

Texas Medical School Personal Statement Example and Analysis #3

Medical School Personal Statement Example Background: This applicant, who grew up with modest means, should be an inspiration to us all. Rather than allowing limited resources to stand in his way, he took advantage of everything that was available to him. He commuted to college from home and had a part-time job so he was stretched thin, and his initial college performance suffered. However, he worked hard and his grades improved. Most medical school admissions committees seek out applicants like this because, by overcoming adversity and succeeding with limited resources, they demonstrate exceptional perseverance, maturity, and dedication. His accomplishments are, by themselves, impressive and he does an outstanding job of detailing his path, challenges, and commitment to medicine. He received multiple acceptances to top medical schools and was offered scholarships.

What’s Good About It: This student does a great job opening his personal statement with a beautifully written introduction that immediately takes the reader to Central America. He then explains his path, why he did poorly early in college, and goes on to discuss his academic interests and pursuits. He is also clearly invested in research and articulates that he is intellectually curious, motivated, hard working, compassionate and committed to a career in medicine by explaining his experiences using interesting language and details. This is an intriguing statement that makes clear the applicant is worthy of an interview invitation. Finally, the student expresses his interest in attending medical school in Texas.

They were learning the basics of carpentry and agriculture. The air was muggy and hot, but these young boys seemed unaffected, though I and my fellow college students sweated and often complained. As time passed, I started to have a greater appreciation for the challenges these boys faced. These orphans, whom I met and trained in rural Central America as a member of The Project, had little. They dreamed of using these basic skills to earn a living wage. Abandoned by their families, they knew this was their only opportunity to re-enter society as self- sufficient individuals. I stood by them in the fields and tutored them after class. And while I tried my best to instill in them a strong work ethic, it was the boys who instilled in me a desire to help those in need. They gave me a new perspective on my decision to become a doctor.

I don’t know exactly when I decided to become a physician; I have had this goal for a long time. I grew up in the inner city of A City, in Texas and attended magnet schools. My family knew little about higher education, and I learned to seek out my own opportunities and advice. I attended The University with the goal of gaining admission to medical school. When I started college, I lacked the maturity to focus on academics and performed poorly. Then I traveled to Central America. Since I was one of the few students who spoke Spanish, many of the boys felt comfortable talking with me. They saw me as a role model.

The boys worked hard so that they could learn trades that would help them to be productive members of society. It was then I realized that my grandparents, who immigrated to the US so I would have access to greater opportunities, had done the same. I felt like I was wasting what they had sacrificed for me. When I returned to University in the fall, I made academics my priority and committed myself to learn more about medicine .

Through my major in neuroscience, I strengthened my understanding of how we perceive and experience life. In systems neurobiology, I learned the physiology of the nervous system. Teaching everything from basic neural circuits to complex sensory pathways, Professor X provided me with the knowledge necessary to conduct research in Parkinson’s disease. My research focused on the ability of antioxidants to prevent the onset of Parkinson’s, and while my project was only a pilot study at the time, Professor X encouraged me to present it at the National Research Conference. During my senior year, I developed the study into a formal research project, recruiting the help of professors of statistics and biochemistry.

Working at the School of Medicine reinforced my analytical skills. I spent my summer in the department of emergency medicine, working with the department chair, Dr. Excellent. Through Dr. Excellent’s mentorship, I participated in a retrospective study analyzing patient charts to determine the efficacy of D-dimer assays in predicting blood clots. The direct clinical relevance of my research strengthened my commitment and motivated my decision to seek out more clinical research opportunities.

A growing awareness of the role of human compassion in healing has also influenced my choice to pursue a career in medicine. It is something no animal model or cell culture can ever duplicate or rival. Working in clinical research has allowed me to see the selflessness of many physicians and patients and their mutual desire to help others. As a research study assistant in the department of surgery, I educate and enroll patients in clinical trials. One such study examines the role of pre-operative substance administration in tumor progression. Patients enrolled in this study underwent six weeks of therapy before having the affected organ surgically excised. Observing how patients were willing to participate in this research to benefit others helped me understand the resiliency of the human spirit.

Working in clinical trials has enabled me to further explore my passion for science, while helping others. Through my undergraduate coursework and participation in volunteer groups I have had many opportunities to solidify my goal to become a physician. As I am working, I sometimes think about my second summer in Central America. I recall how one day, after I had turned countless rows of soil in scorching heat, one of the boys told me that I was a trabajador verdadero—a true worker. I paused as I realized the significance of this comment. While the boy may not have been able to articulate it, he knew I could identify with him. What the boy didn’t know, however, was that had my grandparents not decided to immigrate to the US, I would not have the great privilege of seizing opportunities in this country and writing this essay today. I look forward to the next step of my education and hope to return home to Texas where I look forward to serving the communities I call home.

Final Thoughts

Above all, and as stated in this article numerous times, your personal statement should be authentic and genuine. Write about your path and and journey to this point in your life using anecdotes and observations to intrigue the reader and illustrate what is and was important to you. Good luck!

Medical School Personal Statement Help & Consulting

If all this information has you staring at your screen like a deer in the headlights, you’re not alone. Writing a superb medical school personal statement can be a daunting task, and many applicants find it difficult to get started writing, or to express everything they want to say succinctly. That’s where MedEdits can help. You don’t have to have the best writing skills to compose a stand-out statement. From personal-statement editing alone to comprehensive packages for all your medical school application needs, we offer extensive support and expertise developed from working with thousands of successful medical school applicants. We can’t promise applying to medical school will be stress-free, but most clients tell us it’s a huge relief not to have to go it alone.

MedEdits offers personal statement consulting and editing. Our goal when working with students is to draw out what makes each student distinctive. How do we do this? We will explore your background and upbringing, interests and ideals as well as your accomplishments and activities. By helping you identify the most distinguishing aspects of who you are, you will then be able to compose an authentic and genuine personal statement in your own voice to capture the admissions committee’s attention so you are invited for a medical school interview. Our unique brainstorming methodology has helped hundreds of aspiring premeds gain acceptance to medical school.

Sample Medical School Personal Statement

Example Medical School Personal Statement

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How to Write a Perfect Medical School Personal Statement: A Complete Guide

Writing a personal statement for medical school can be a daunting task, but it’s an important part of your application that can set you apart from other candidates. A medical school personal statement requires you to reflect on your experiences and communicate your passion for medicine in a compelling way. But there is a word limit, and being concise can be challenging. However, with careful planning and preparation, it is possible to write a strong and effective personal statement. Here are some tips to help you.

7 Important Tips for Writing a Perfect Personal Statement for Medical School

A strong personal statement can significantly affect your medical school application. Here are seven tips that you need to remember when writing your personal statement. 

Start with an engaging opening:

 Your opening sentence should grab the reader’s attention and make them want to read more. Consider starting with a personal story, a thought-provoking question, or a bold statement.

Showcase your motivation: 

Medical school admissions committees want to know why you want to become a doctor. Share your personal motivation for pursuing medicine, whether it’s a desire to help others, a personal experience that inspired you, or a specific aspect of the field that interests you.

Highlight your experiences:

 Use specific examples to illustrate your interest in medicine and your suitability for the profession. This could include volunteer work, research experience, clinical exposure , or any other activities related to medicine .

Discuss your strengths:

Highlight the strengths and qualities that make you a strong candidate for medical school. This could include your leadership skills, teamwork abilities, or resilience in the face of challenges.

Be authentic: 

Write in your own voice and be honest about your experiences and motivations. Avoid clichés and generic statements.

Keep it concise: 

Your personal statement should be no longer than two pages, so be sure to prioritize the most important information and avoid unnecessary details.

Edit and proofread:

 Take the time to revise and proofread your personal statement. Ask others for feedback and make sure your writing is clear, concise, and error-free.

Remember, your personal statement is your chance to showcase your unique qualities and experiences. Use this opportunity to demonstrate your passion for medicine and your suitability for the profession.

How long should a medical school personal statement be?

The length of a medical school personal statement can vary, but most medical schools have specific guidelines on the length. Typically, a personal statement should be no longer than 1-2 pages or about 500-800 words. However, some schools may have different requirements, so it’s important to check each school’s guidelines before writing your personal statement.

While it may be tempting to include as much information as possible, it’s important to remember that the admissions committee will be reading many personal statements , so it’s important to keep yours concise and to the point. Focus on the most important information, such as your motivation for pursuing medicine, your relevant experiences, and your unique qualities and strengths. Be sure to follow the guidelines provided by the schools you are applying to and proofread carefully to ensure that your personal statement is clear, concise, and error-free.

Medical School Personal Statement Format

There is no set format for a personal statement for medical school, but there are some general guidelines you should follow. Here is a basic outline that you can use:

• Introduction: Begin with an attention-grabbing opening that introduces yourself and your interest in medicine.
• Body Paragraphs: Write two or three paragraphs to elaborate on your qualities and experiences. This section gives you the opportunity to convince the admissions committee that you are the perfect fit for this profession.
• Conclusion: Summarize your main points and reiterate your motivation for pursuing medicine.

Remember, this is just a general outline, and you should customize your personal statement to fit your own experiences and strengths. Be sure to focus on your unique qualities and experiences and show the admissions committee why you are a great fit for their program. Also, keep in mind any specific requirements or prompts that the medical school may have provided.

Introduction Paragraph

The introduction of your personal statement is the first impression the admissions committee will have of you, so it’s important to make it great. Here are some tips for writing a strong personal statement introduction:

Start with a hook:

 Begin with a sentence or two that will grab the reader’s attention and make them want to keep reading. This could be a personal story, a surprising fact, or a bold statement.

Introduce yourself: 

In the first few sentences, introduce yourself and briefly mention your background or experiences that have led you to pursue medicine.

Share your motivation:

 The admissions committee wants to know why you want to become a doctor, so be sure to share your personal motivation for pursuing medicine. This could be a personal experience, a desire to help others, or a specific aspect of the field that interests you.

Show your enthusiasm:

 Demonstrate your enthusiasm for medicine and your eagerness to learn and contribute to the field. Avoid sounding cliché or insincere.

Be concise: 

Keep your introduction brief and to the point. Remember, you only have a limited amount of space for your personal statement, so use it wisely.

Remember, your introduction sets the tone for the rest of your personal statement, so make sure it’s engaging, authentic and reflective of your passion for medicine.

Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs of your medical school personal statement are where you will showcase your experiences, qualities, and skills that make you a strong candidate for medical school. Here are some tips for writing great body paragraphs:

Use specific examples: 

Instead of making general statements, use specific examples to illustrate your experiences and qualities. This will make your personal statement more engaging and memorable.

Be authentic:

 Write in your own voice and be honest about your experiences and motivations. Avoid using clichés or sounding insincere.

Show, don’t tell:

 Rather than simply stating your qualities, show how you’ve demonstrated them in your experiences. This will make your personal statement more compelling.

Stay focused:

 Keep your personal statement focused on your experiences and qualities that are relevant to medicine. Avoid including irrelevant or unnecessary information.

Use transitions:

 Use transition words or phrases to smoothly connect your ideas and make your personal statement flow well.

Convey your growth:

 Use your experiences to show how you’ve grown and learned and how they’ve prepared you for medical school.

Be concise:

 Keep your body paragraphs concise and to the point. Avoid going off on tangents or including too much information.

Remember, your body paragraphs are where you will show the admissions committee why you are a strong candidate for medical school. Use specific examples to showcase your experiences, qualities, and skills, and make sure they are relevant to medicine.

Conclusion Paragraph

The conclusion paragraph of your medical school personal statement is your last opportunity to leave a lasting impression on the admissions committee. Here are some tips for writing a great conclusion paragraph:

Summarize your main points:

 Briefly summarize the key points you’ve made in your personal statement. This will remind the reader of your main message and help tie your personal statement together.

Reiterate your motivation:

 Remind the reader why you are passionate about medicine and why you want to become a doctor.

Connect to the future:

 Make a connection between your experiences and your future goals as a physician. Show the admissions committee that you have a clear understanding of what it means to be a doctor and how you plan to contribute to the field.

End with a strong statement:

 End your personal statement with a powerful statement that leaves a lasting impression on the reader. This could be a personal anecdote, a memorable quote, or a final reflection on your experiences.

Avoid Repetition:

Keep your conclusion paragraph concise and to the point. Avoid repeating information from earlier in your personal statement or introducing new information.

Remember, your conclusion paragraph is your last chance to make a strong impression on the admissions committee. Make sure it leaves a lasting impression by summarizing your main points, reiterating your motivation, and connecting to your future goals as a physician. End with a strong statement that shows your passion and commitment to the field of medicine.

6 Cliché Phrases that You Should Avoid in Your Medical School Personal Statement

When writing your medical school personal statement, it’s important to avoid using clichés. These are overused phrases or ideas that have lost their impact and can make your personal statement appear generic and unoriginal. Here are some medical school personal statement clichés to avoid:

“Ever since I was a child, I’ve wanted to be a doctor.” 

While it’s important to show your motivation for medicine, this cliché is overused and doesn’t provide any unique insight into your experiences or qualities.

“I want to help people.”

 While helping others is a noble goal, this statement is too broad and doesn’t provide any specific examples of how you’ve helped others in the past.

“I’ve always been interested in science.”

 While it’s important to show your interest in science and medicine, this statement is too general and doesn’t provide any specific examples of how you’ve pursued your interests.

“I’ve faced many challenges, but I’ve overcome them all.”

 While it’s important to show your resilience and ability to overcome obstacles, this cliché is overused and doesn’t provide any unique insight into your experiences or qualities.

“I’ve always been a hard worker.”

 While it’s important to show your work ethic, this statement is too general and doesn’t provide any specific examples of how you’ve worked hard in the past.

“I have a passion for helping underserved communities.”

 While it’s important to show your commitment to serving others, this cliché is overused and doesn’t provide any specific examples of how you’ve worked to serve underserved communities in the past.

To make your personal statement stand out, try to provide specific examples and insights into your experiences and qualities rather than relying on overused clichés. Show the admissions committee what makes you unique and why you would make a great candidate for medical school.

Should Applicants Address Bad Grades in their Medical School Personal Statement?

It is generally not recommended to mention bad grades in your medical school personal statement, as it may draw unnecessary attention to a negative aspect of your application. The personal statement is your opportunity to showcase your strengths, experiences, and qualifications that make you a strong candidate for medical school.

Instead of focusing on any negative aspects of your medical school application, you should focus on highlighting your positive attributes and accomplishments. You can use your personal statement to describe your experiences in healthcare or other related fields, explain why you are passionate about medicine, and demonstrate your dedication to the field.

If you have any extenuating circumstances that led to your lower grades, such as a personal or medical issue, you may want to address them in your application elsewhere, such as in an optional essay or during an interview. However, if your grades are simply the result of not performing well in certain courses, it is best to focus on your strengths and achievements in your personal statement.

Remember that the personal statement is just one component of your medical school application , and the admissions committee will consider your entire application when making their decision. If you have concerns about your grades or other aspects of your application, you can reach out to Jack Westin experts for guidance.

► To learn more about different aspects of a medical school application. You can watch This VIDEO .

In this post, we elaborated on different aspects of writing a medical school personal statement. Remember that there is no one “perfect” medical school personal statement, as each applicant’s personal statement will be unique to their experiences and qualifications. However, a strong medical school personal statement should provide insight into who you are as a person and as a potential doctor. It should demonstrate your passion for medicine, your unique qualities and experiences, and your potential to make a meaningful contribution to the field of healthcare.

If you need help with your personal statement or any other aspect of your medical school application, CONTACT US ! Jack Westin experts are by your side on your path to medical school . 

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How To Write The Perfect Medical School Personal Statement

“In nothing do men more nearly approach the gods, than in giving health to men” Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 - 43 BCE)

You have already chosen to commit yourself to study medicine in Europe , and we want to help you every step of the way. Many future students don’t know how to write their medicine personal statement. Every day we get asked questions such as:

• What is a personal statement for a medical university?
• How to write one?
• What should I include in it?
• What is the purpose of the medical personal statement?

Based on years of experience and our expert advisor’s guidelines, this article will provide the best tips and examples for writing your personal statement.

This post will assist you whether you haven't even considered what to include in your personal statement or have written it and want to double-check that you're on the right track.

Table of Contents

• 1 What is a medical personal statement?
• 2 What is the difference between a personal statement and a motivation letter?
• 3 What is the length of a personal statement?
• 4 What role do personal statements play in medical schools?
• 5 What do medical universities want to see in your personal statement?
• 6 Which medical schools in Europe should you apply to with a personal statement?
• 7 Why is a personal statement so important?
• 8 What should I include in my personal statement?
• 9 How to structure a medical personal statement?
• 10.1.1 Step 1. Create a list of the qualities that you want to demonstrate
• 10.1.2 Step 2. Think about a situation when you have shown these qualities
• 10.1.3 Step 3. Present your experience as a captivating story
• 10.1.4 Step 4. Show, don’t tell
• 11 How to create great body paragraphs in a medicine personal statement?
• 12 How to end a personal statement in a meaningful way?
• 13.2 DON’TS:
• 14 Checklist for your MD personal statement

What is a medical personal statement?

More than 100 medical schools in Europe teach medicine, dentistry, veterinary, and pharmacy in English. Each university has its entry requirements . Some may require you to sit an entrance exam in Chemistry, Biology, Physics, or Mathematics. Others have no entrance exam but just an interview.

As part of the application process, some medical schools will ask for additional materials such as CVs ( application resume ), recommendations, and, more often, medicine personal statements or motivation letters.

A medical personal statement is a kind of essay. You get the chance to tell your personal story of why you have chosen medicine as a career. It is the first opportunity for admissions tutors to evaluate you as a person rather than a collection of grades and achievements. Therefore you must create a strong first impression. You have to think of it not as a burdensome part of the application process but as an excellent opportunity to shine among the other applicants.

What is the difference between a personal statement and a motivation letter?

As we mentioned, some schools require a personal statement and another motivation letter. It is essential to know the difference between them.

A personal statement is more about self-promotion . You should explain why you are the best candidate for a particular course and want to become a doctor. It is more about your personality traits and skills to help you achieve your dream career.

A motivation letter is more about your future study ambitions and how the programme you're applying to will assist you in achieving your objectives. In other words, why and how will studying medicine help you in the future .

What is the length of a personal statement?

Every medical university has its requirements regarding the length of the personal statement. Therefore, before you start writing it, you must check the specific guidelines of the university you are applying to.

However, often it will have to be around 500 words . Yes, it must be short, accurate, and straightforward.

What role do personal statements play in medical schools?

There are a few ways that medical schools will use your personal statement.

• It may not play a role in the selection process at all.
• It will be read but not evaluated . However, if you manage to prepare an excellent essay, it will demonstrate your passion for medicine and will certainly not harm you in the long run.
• It is used to aid in decision-making between two candidates with identical academic results. An essay can be a turning point in your path to becoming a doctor.
• Usually, medical universities use students' personal statements before interviews to prepare a few questions you will be asked during the interview. This is another reason many schools ask for this kind of essay. They use it as a starting point in discussions. As a result, it's a good idea to write about things you'd be willing to expand on if requested.

What do medical universities want to see in your personal statement?

Medical universities know that to be a good doctor, you need skills such as:

• Self-reflection
• Prioritising
• Good time management
• Working under pressure
• Critical thinking
• Attention to detail
• Problem-solving skills
• Willingness to accept accountability for your actions
• Soft skills

Keep these things in mind when you draft your essay. You shouldn’t just say, “I am empathetic”. Rather than that, you have to give an example and write about a situation when you demonstrated these skills.

Which medical schools in Europe should you apply to with a personal statement?

Some of the medical universities in Europe that require a medical student personal statement as part of the application process are:

• European University In Tbilisi (Georgia)
• Poznan University of Medical Science (Poland)
• Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Kosice (Slovakia)

Why is a personal statement so important?

It's one thing to demonstrate academic success and another to present yourself positively as an individual. Striking a balance between the two is crucial. So take your time and carefully consider what you want to include and how you will present it.

The top 3 reasons why a medicine personal statement is so important are:

• It allows you to show your best qualities
• It can help you stand out from your competition
• It is a great way to prepare for your medical school interview

What should I include in my personal statement?

Let’s make it clear one more time. A personal statement is about YOU, and your personal skills that make you an ideal applicant to study medicine in Europe. Hence, medical schools are looking to know more about:

• What motivated you to study medicine? ( Motivation )
• Why in this country? Why in this particular university? ( Motivation and exploration )
• What steps have you taken to get knowledge about it? ( Exploration )
• Why do you think you'd be a good fit for medicine? ( Suitability )

Describe your passion for medicine and the reason for making your statement unique. Learn more about the country's history, and find things that you can name as an advantage for studying there. Read about the university's history and the city where it is located. Find prominent people who have studied and contributed to science development at a given university. Show originality.

Make sure to include a line about your hobbies/interests outside of school and reflect on past experiences that taught you something valuable like commitment, the ability to work in a team, and the importance of helping those in need.

How to structure a medical personal statement?

In general, medicine personal statement structure can be divided into 3 parts:

• Introduction - motivation

In this paragraph, your main goal is to make the reader want to read more and tell what made you choose medicine as a career.

• Main body - exploration and suitability

This is where you have to tell your story and how your qualities make you a perfect applicant. It is the ideal place to write about the knowledge you gained while shadowing a doctor , for example.

• Conclusion - motivation

Bring everything together.

How to write a strong medical personal statement introduction?

Ensure you have an original and intriguing starting phrase that will entice the reader to continue reading. This is your only chance to leave a lasting impression and grab the admissions tutors' attention.

One method to get their attention is to start with an incident or an “Aha!” moment that inspired your decision to pursue a career in medicine. What inspires or motivates you will reveal a lot about your personality. But from our experience, we know that very few students have such a moment.

Many applicants have known they wanted to be a doctor since childhood or have developed an interest in medicine.

If you are one of them, the simple truth is that you can’t start your essay with a fascinating experience or life-changing story. And that’s okay.

What to do, then?

Step-by-step guide on how to start writing a personal statement for medicine:

Step 1. create a list of the qualities that you want to demonstrate.

Take a piece of paper and write down the traits and abilities you want to reveal to the reader. There is no need to create a long list. Just think of 10 qualities that will help you become a great doctor. Some examples include:

• Effective communication skills
• Knowledge-seeking
• Understanding
• Team worker

We have all heard the phrase “Quality over Quantity”. This seeing relates to your writing too. If you try to include all 10 points on your list, you will end up with an inconsistent and uninfluential opening of your essay. Therefore you have to revise your list and pick up only 2 or 3 qualities . Please don’t waste time figuring out which ones are ideal because they don’t exist. Here the trick is to choose those that describe you best and that you can actually write about.

Step 2. Think about a situation when you have shown these qualities

This step is self-explanatory, but here are some guidelines that you can follow to pick the perfect event to write about.

Choose a story you can share in a few sentences (5 or 6). A good option is an event that comes from shadowing doctors, working in a clinic, volunteering, and extracurricular activity related to medicine.

Suppose you want to be original. Connect a travel story or work experience with the abilities you have chosen to highlight. This will guarantee a unique story that will impress the admissions committee.

Step 3. Present your experience as a captivating story

If you are worried about the story you picked, let us tell you a secret. It is not about choosing the perfect topic but presenting it engagingly. Remember that one event can be written in both dull and intriguing ways. Strive for the second!

Step 4. Show, don’t tell

Maybe this is the most crucial step of writing a medical personal statement. Don’t tell: “I have great communication skills.” Show it with your compelling story! The key is to demonstrate your qualities.

How to create great body paragraphs in a medicine personal statement?

In the body of your essay, you essentially want to expand the concepts stated in your introduction paragraph by using personal experiences as proof.

You have already written about why you want to study medicine. So it's time to dive in. Write in detail about the experiences that helped you grow and led to your decision to study medicine. Each key point should be given its own paragraph.

Here are a few steps that you can follow to write the best medicine personal statement ever:

• Explain why you wanted to participate in the experience you are writing about.
• Describe how you felt during the event.
• Describe your accomplishments and lessons learned.
• What impact did your experience have on you and the environment around you?
• Explain how your experience influenced your desire to apply to medical school.

How to end a personal statement in a meaningful way?

Your medical personal statement conclusion should be like your introduction: showing your interest in studying medicine. You have to wrap everything together and leave the reader wanting to learn more about you.

You should re-emphasise your essay's main points and highlight these 3 things one more time:

• Qualities that will make you one of the best doctors
• Knowledge gained as a result of your formative experiences
• Your sincere passion for being a medical student

Top tips for medicine personal statement from our expert advisors:

• Connect your extracurricular activities to how they will help you become a better doctor
• Tell a story
• Always double-check for grammar and spelling mistakes
• Show professionalism
• Use clear, direct language
• Ask your family for an opinion
• Don’t lie, be true to yourself
• Don’t try to cover everything
• Don’t use cliches
• Don't forget about the proper structure

Checklist for your MD personal statement

Before sending your medical personal statement, make sure you cover the following:

• Is your first paragraph clear about why you want to be a doctor?
• Have you thought about what you learned from each of the situations you've mentioned?
• Is there a phrase or two regarding your hobbies or outside interests?
• Is your grammar correct?
• Do you show that you possess the qualities necessary for this profession?
• Do you indicate that you understand the reality of a career in medicine?
• Is your final paragraph a summary of why you believe you are well-suited for the medicine course and career?

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The Only 3 Medical School Personal Statement Examples You Need to Read

Posted in: Applying to Medical School

Table of Contents

The personal statement is one of the most important parts of the med school application process because t his mini-essay is a critical opportunity for you to stand out from other prospective medical students by demonstrating your passion and personality, not just your grades.

Admissions committees receive hundreds or more AMCAS medical school applications , so yours should be unique and captivating. Your medical school personal statement shows admissions officers who you are beyond your high school or pre-med GPA , extracurriculars , and MCAT score . 

The best personal statements are… well, personal . This is your chance to share what life experiences have compelled you toward a career in healthcare or the medical field , and how those experiences shape the picture of your ideal future.

MedSchoolCoach has crucial advice for writing your personal statement . 

Read these examples of personal statements for prospective med students.

Writing a great medical school personal statement is a lot easier with the right support. We’ve helped numerous med school applicants craft top-notch personal statements and can do the same for you.

But first: 7 steps to writing an engaging personal statement.

Before you read these excellent examples, you need to understand the process of writing a personal statement.  

Include these in your medical school personal statement:

• Why you’re passionate about becoming a doctor
• Your qualities that will make you a great physician
• Personal stories that demonstrate those qualities
• Specific examples of the communities you want to serve as a member of the medical field

What are the most important things to remember when writing a medical school personal statement ?

• Begin the writing process early: Give yourself plenty of time for brainstorming and to revisit your first draft, revising it based on input from family members and undergrad professors. Consult the application timeline for your target enrollment season.
• Choose a central theme: An unfocused essay will leave readers confused and uninterested. Give your statement a clear thesis in the first paragraph that guides its formation.
• Start with a hook: Grab the reader’s attention immediately with your statement’s first sentence. Instead of opening with a conventional introduction, be creative! Begin with something unexpected.
• Be the you of today, not the you of the future: Forecasting your future as a physician can come across as empty promises. Don’t get caught up in your ambitions; instead, be honest about your current situation and interest in the field of medicine.
• Demonstrate your passion: It’s not enough to simply state your interest in becoming a doctor; you have to prove it through personal stories. Show how your perspectives have been shaped by formative experiences and how those will make you an effective physician.
• Show, don’t tell : Avoid cliches that admissions committees have heard hundreds of times, like “I want to help people.” Make your writing come alive with dynamic, persuasive storytelling that recounts your personal experiences.
• Tie everything together: Conclude by wrapping up your main points. Reiterate your passion for the medical profession, your defining personal qualities, and why you’ll make a good doctor.

You can read more about our recommended method in our step-by-step guide , but those are the major points.

Example 1 — From the Stretcher to the Spotlight: My Journey to Becoming an Emergency Medicine Physician

Another siren shrieks as the emergency room doors slide open and a team of EMTs pushes a blood-soaked stretcher through the entrance. It’s the fifth ambulance to arrive tonight — and only my first clinical shadowing experience in an emergency medicine department since my premed education began.

But it wasn’t my first time in an emergency room, and I knew I was meant to be here again.

In those crucial moments on the ER floor, many of my peers learned that they stumble in high-pressure environments. A few weeks of gunshot wounds, drug overdoses, broken bones, and deep lacerations in the busiest trauma bay in the region were enough to alter their career path.

They will be better practitioners somewhere predictable, like a pediatrician in a private practice where they choose their schedules, clients, and staff.

Every healthcare provider has their specialties, and mine are on full display in those crucial moments of lifesaving care. Why am I pursuing a career in Emergency Medicine? Because I’ve seen firsthand the miracles that Emergency Medicine physicians perform.

12 years ago, I was in an emergency room… but I was the one on the stretcher.

A forest-green Saturn coupe rolled into my parent’s driveway. The driver, my best friend Kevin, had just passed his driving test and was itching to take a late-night run to the other side of town. I had ridden with Kevin and his father many times before when he held his learner’s permit. But this time, we didn’t have an adult with us, and the joyride ended differently: with a 40-mph passenger-side collision, T-boned by a drunk driver.

I distinctly recall the sensation of being lifted out of the crumpled car by a paramedic and laid onto a stretcher. A quick drive later, I was in the care of Dr. Smith, the ER resident on call that night. Without missing a beat, he assessed my condition and provided the care I needed. When my mom thanked him for saving my life, he simply responded, “It’s what he needed.”

Now I’m watching other doctors and nurses provide this life-saving care as I observe as a premed student. I see the way the staff works together like a well-oiled machine, and it reminds me of my time in high-school theater.

Everyone has a role to play, however big or small, to make the show a success. All contributions are essential to a winning performance — even the technicians working behind the scenes. That’s what true teamwork is, and I see that same dynamic in the emergency department.

Some actors freeze during performances, overcome by stage fright. Other students are too anxious to even set foot in front of an audience; they remain backstage assisting with split-second costume changes.

Not me. I felt energized under the spotlight, deftly improvising to help my co-stars when they would forget their lines. Admittedly, I wasn’t the best actor or singer in the cast, but I provided something essential: assurance under pressure. Everyone knew me as dependable, always in their corner when something went awry. I had a reputation for remaining calm and thinking on my feet.

My ability to stay unruffled under pressure was first discovered on stage, but I can use it on a very different platform providing patient care. Now, when other people freeze under the intensity of serving public health on the front lines, I can step in and provide my calm, collected guidance to see them through.

As an ER doctor, I will have to provide that stability when a nurse gets flustered by a quarrelsome patient or shaken from an irreparably injured infant. When you’re an Emergency Medicine physician, you’re not following a script. It takes an aptitude of thinking on your toes to face the fast pace and unpredictable challenges of an emergency center.

During my time shadowing, I saw experienced physicians put those assured, gentle communication skills to use. A 13-year-old boy was admitted for a knife wound he’d received on the streets. He only spoke Spanish, but it was clear he mistrusted doctors and was alarmed by the situation. In mere minutes, one of the doctors calmed the patient so he could receive care he needed.

Let me be clear: I haven’t simply gravitated toward Emergency Medicine because I liked it most. It’s not the adrenaline or the pride that compel me. I owe Emergency Medicine my life, and I want to use my life to extend the lives of other people. Every person brought into the trauma bay could be another me , no matter what they look like.

People are more than their injury, health record, or circumstances. They are not just a task to complete or a challenge to conquer.

My childhood injury gave me an appreciation for the work of ER doctors and a compassion for patients, to foster well-being when people are most broken and vulnerable. I already have the dedication to the work and the heart for patients; I just need the medical knowledge and procedural skills to perform life-saving interventions. My ability to remain calm, think on my toes, be part of a team, and work decisively without making mistakes or overlooking critical issues will serve me well as an Emergency Medicine physician.

Some ER physicians I spoke with liked to think that they’re “a different breed” than other medical professionals — but I don’t see it that way. We’re just performing a different role than the rest of the cast.

Breaking It Down

Let’s look at what qualities make this a great personal statement for med school.

• Engaging opening: The writer painted a vivid scene that immediately puts the reader in their shoes and leaves them wanting more.
• Personal examples: The writer demonstrated his ability to stay calm, work as a team, and problem-solve through theater experience, which he also uses as a comparison. And, he explained his passion for Emergency Medical care from his childhood accident.
• Organized: The writer transitions fluidly between body paragraphs, connecting stories and ideas by emphasizing parallels and hopping back and forth between time.
• Ample length: Makes full use of the AACOMAS and AMCAS application personal statement’s character limit of 5,300 characters (including spaces), which is about 850-950 words.

Unsure what traits and clinical or research experience your preferred medical school values ? You can research their admissions requirements and mission statement using the MSAR .

Example 2 — Early Clinical Work For Empathetic Patient Care

The applicant who wrote this personal statement was accepted into University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, and Tufts University School of Medicine.

As I walked briskly down the hall to keep up during our daily rounds in the ICU, I heard the steady beeping of Michelle’s cardiac monitor and saw a ruby ornament twinkling on the small Christmas tree beside her. She was always alone, but someone had decorated her room for the holidays.

It warmed my heart that I wasn’t the only one who saw her as more than a patient in a coma. I continually felt guilty that I couldn’t spend more time with her; her usual companions were ventilators, IV bags, and catheters, not to mention the golf ball-sized tumors along her spine. Every day, I thought about running to Michelle’s bedside to do anything I could for her.

Thus, I was taken aback when my advisor, who was visiting me that day, asked me if I was okay. It never crossed my mind that at age 17, my peers might not be able to handle the tragedies that healthcare workers consistently face. These situations were difficult, but they invoked humanity and compassion from me. I knew I wanted to pursue medicine. And I knew I could do it.

From my senior year of high school to my senior year of college, I continued to explore my passion for patient interaction.

At the Stepp Lab, I was charged with contacting potential study participants for a study focusing on speech symptoms in individuals with Parkinson’s Disease. The study would help future patients, but I couldn’t help but think: “What are we doing for these patients in return?” I worried that the heart and soul behind the research would get lost in the mix of acoustic data and participant ID numbers.

But my fears were put to rest by Richard, the self-proclaimed “Parkinson’s Song & Dance Man,” who recorded himself singing show tunes as part of his therapy. Knowing that he was legally blind and unable to read caller ID, I was always thrilled when he recognized my voice. The spirit in his voice indicated that my interest in him and his journey with Parkinson’s was meaningful. Talking with him inspired me to dive deeper, which led to an appreciative understanding of his time as a sergeant in the U.S. military.

It was an important reminder: my interest and care are just as important as an effective prescribed treatment plan.

Following graduation, I began my work as a medical assistant for a dermatologist. My experience with a patient, Joann, validated my ability to provide excellent hands-on patient care. Other physicians prescribed her painkillers to relieve the excruciating pain from the shingles rash, which presented as a fiery trail of blisters wrapped around her torso. But these painkillers offered no relief and made her so drowsy that she fell one night on the way to the bathroom.

Joann was tired, suffering, and beaten down. The lidocaine patches we initially prescribed would be a much safer option, but I refused for her to pay $250, as she was on the brink of losing her job. When she returned to the office a week later, she held my hand and cried tears of joy because I found her affordable patches, which helped her pain without the systemic effects.

The joy that pierced through the weariness in her eyes immediately confirmed that direct patient care like this was what I was meant to do. As I passed her a tissue, I felt ecstatic that I could make such a difference, and I sought to do more.

Since graduation, I have been volunteering at Open Door, a small pantry that serves a primarily Hispanic community of lower socioeconomic families. It is gut-wrenching to explain that we cannot give them certain items when our stock is low. After all, the fresh fruits and vegetables I serve are fundamental to their culturally-inspired meals.

For the first time, I found myself serving anguish rather than a helping hand. Usually, uplifting moments strengthen one’s desire to become a physician, but in this case, it was my ability to handle the low points that reignited my passion for aiding others.

After running out of produce one day, I was confused as to why a woman thanked me. Through translation by a fellow volunteer, I learned it was because of my positivity. She taught me that the way I approach unfavorable situations affects another’s perception and that my spirited attitude breaks through language barriers.

This volunteer work served as a wake-up call to the unacceptable fact that U.S. citizens’ health suffers due to lack of access to healthy foods. If someone cannot afford healthy foods, they may not have access to healthcare. In the future, I want to partner with other food banks to offer free services like blood pressure readings. I have always wanted to help people, but I now have a particular interest in bringing help to people who cannot afford it.

While the foundation of medicine is scientific knowledge, the foundation of healthcare is the word “care” itself. I never found out what happened to Michelle and her Christmas tree, but I still wonder about her to this day, and she has strengthened my passion to serve others. A sense of excitement and comfort stems from knowing that I will be there for people on their worst days, since I have already seen the impact my support has had.

In my mind, becoming a physician is not a choice but a natural next step to continue bringing humanity and compassion to those around me.

How did this personal statement grab and sustain attention so well?

• Personalization: Everything about this statement helps you to understand the writer, from their personal experiences to their hope for how their future career will look.
• Showing, not telling: From the first sentence, the reader is hooked. This prospective medical student has plenty of great “on paper” experience (early shadowing, clinical experience, etc.), but they showed this with storytelling, not by repeating their CV.
• Empathy: An admissions committee reading this personal statement would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this student cares deeply about their patients. They remember first names, individual details, and the emotions that each patient made them feel.
• A clear path forward: The writer doesn’t just want to work in the medical field — they have a passion for exactly how they want to impact the communities they serve. Outside of strictly medical work, they care about the way finances can limit access to healthcare and the struggle to find healthy food in food deserts around the US .

Read Next: How Hard Is It to Get Into Medical School?

Example 3 — Beyond the Diagnosis: The Importance of Individualized Care in Medicine

The applicant who wrote this personal statement was accepted into Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine and Nova Southeastern University College Of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Haywood sighs and shakes her head upon opening the chart. “I was worried about her A1C. It’s up again. Hypertension, too. Alright, let’s go.”

As we enter the patient’s room, I’m expecting the news about her blood sugar and pressure to fill the room. Instead, Dr. Haywood says, “Roseline! How are you doing? How’s your girl, doing well?”

Dr. Haywood continues to ask questions, genuinely interested in Roseline’s experience as a new mother. If not for the parchment-lined examination chair and anatomy posters plastered to the wall, this exchange could be happening in a grocery store. What about her A1C? Her blood pressure? Potential Type II diabetes?

As I continue to listen, Dr. Haywood discovers that Roseline’s mother moved in with her, cooking Haitian meals I recognize as high on the glycemic index. Dr. Haywood effortlessly evolves their conversation to focus on these. Being Haitian herself, she knows some traditional dishes are healthier than others and advises Roseline to avoid those that might exacerbate her high blood sugar and blood pressure. Dr. Haywood also suggests Roseline incorporate exercise by bringing her baby on a walk through her neighborhood.

During my shadowing experience, I observed one of the core components of being a physician through several encounters like this one. By establishing a relationship with her patient where Roseline was comfortable sharing the details of new motherhood, Dr. Haywood was able to individualize her approach to lowering the patient’s A1C and hypertension. Inspired by her ability to treat the whole person , I began to adopt a similar practice as a tutor for elementary kids in underserved areas of D.C.

Shaniyah did not like Zoom, or math for that matter. When I first met her as a prospective tutee online, she preferred to keep her microphone muted and would claim she was finished with her math homework after barely attempting the first problem. Realizing that basing our sessions solely on math would be fruitless, I adapted my tutoring style to incorporate some of the things for which she had a natural affinity.

The first step was acknowledging the difficulties a virtual environment posed to effective communication, particularly the ease at which distractions might take over. After sharing this with Shaniyah, she immediately disclosed her struggles to share her work with me. With this information, I found an online platform that allowed us to visualize each other’s work.

This obstacle in communication overcome, Shaniyah felt more comfortable sharing details about herself that I utilized as her tutor. Her love of soccer gave me the idea to use the concept of goal scoring to help with addition, and soon Shaniyah’s math skills and enthusiasm began to improve. As our relationship grew, so did her successes, and I suspect the feelings I experienced as her tutor are the same as a physician’s when their patient responds well to prescribed treatment.

I believe this skill, caring for someone as a whole person , that I have learned and practiced through shadowing and tutoring is the central tenet of medicine that allows a doctor to successfully treat their patients.

Inspired by talking with patients who had received life-altering organ transplants during my shadowing experience, I created a club called D.C. Donors for Georgetown University students to encourage their peers to register as organ donors or donate blood. This experience taught me that to truly serve a person, you must involve your whole person, too.

In starting this club to help those in need of transplants, I had to dedicate my time and effort beyond just my physical interactions with these patients. For instance, this involved reaching out to D.C.’s organ procurement organization to inquire about a potential partnership with my club, to which they agreed. In addition, I organized tabling events on campus, which required significant planning and communication with both club members and my university.

Though exciting, starting a club was also a difficult process, especially given the limitations the pandemic imposed on in-person meetings and events. To adapt, I had to plan more engaging meetings, designing virtual activities to make members more comfortable contributing their ideas. In addition, planning a blood drive required extensive communication with my university to ensure the safety of the staff and participants during the pandemic.

Ultimately, I believe these behind-the-scenes actions were instrumental in addressing the need for organ and blood donors in the D.C. area.

From these experiences, I have grown to believe that good medicine not only necessitates the physician cares for her patient as a whole, but also that she fully commits her whole person to the care of the patient. Tutoring and starting D.C. Donors not only allowed me to develop these skills but also to experience such fulfilling emotions: the pride I had in Shaniyah when her math improved, the gratefulness I felt when she confided in me, the steadfast commitment I expressed to transplant patients, and the joy I had in collaborating with other passionate club members.

I envision a career as a physician to demand these skills of me and more, and I have confirmed my desire to become one after feeling so enriched by practicing them.

Here’s what makes this personal statement such a good example of what works:

• Desirable qualities: The student clearly demonstrates qualities any school would want in an applicant: teachability, adaptability, leadership, organization, and empathy, to name a few. This again uses the “show, don’t tell” method, allowing the readers to understand the student without hand-holding.
• Personalized storytelling: Many in the healthcare profession will connect with experiences like the ones expressed here, such as addressing patient concerns relationally or the lack of blood donors during the recent pandemic. The writer automatically makes a personal link between themselves and the admissions committees reading this statement.
• Extensive (but not too long): Without feeling too wordy, this personal statement uses nearly all of the 5,300 characters allowed on the AMCAS application. There’s no fluff left in the final draft, only what matters.

Avoid These Common Mistakes

You can learn a lot from those personal statements. They avoid the most common mistakes that med school applicants make when writing the medical school personal statement.

Here are some things you should avoid in your personal statement if you want to be a doctor:

• Name-dropping: Admissions counselors won’t be impressed when you brag about your highly regarded family members, associates, or mentors. You need to stand on your own feet — not someone else’s.
• Dishonesty: Lies and exaggerations can torpedo your application. And they’re bad habits for anyone entering the medical field. Don’t do it.
• Unedited AI content: Artificial intelligence can help you edit and improve your writing, but don’t let it do the work for you. Your statement needs to be authentic, which means in your voice! A chatbot can’t feel or adequately convey your own empathy, compassion, trauma, drive, or personality.
• Grammatical errors and typos: Have someone reliable proofread your essay and scour it for typos, misspellings, and punctuation errors. Even free grammar-checking apps can catch mistakes!
• Telling without showing: I’ll reiterate how important it is to prove your self-descriptive statements with real-life examples. Telling without showing won’t persuade readers.
• Too many examples: Have 3-4 solid personal stories at most; only include a few that are crucial for providing your points. The more experiences you share, the less impact they’ll make.
• Fluff and filler: Cut all fluff, filler words, and irrelevant points. There are many other places you can include information in your application, such as secondary essays on your clinical experience, volunteer work, and research projects . 

You can find more valuable do’s and don’ts in our in-depth guide to writing your best personal statement .

Need extra help? We’ve got you covered.

Schedule a meeting with medschoolcoach for expert support on writing and editing your personal statement. we’re here to help you impress medical school admissions committees .

Renee Marinelli, MD

Dr. Marinelli has practiced family medicine, served on the University of California Admissions Committee, and has helped hundreds of students get into medical school. She spearheads a team of physician advisors who guide MedSchoolCoach students.

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Home › University › How To Write A Personal Statement? 10 Tips + Student Questions Answered › How To Write A Medicine Personal Statement & Impress Admissions

How To Write A Medicine Personal Statement & Impress Admissions

• Published January 20, 2023

Table of Contents

Are you considering a career in medicine but feeling overwhelmed by the thought of writing your medical personal statement? You’re not alone. In the UK, medicine is one of the most competitive fields to enter, with on average, over 20,000 applicants for around 6,000 places each year.

But there’s hope, have you considered attending medicine summer schools ? These programs can give you a great insight into what it’s like to study medicine at a UK university and network with your competition in your personal statement.

In this post, we’ll give you tips and tricks to make the process of writing your medical personal statement a breeze. So, whether you’re just starting or looking to revise, keep reading and take the first step towards a successful medical school application.

Brainstorm Your “WHY”

Why do you want to become a doctor ? How do you know this is the career for you?

How will it benefit you and the people around you? These are just some of the questions that can help you connect with your “WHY.”

If there’s one thing to remember on writing a medical personal statement, they should reflect not just who you are but also what motivates you. There are two techniques you can learn to help you with the brainstorming process.

The first technique is journaling. Just start writing about your passion for medicine without overthinking what people will say when they read it after. Write in complete freedom and just let it flow.

After a day or two of journaling, go back and review what you wrote. How do the words make you feel? How does it connect with your goals as a future doctor? Circle those parts that strike an emotional chord within you and use them as material for writing a medical personal statement.

We’ve also covered the exact method of  how to write a personal statement  – don’t miss out!

The second technique is to read books about motivation and inspiration. Inspiring stories surround us. By reading some of them, you’ll have a basic idea of expressing why you want to study medicine.

Books may even help you remember pivotal experiences in your life that inspired you to pursue a  career in the medical field .

In both techniques, the goal is to help you discover what motivates and inspires you to use it as material on how to write a medical personal statement. The more you are connected with your “why,” the easier it will be to write a personal statement that will touch the hearts of the admissions committee.

State Your Skills  For Medical School

What makes you qualified? How will your skills help you become a successful doctor in the future? These are the questions that can help you validate your reasons for pursuing this career path.

After coming up with your “why,” it’s now time to think about what sets you apart from other applicants, and highlight your skills to prove that you are qualified to become a medical student. If you don’t know where to start, here are skills that are valuable to the medical field:

• A genuine desire to study medicine
• Self-awareness of one’s strengths and weaknesses
• Intellectual ability
• Communication skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Personal Organisation
• Capable of working under pressure
• Knows how to deal with uncertainty
• Responsible for one’s own actions
• Conscientiousness
• Conscious of one’s own health
• Confidence and efficiency in communication
• Team player

Which of these is your strongest suit? Pinpoint at least one to three skills you have that will help you succeed as a doctor. Focus on these strengths when you’re thinking about how to write a medical personal statement.

Related Read :  How To Include Work Experience In Your Personal Statement?

Back-Up Your Skills With Credentials

Of course, it’s not enough to state your skills. Back them up with credentials and the admissions tutors will remember you —state awards, accomplishments, or experiences showcasing your strengths when writing your personal statement. Check out this list for inspiration:

• Extracurricular activities (clubs/organisations)
• Awards or certifications
• Volunteering
• Leadership positions
• Meaningful life experiences
• If you shadowed a doctor

Tell A Story

You may have all the necessary qualifications to be accepted as a medical student, but what counts is how you stand out from others.

Remember, the admissions committee reads thousands of medical personal statements every year. So it would be best if you found a way how to make yours memorable. The best way medical school applicants can give a lasting impression is to present the piece as a story. Can you imagine reading a personal statement structured like a grocery list of skills and credentials? 

Dive Further Into The Top With The :  Best UK Universities For Medicine

If you were the reader, you might not even proceed to read the next paragraph! But if you were to tell a captivating story, your reader will want to keep reading to know how it ends! That is our goal on how to write a medical personal statement.

How can you do it?

Start with a sentence that leads the reader on. Then, write about a time in your life when you experienced an event that set you on fire about being a doctor.

How did it happen? Why did you think of becoming a doctor and not choosing other career paths?

Here’s a pro tip: don’t mention your childhood. It’s in our  what not to put in personal statements  guide and many students still make the mistake of saying, “Since I was a child, I always wanted to become a doctor.” But children have very little reason and experience to make reasonable decisions. The admissions committee is well aware of this. And mentioning your childhood dreams  will not  impress them!

You have to share a significant life event that inspired you to become a doctor when you were old enough to mull it over. As you unfold your story, weave in crucial skills, credentials, and experiences. Be specific with names, dates, and places. Follow this strategy, and your reader will hardly recognise they’re nearing the end of your personal statement!

Write A Strong Opening

You should start your medical personal statement with an opening sentence that hooks the admissions tutors and makes them want to read more. Make the sentence exciting and unique to make people curious about what’s coming next. Have a look at some personal statement introduction examples to understand what exactly a good personal statement opening is.

If possible, don’t open with “I want to pursue medicine as a career because I have a passion for caring for others,” which is a dull opening line. After all, this phrase has been used so often it hardly makes an impact.

Here are some opening sentence ideas on how to write a medical personal statement:“Caring for others is my reason to live.”“My heart beats with the rhythm of the hospital’s emergency room.”“I was one of the fortunate ones.”“It all started with a patient named Mrs Sanchez….”

Reading these opening sentences sparks interest that makes your readers eager to read more. Although, we don’t recommend quotes as openers as they can be really hit and miss – be concise, use the tips mentioned and you’ll ace it.

The trick is to make sure the rest of your personal statement supports your first sentence to ensure coherency. 

Proofread Your Personal Statement

Proofreading is a vital step on how to write a medical personal statement. Handling human lives requires careful attention to detail. Demonstrate your keen attention to detail by ensuring your personal statement is free of spelling and grammatical errors.

It’s essential to point out that the admissions committee not only reads your content. But they also pay close attention to  how you present  your content. A well-organised and coherent write-up reflects a sound writer.

So don’t speed through this stage! Take your time. Run your personal statement through Grammarly.

Read it out loud! Enjoy the process of perfecting your personal statement. After all, this is a vital step in achieving your dream to become a medic!

Ask Others To Read Your Personal Statement

It’s challenging to judge your personal statement with unbiased eyes because you are its author. That’s why asking for other people’s feedback is essential on how to write a medical personal statement.

Approach your family, friends, and acquaintances. Tell them you need their opinion on your personal statement. Do they find it easy to understand? Is it coherent? Do they hear  you  while they’re reading your personal statement?

Ask them as many questions as you can. Don’t be afraid to listen to their criticism. It’s much better to hear corrections now while you still have the chance to revise your work. The result is worth the extra time and effort!

Put Some Distance 

After noting down feedback and revising your medical school personal statement multiple times, it’s best to put it down for a short time. You need to see it with a clear set of eyes.

So forget about it for a few days. Play your favourite sport. Read your favourite book. Or chill by your couch with your music on. Go about your daily life as if you didn’t spend the last few days working hard writing your medical personal statement.

You’d be surprised what happens when you come back to reread your work. Little details you didn’t notice before will stand out like glaring red lights. You may even catch sentences that don’t fit well together. So revise as much as you need!

What should you not say in a medical personal statement?

• Instead of using your personal statement to focus on your own or family member’s medical conditions, use it to highlight your experiences that have led you to pursue a career in medicine and the skills and qualities you have developed as a result.
• Use negative experiences to demonstrate growth and resilience, rather than to create pity. Show how you have overcome challenges and how you have grown as a person.
• Show your compassion and empathy through your experiences, highlighting how they have helped you understand the needs of patients and how you plan to use this understanding to serve your community.
• Share specific examples of how you have already demonstrated your abilities and potential, rather than making promises about what you will do in the future. Use concrete examples to show the admissions committee what you are capable of.
• Discuss the challenges in healthcare and identify ways to improve in these areas without pointing any fingers. Show that you have a realistic understanding of patient needs and that you have potential solutions to improve healthcare.

How Long Should Your Medical Personal Statement Be?

According to UCAS, your medical school personal statement can be up to 4000 characters long. The average word is 4.7 characters, so that’s about 850 words.

When To Write Your Med School Personal Statement?

Don’t wait until the eleventh hour to begin crafting your medical school personal statement. Instead, take advantage of the summer break to start working on it well ahead of the UCAS deadline, typically in October. This will not only relieve the stress of having to write it alongside A-Level work and BMAT revision but also give you ample time to perfect your statement and make it truly stand out.

Start Writing Your Medicine Personal Statement

Writing a successful medical personal statement is no easy feat. How you open your essay, how well-organised it is, and how well it communicates who you are, are crucial elements in writing a medical personal statement. This article aimed to give you practical tips on how to write a medical personal statement that will help get your foot in the door.

We hope these insights into successful college essays will make the process easier for you. We wish you the best of luck!

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Medicine Personal Statement: 12 Top Tips

The medicine personal statement is your first chance to show off what you’ve accomplished and how you’ve been preparing for medical school. It is vital that your medicine personal statement is well written and structured to ensure you get that all important interview invitation.

It can be overwhelming when you’re first faced with a blank document and have to somehow convey all of your work experience and passions in just a page. This article will give some of our top tips for personal statement writing based on years of experience.

1. Jot down all of your biggest achievements!

A good way to start writing your medicine personal statement is to make a list of absolutely all of your achievements so far. The personal statement isn’t very long so you most likely won’t be able to mention everything here. Making a list will help you pick out which achievements will help you to stand out from other applicants, so you can prioritise what to talk about.

Examples of Achievements

• Academic e.g. poster presentation
• Social , e.g. being volunteer of the month at at local care home
• Highlight key skills e.g. leading a project as a prefect

Writing all these down beforehand will mean you don’t forget to slot them in later. This list will also be helpful when it comes to interview preparation!

2. Make your motivation for medicine original

Why do you want to study medicine? This is the big question to answer in your medicine personal statement. As a future medical student, hopefully you have already thought this through and have some ideas. It is very important that you fully understand your motivations as this will be key for interview preparation too. At some medical schools your personal statement is used as a prompt for questions during your interview, particularly during the motivation question. It won’t look great if you give a completely different answer for wanting to study medicine at interview compared to what you’ve written in your personal statement, especially if the interview has it right in front of them!

Try to make your answer as original as possible: most people will say something along the lines of ‘I love helping people and I love science’. While these are very valid answers, and definitely good reasons to want to study medicine, they aren’t very original and won’t help you stand out.

Your passion has to jump out from the page, so don’t be afraid to rewrite this until it shows exactly how keen you are to study medicine. It is up to you how you start your introduction, but a unique and relevant anecdote may make you stand out from other applicants. 

If you’re unsure of how to phrase your motivation for studying medicine, keep reading and I’ll give you some guidance on how to get around this when we chat about work experience.

3. Don’t lie

This is a very important point. We all elaborate a little and embellish our experiences on our CV every now and again, but it is very important not to lie. If you lie in your interview or medicine personal statement and are caught, you will be instantly rejected by the university. This is clearly not a good quality for future doctors.  It isn’t worth risking.

4 Link your extracurriculars (and everything) back to how they will make you a better medic

Extra-curriculars are important in developing skills required of a doctor. Don’t be afraid to show off everything you have achieved during your time at school, whether that be debating club, hockey or jazz band.

But what is important here is that, firstly, you link it back to how it will make you a better medic. Try thinking about your extracurriculars in terms of:

• What skills have you developed?
• Name things that have challenged you?
• What have you learnt about working in a team?
• Are you keen to continue these at university? Medical schools want you to bring something as part of the medical school community!

5. Reflect when talking about work experience

By now you will have completed most (if not all!) of your work experience. When getting work experience, it is much better to make the effort to secure your own shadowing or volunteering, rather than someone else organising your on your behalf. This shows you’re proactive and motivated – both excellent qualities for a future doctor!

The most important point regarding work experience is to reflect . Self-reflection is a key skill for a doctor, and you will be expected to reflect on your experiences throughout your entire medical career – even up to consultant level!

Instead of just describing what you did, instead talk more about what you’ve learnt from this experience. Include both positive and negative points as it shows honesty and a realistic understanding of a career in medicine. You should also try and apply what you’ve learnt to show personal growth. For example, did you observe some excellent communication skills that you then tried to replicate in your volunteering? What did you learn about the realities of medicine? How will this impact on your future practice?

Trusted Personal Statement Review: Learn More

6. You don’t need to include everything

It is a common mistake for students to cram as much as possible in. When it comes to work experience on your personal statement, quality is better than quantity. Admissions staff would much rather hear about one particular experience in detail with insightful reflection rather than reading a list of 10 different shadowing experiences.

7. Remember the character and line limit

Try and start outlining your personal statement early so that you can write freely and include everything you’d ideally like to, using your list of achievements mentioned in Tip 1! Once you’ve written this you can cut it down to the correct character and line limit.

If you would like help in editing your medicine personal statement, make sure to check out our personal statement review service

Remember – your personal statement must be under 4000 characters and 47 lines. This is roughly only 500 words!

8. Write it yourself

Remember that this is a personal statement . It should be written by you. Nearly everyone has someone to check or proof-read their personal statement, but you should be the one who is ultimately writing and driving the process.

Remember that your personal statement can be used as trigger material at interview. It is very obvious when a candidate hasn’t written their own personal statement so do not fall into this trap.

9. Don’t forget good structure

Structure is important! Use paragraphs to split up the block of text, each with their own topics such aswork experience or academic achievements. This makes the overall text easier to follow. You should begin with your overall motivation for medicine, which you can then link to your work experience reflections which should be the main body of the text.

You should end with a short conclusion. This will be the lasting impression your statement gives off to the admissions team! Tell them why you’d make an excellent doctor in one short summary sentance.

10. Check, check and double check

This may sound obvious but, check your spelling and grammar. Not just once but multiple times and after every single change to a draft you make. Poor grammar and spelling suggests that you’re careless, have poor attention to detail and is just generally unprofessional. You will have to write essays at medical school and beyond, so show the admissions team you can do it well!

11. Do your research

As well as reading books and attending extra lectures to widen your breadth of knowledge, it is also important to familiarise yourself with what makes a good doctor.

Read medical newspaper articles (from good sources), take a look the GMC’s good medical practise, confidentiality and also look at the suggested reading and links for the universities you are applying to. 

12. Don’t be too hard on yourself!

At the end of the day every applicant has decided to study medicine, and if you’re a school leaver especially, you’ve likely all come from similar backgrounds. Personal statements are bound to look similar, but this ultimately doesn’t matter. It’s less about how impressive or unique your experiences have been, and more about how well you can reflect on these experiences to demonstrate the skills needed of a doctor. Try not to stress too much!

Personal Statement Check

It can help to have an expert review your personal statement – Click below to find out more about how you can get a fast-track personal statement review from one of our expert team

Frequently Asked Question

🔍 what is a medicine personal statement.

A medicine personal statement is a written document that applicants for medical school use to showcase their strengths, qualifications, experiences, and aspirations. It is an essential part of the application process and provides admissions committees with insights into the applicant’s character and suitability for medical school.

🔮 What are some tips for writing a strong medicine personal statement?

Some tips for writing a strong medicine personal statement include researching the medical schools you are applying to, highlighting your relevant experiences and qualifications, demonstrating your passion for medicine, using clear and concise language, and proofreading for errors.

🎥 What should I include in my medicine personal statement?

Your medicine personal statement should include information about your relevant experiences and qualifications, your motivation for pursuing a career in medicine, your strengths and skills, and any relevant achievements or awards. It should also demonstrate your knowledge of the medical profession and the specific medical school you are applying to.

📜 How long should my medicine personal statement be?

The length of your medicine personal statement can vary depending on the medical school’s requirements, but it is typically around 500 to 700 words. It is important to follow the guidelines provided by the medical school and to be concise and focused in your writing.

💣 What should I avoid in my medicine personal statement?

You should avoid using cliches or generic statements, exaggerating your accomplishments or experiences, being too negative or critical, or including irrelevant information. It is also important to avoid plagiarism and to ensure that your personal statement is original and authentic.

💡 Why is the medicine personal statement important?

The medicine personal statement is an important part of the medical school application process because it allows applicants to demonstrate their motivation, commitment, and suitability for a career in medicine. It is also an opportunity to showcase relevant experiences and qualifications that may not be reflected in other parts of the application.

Was this article helpful?

Still got a question leave a comment, leave a comment, cancel reply, 366 comments, anonymous medic mind tutor 6 may 2020.

Great Article!

Asnan Medic Mind Tutor 7 May 2020

This was so helpful!

• Personal Statement: Work Experience
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• Personal Statement: Academic Interest

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Medic Mentor's CompleTE Guide To The

Medicine personal statements (ps).

Welcome to our comprehensive guide on crafting outstanding medicine personal statements for UK medical school applications. In this increasingly competitive landscape, a well-crafted personal statement is your passport to standing out from the crowd and securing a place in your dream medical school.

A medicine personal statement holds immense significance in the UK medical school application process. It is a unique opportunity for aspiring medical students like you to showcase your passion, motivation, and suitability for a career in medicine. Admissions committees carefully review personal statements to gain insight into your character, experiences, and commitment to the field. It allows them to assess your communication skills, critical thinking abilities, and overall potential as a future healthcare professional.

Quick Links To PS Sections on this Page...

Click the topic heading below to go straight to that section!

• What is a medical personal statement?
• How do medical schools assess personal statements?
• Step-by-step guide to writing your personal statement
• Reflective Writing Techniques
• Common pitfalls when writing your personal statement
• Additional tools and support to help you write the best personal statement that you can!

Unlimited On-demand Mentoring For Your Entire Med School Application

What is a ps, med schools & the ps, writing guide, reflective writing, things to avoid, extra support, what is a medical personal statement.

A medicine personal statement is a written document that allows aspiring medical students to express their motivations, experiences, and suitability for pursuing a career in medicine.

The purpose of a medicine personal statement is to provide admissions committees with insight into your character, aspirations, and commitment to the field of medicine. It serves as a platform for you to showcase your unique qualities and convince medical schools that you possess the skills and attributes necessary to thrive as a future healthcare professional.

Complete Medical School All-in-one Solution!

UK medical schools consider personal statements as an essential component of the application process. Admissions committees carefully review personal statements to evaluate candidates beyond their academic achievements and test scores.

Personal statements offer a holistic perspective of applicants, allowing medical schools to assess their communication skills, critical thinking abilities, and suitability for a career in medicine. These statements provide valuable context to understand your motivations, experiences, and personal qualities that are not captured through other application materials.

Personal statements for both the current and upcoming application cycles will continue to follow the traditional essay format. While there have been proposed changes by UCAS to transition to a short answer format with specific questions, these changes will not be implemented until at least 2025 for students applying to enter universities in 2026. Therefore, we will focus on the essay format that has been utilised for the past 20-30 years.

A well-structured medicine personal statement essay consists of three main components: an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.  We call this the personal statement’s ‘superstructure’.

1. Introduction:

The introduction serves as the starting point of your personal statement and should engage the reader from the beginning. It provides a brief overview of your motivations and sets the tone for the rest of the essay. Consider using attention-grabbing anecdotes, thought-provoking statements, or personal reflections to make your introduction captivating.

2. Body Paragraphs:

The body paragraphs form the core of your personal statement and provide an opportunity to showcase your experiences, skills, and personal qualities. Within these paragraphs, it is important to consider the structure of each individual paragraph, known as ‘paragraph structure’.

3. Conclusion:

The conclusion is the closing section of your personal statement and should leave a lasting impression on the reader. It is an opportunity to summarise your key points and reiterate your passion for medicine. Reflect on your journey, express your enthusiasm for future learning and growth, and emphasise your commitment to becoming a compassionate and skilled healthcare professional.

In addition to a personal statement’s ‘superstructure’ you also need to be familiar with ‘paragraph structure’.

Paragraph structure refers to the way you organise and structure the content within each paragraph. It is important to adopt a reflective approach when structuring your paragraphs. Here are some tips to guide you:

• Begin each paragraph with a clear topic sentence that introduces the main point or idea.
• Provide supporting evidence, examples, or experiences to substantiate your claims or statements.
• Reflect on the significance or impact of these experiences, demonstrating personal growth and development.
• Use transition words and phrases to create a smooth flow between paragraphs and ideas.

The UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) sets a maximum limit for personal statements, which is currently 4,000 characters or 47 lines of text (including spaces and blank lines). This limit applies to all undergraduate courses, including medicine, in the UK.

It is important to note that the character and line limits include all the text within the personal statement, including the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. This means that you need to be concise and thoughtful in your writing to effectively convey your experiences, motivations, and suitability for becoming a doctor.

While there is no specific requirement for the minimum length of a personal statement, it is generally recommended to aim for at least 3,500 character to provide a comprehensive overview of your qualifications and aspirations for medicine. However, keep in mind that quality is more important than quantity, so focus on providing meaningful and well-developed content within the given limit.

Before submitting your personal statement, ensure that you carefully review and edit your writing to eliminate any unnecessary or redundant information, while maintaining a clear and coherent narrative that effectively highlights your strengths and passion for the chosen course.

Many students often worry about what to include in their personal statement. However, the most important aspect is that it genuinely reflects you as an individual and serves as an honest representation of your thoughts, skills, and interests.

A well-crafted personal statement enables you to highlight your unique experiences, such as work/volunteer experiences, research involvement, and extracurricular activities that have shaped your understanding of the medical profession.

Your personal statement plays a crucial role in demonstrating your suitability for a medical career. It allows you to showcase essential skills, such as empathy, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving abilities. By presenting your experiences and reflections, you can effectively convey your commitment to patient care, ethical considerations, and your alignment with the values of the medical profession.

Additionally, it is essential to tailor your personal statement to each medical school you apply to, as different schools may have specific criteria or expectations. Take the time to research each institution and review their guidance on personal statements. Many medical schools provide valuable advice and insights into what they look for in personal statements.

Medical schools What to See?

It is important to recognise that medical schools employ various methods when considering personal statements. While some schools may not initially assess personal statements, instead relying on predicted grades, admissions tests, and academic references, others integrate personal statements into their evaluation process. Some medical schools may screen personal statements for widening participation flags, while others may utilise them during the interview stage. Regardless of the different methods used by medical schools, there is no doubt that the personal statement plays a significant role in the selection process.

Include the Key Attributes of a Doctor

• Motivation to study medicine
• Insight into self and medicine
• Organisation, time-management and prioritisation
• Problem-solving under pressure
• Verbal and written communication skills
• Leadership and Teamwork
• Research, teaching and mentoring skills
• Honesty, integrity and treating others with respect.

Take the Stress Out Of Applying to Medical School

Medical schools are interested in seeing your experiences, skills, and attributes that are relevant to the field of medicine. Consider the following guidelines when crafting your personal statement:

• Reflect on the meaning of medicine to you and express it in your own words.
• Focus on the lessons and insights you have gained from your work or voluntary experience in the healthcare profession.
• Emphasise the knowledge you have acquired about the life of a doctor and the challenges and rewards it entails.
• When discussing your skills, explain their significance and relevance to the medical profession.
• Share any experiences with outreach programmes that have enhanced your understanding of studying medicine or practicing as a doctor, such as Medic Mentor events, extra-curricular activities and summer schools.
• Include information about specific areas of medicine that interest you, showcasing your passion and curiosity.
• Mention your extracurricular activities and hobbies, highlighting how they have contributed to your personal development.

Lastly, ensure that your personal statement is free of punctuation, spelling, and grammar errors. Avoid using clichés and quotes, as they can weaken the impact of your statement and make them less personal.

Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your Personal Statement

Crafting a compelling medicine personal statement is a crucial step in securing a place in your desired medical school. In this comprehensive guide, we will provide you with a step-by-step approach to writing an effective personal statement that will capture the attention of admissions committees and showcase your suitability for a career in medicine.

Comprehensive Med School Application Support and Success!

Before putting pen to paper, take the time to engage in self-reflection. Ask yourself why you want to pursue a career in medicine. Consider your personal experiences, encounters with healthcare professionals, and any defining moments that have influenced your decision. Identify the key motivations that drive your passion for medicine, as this will serve as the foundation for your personal statement.  Then create a structure plan before you start writing in full sentences.  Try to link your experiences with a couple of skills/attributes and reflect on why this is important in medicine.

To create a well-organised personal statement, structure it with an attention-grabbing introduction, informative body paragraphs, and a memorable conclusion.

• Introduction : Begin with a captivating opening that hooks the reader and conveys your enthusiasm for medicine.
• Body Paragraphs : Develop your personal statement by showcasing relevant experiences, such as work/volunteer experiences and research involvement. Demonstrate key qualities and skills desired by medical schools, including empathy, teamwork, and communication. Incorporate personal anecdotes and stories to make your statement more engaging and relatable. Highlight ethical considerations and values that align with the medical profession.
• Conclusion : End with a memorable conclusion that summarises your key points, reinforces your passion for medicine, and leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Throughout your personal statement, focus on showcasing your experiences and skills that are relevant to medicine . This can include:

• Work/volunteer experiences: Discuss how these experiences have shaped your understanding of healthcare, reinforced your passion for medicine, and provided valuable insights into patient care.  If you are struggling to get work experience, we can help!  Join our free virtual work experience programme!
• Research involvement: Highlight any research projects you have participated in and emphasise the skills and knowledge you have gained through these experiences.  You can demonstrate this with Medic Mentor’s help by researching and publishing an article in the Mentor Magazine!
• Key qualities and skills: Demonstrate your empathy, leadership, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving abilities. Use specific examples to illustrate how you have developed and utilised these skills in real-life situations.  For example, you can demonstrate these through our leadership programmes!

To make your personal statement stand out, incorporate personal anecdotes and stories that showcase your unique journey and experiences. Engage the reader by providing vivid details and describing how these experiences have shaped your perspectives and aspirations.  This is an important component of ‘reflective writing’.

Medical schools value applicants who demonstrate a strong ethical foundation and an understanding of the moral responsibilities associated with practicing medicine. Reflect on ethical dilemmas you have encountered and discuss how you navigate and prioritise ethical considerations in patient care.

Using Reflective Writing Techniques

In your medicine personal statement, it is not only the activities and experiences you discuss that hold importance but also the quality of reflection that you demonstrate. Reflective writing techniques play a vital role in conveying the depth of your understanding and the impact of your experiences. In this section, we will explore the importance of using reflective writing techniques to enhance the quality of your medicine personal statement.

A more reassuring Way to Start Your Medical Career...

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle is a widely used framework in the medical field for structuring written reflections. It helps individuals critically analyse their experiences, identify areas for improvement, and enhance their professional growth. In this section, we will explore how you can utilise Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle to structure paragraphs effectively within your medical personal statement. It is worth noting that this reflective framework remains relevant throughout medical school and as junior doctors progress through their training, with written reflections being an integral part of NHS E-portfolios and appraisal processes.  Therefore, using Gibbs’ reflective cycle when writing your personal statement, will truly demonstrate great insight and make you stand out from other applicants!

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle consists of six key stages that guide the reflective process which you can use for your ‘paragraph sructure’:

Description : Begin by providing a detailed description of the experience or situation you are reflecting upon. Set the context, explain the events, and provide relevant background information.

Feelings : Reflect on your emotions, thoughts, and reactions during the experience. Consider both positive and negative feelings, as they contribute to your overall learning and growth.

Evaluation : Analyse the experience and critically evaluate its impact on your personal and professional development. Identify what went well, what could have been improved, and any challenges faced.

Analysis : Dig deeper into the experience and identify the factors that influenced the outcomes. Explore the underlying reasons, theories, or frameworks that can help explain the situation.

Conclusion : Summarise your overall understanding and learning from the experience. Highlight the key insights, lessons, or changes in perspective that have resulted from your analysis.

Action Plan : Outline specific actions or steps you will take to apply your learning and improve future practice. Consider how you will address any challenges or enhance your skills based on the insights gained.

When utilising Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle in your medical personal statement, you can structure your paragraphs to effectively convey your reflective process:

Introduction : Provide a brief overview of the experience you will be reflecting upon, setting the context for the subsequent paragraphs.

Description : Start the paragraph by describing the experience in detail. Provide relevant information, such as the setting, the individuals involved, and the circumstances surrounding the experience.

Feelings : Reflect upon the emotions, thoughts, and reactions you experienced during the situation. Be honest and introspective, sharing both positive and negative feelings.

Evaluation and Analysis : Merge these two stages together within a single paragraph. Critically evaluate the experience, highlighting what went well, what could have been improved, and any challenges faced. Analyse the factors that influenced the outcomes, drawing upon relevant theories or frameworks.

Conclusion : Summarise your overall understanding and learning from the experience. Highlight the key insights, lessons, or changes in perspective that have resulted from your reflective analysis.

Action Plan : Conclude the paragraph by outlining specific actions or steps you plan to take based on your learning. Discuss how you will apply your insights to enhance your future medical practice or personal growth.

We fully understand the immense pressure that students face when tasked with writing a personal statement, and we are here to provide guidance and support throughout this crucial process. But students can make significant mistakes in the writing process that you must take care to avoid.  These usually happen because students feel under pressure, or they run out of time, or they are misinformed and end up using resources that could get themselves into trouble.  By highlighting these common pitfalls, we want to ensure that you don’t find yourself making any unnecessary mistakes, or burn out during the writing process.

Crafting a personal statement may feel overwhelming, but remember that you have unique experiences and qualities to share that will make your application shine. With our expert advice and step-by-step guidance, you can confidently navigate the personal statement writing journey and present your best self to admissions committees.

Writing a personal statement can be a daunting task, especially considering the immense pressure students face during the application process. However, it’s important to remember that you possess a wealth of experiences, skills, and aspirations that make you a strong candidate.

Don't Get Sucked Into...

Some of these might be tempting but they will actually work against you or even get your flagged for plagiarism…

• Using artificial intelligence to write your personal statement
• Using review services where you send in your personal statement for 'checking', 'marking' or 'editing'. You don't know who is on the other end and who else has seen your personal statement.
• Reading 'perfect' examples of personal statements, before writing your own
• Skipping the planning stage
• Not reflecting deeply enough
• Making up experiences or achievements to sound impressive
• Misusing medical terminology
• Prioritising the wrong examples to write about
• Not getting help from your teachers, parents and trusted mentors
• Leaving it to the last minute
• Panicking and not knowing when it is finished!

How can Medic Mentor Help You With Your Personal Statement?

We want to assure you that we will never ask you to submit your personal statement for a review or provide you with multiple “perfect” examples. These practices are not reputable and can potentially harm your personal statement. Instead, our approach is focused on teaching and mentoring you through various modules to help you craft an outstanding personal statement that truly showcases your unique qualities.

We offer a range of options for you to choose from, including free webinars, informative talks, comprehensive e-learning resources, and even an enhanced 1-2-1 tutoring program. With our trusted mentors, you will receive guidance and support as you write your own amazing statement. This has worked for thousands of students over the past decade! We believe in an honest and genuine approach to writing excellent personal statements, empowering you to make informed decisions about the best approach that suits your needs. The power is in your hands to shine in the application process, and we are here to provide the tools and support you need, every step of the way.

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Medic Mentor is an all-in-one solution to your medical school application.  We bring only the best resources for tackling every single component of your medical school application to one place.  We are here to help you work efficiently, by balancing the UCAS application process alongside your school work and extracurricular activities.  One of the best ways to save you time is to direct you to the best advice and resources so that you do not have to waste time searching for them yourselves.

We know what you are going through, as doctors and medical students who were in your position!  By combining application knowledge, extracurricular opportunities, platforms to up-skill and boost confidence, it is not a surprise that Medic Mentor students are successful.  Will it be difficult? Yes, applying to medical school is not easy.  But through Medic Mentor it will be less stressful, and even fun.  Let’s get started!

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Medicine Personal Statement Examples

Last updated: 29/6/2023

• Is Medicine Right for Me?
• What do Doctors do?
• The Daily Life of a Doctor
• How to apply to medical school
• Different Routes into Medicine
• Factors to Consider
• Medicine at Oxford and Cambridge
• Your Fifth UCAS Choice
• Getting Your Grades
• Extra-curricular Activities
• What is the UCAT?
• Preparing for Your UCAT Test Day
• After Your UCAT
• BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT)
• Work Experience and Dental Schools
• NHS Work Experience
• Personal Statement
• Medicine PS Examples
• Dentistry PS Examples
• UCAS References
• Medical and Dental School Interviews
• Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs)
• Medical School Interview Questions
• Dental School Interview Questions
• Graduate Entry Courses
• Foundation and Access Courses
• International students
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• Medicine in Australia and NZ
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• What Our "Plan B" Looked Like

Your UCAS personal statement is a chance to showcase the skills, attributes, and experiences which make you suited to studying medicine. This can be quite a daunting prospect, especially when you have to boil all that down to just 4,000 characters, or 47 lines. 

In this article, we will:

• Examine examples of strong and weak medicine personal statements (interested in dentistry? Check out dentistry personal statement examples )
• Help you learn what you should and shouldn't include in your medicine personal statement

Want to explore more examples? Our Personal Statement Course has over 100 personal statement examples to help you find your voice.

What you'll find in this article:

Personal statement example 1 – introduction

Personal statement example 2 – introduction, personal statement example 1 – main body, personal statement example 2 – main body, personal statement example 1 – conclusion, personal statement example 2 – conclusion, strong personal statement example, weak personal statement example, what should your personal statement include.

To get into medical school , your personal statement should:

• Demonstrate meaningful insight into the profession, in the form of work experience or independent research. This could be partly based on medical books or podcasts when medical work experience is not possible
• Reflect on your strengths, weaknesses, and experiences
• Mention your extracurricular activities
• Discuss your academic interests and achievements

'At the moment I am working towards A-Level Chemistry, Biology and Maths. I achieved my AS-Level in Spanish but decided to drop it to focus on my more medically relevant subjects. I’ve been dreaming of studying medicine since I was a young child, and this was only reinforced when I contracted measles during my primary school exams. This affected my performance, but I found that this motivated me rather than discouraged me. A particularly inspiring doctor was heavily involved in helping me deal with the pressure. I was inspired by her to become a doctor myself and help others in a similar way. I am particularly interested in science and as such the practical side of medicine interested me. I’ve always enjoyed chemistry and biology the most, and have best learned when trying to link the pure science I learn in school back to it's practical and useful real-world applications. This is what is particularly interesting about medicine to me - you can apply pure, evidence-based science in a clinical and practical setting to have an obvious positive effect. Inspired by this interest, I invested in a subscription to the New Scientist magazine. I’ve read about a huge number of fascinating discoveries and how they’ve been applied in medical settings.'

This introductory section has some promising features, but there are areas the author could improve:

• The introductory sentence doesn’t catch the reader’s attention or hold much relevance for a medical personal statement. This sentence would be better suited to a subsequent section on the author’s academic achievements, and it would need to be supplemented with a suitable explanation as to why the chosen subjects are relevant for medicine. 
• The author uses an anecdote to illustrate why they first developed an interest in medicine. This is a good idea, but the anecdote they've chosen is not the most suitable. It references ‘primary school exams’, which uses the cliché of wanting to do medicine from a young age. This is not only overused, but is also underdeveloped. 
• The applicant mentions feeling under pressure for these primary school exams. This won’t fill the reader with confidence that the author will be able to cope with the demands of medical school and a career as a doctor. 
• The introduction should open with the anecdote rather than academic achievements. A strong and memorable opening line will catch the admission tutor’s attention, and gives the student an opportunity to summarise why they want to study medicine.
• It is far too long. A good introduction should be around 4-6 lines.

There are some parts of the introduction that are more effective:

• The part discussing why they enjoy chemistry and biology is useful – it links their love for pure science back to the passion they mentioned earlier for helping people. This demonstrates the blend of empathy and interest in science that medical schools will be looking for. 
• The same part also introduces the candidate’s reading of medical literature, which they could choose to discuss in more depth later in the statement, or which might be something that interviewers could choose to examine in more detail.

'From a young age, my real fascination in life has been science - in particular, the incredible intricacy of the human body. My passion to discover more about its inner workings fuelled my motivation to study medicine, and the challenging yet rewarding nature of the job leaves me certain that I want to pursue it as a career. I think that my chosen A-Levels have only made me more determined to become a doctor, while simultaneously allowing me to develop and improve my skills. I have become a better problem-solver by studying physics and maths, while also learning the importance of accuracy and attention to detail. I’ve particularly enjoyed chemistry, which has again helped me improve my problem solving skills and my ability to think rationally and logically. Throughout my chemistry and biology A-Levels, I’ve been required to engage in practical work which has taught me how to design and construct an experiment. I’ve also become better at communicating with other members of my team, something I witnessed the importance of during my work experience in A&E. During recent months, I’ve started reading more medical publications such as the Lancet and the British Medical Journal. I’ve been particularly interested in how this evidence-based science can be applied to clinical practice to really make an impact on patients.'

This introduction contains some useful reflection and demonstrates some insight, but is quite jumbled. The main areas of weakness are as follows:

• The content is good but much of it would be better suited to a later section and should be explored in more detail while being linked back to medicine (for example, the whole second half could be included in a longer segment on academia). 
• The applicant mentions that they improved their problem-solving skills. How did they do this? Why is this important in medicine? 
• They say that medicine is demanding but that this attracts them to the job. What experiences have they had to show the demanding nature of it? Why does this attract them to it? 
• The author also briefly mentions a stint of work experience in A&E, but the rushed nature of the introduction means that they can’t go into detail about the experience or reflect on what exactly they learned from it. 
• Similar to example 1, this introduction includes some clichés which detract from the author’s overall message. For example, that they have wanted to do medicine from a young age or that they love science (with no further explanation as to why). 
• It is far too long. Again, an introduction should be a succinct summary of why you're interested in medicine, and not a brief account of all of your experiences.

The stronger parts of this introduction include the following:

• The author does demonstrate that they can reflect on the skills they’ve improved through experience. For example, the analytical and problem-solving skills they gained from chemistry.
• The candidate shows an understanding of the link between evidence-based science and clinical application when discussing how they did further research around their physics course. This shows a good level of curiosity and insight.

'I first became interested in studying medicine when I carried out a work experience placement with my father an elderly care specialist. I really enjoyed the experience and it gave me a deeper insight into the challenges doctors face. I now believe that I better understand the resilience - both mental and physical - that doctors need to cope with the heavy workload and emotional challenges. A few months ago I was given the opportunity to attend work experience in St Mary’s hospital in Manchester where I visited and observed many different specialties and areas of the hospital like A&E and the labs and witnessed how doctors carried out their jobs. For the past year I’ve been doing some other volunteering work too, such as, taking meals around to patients on the ward, asking them about their experience in the hospital and just chatting with them about how they’re feeling. They’re often delighted to have someone to talk to especially during Covid when they weren’t allowed to receive visitors. I saw how my communication and empathy made a real impact on the mood of the lonelier patients. I spent a few days working in the same hospital, shadowing doctors and Allied Health professionals in the stroke ward. I became much more familiar with the process doctors used for treating stroke patients, and developed an understanding of the role that physiotherapists and occupational therapists have in their rehabilitation. On top of that I organised a placement with the emergency medicine doctors and spent time in the haemapheresis unit at St Mary’s.'

This example does contain some of the features we look for in a complete main body section but could definitely be improved: 

• The main issue with this is the list-like presentation, which goes hand-in-hand with a general lack of reflection or insight. Although it is good to discuss your work experience in your personal statement, it would be far better if the candidate focused on just one or two of the experiences mentioned, but went into far more detail about what they learned and the insight they gained. For example, after mentioning the role of Allied Health Professionals in the rehabilitation of stroke patients, they could go on to discuss how they came to appreciate the importance of these healthcare workers, and how the contribution of all these individuals within the multidisciplinary team is so important to achieving good outcomes.
• Statements like ‘I [...] witnessed how doctors carry out their jobs’ make it seem as if the candidate really wasn’t paying attention. They need to explain what they mean by this. Were they impressed by the doctors’ effective teamwork and communication skills, or perhaps by their positive attitude and morale? Did they seem well-trained and effective? What did they learn from this that might help them in the future?  ‍
• Similarly, the student simply states that they saw the effect of empathy on patients: ‘I saw how my communication and empathy made a real impact on the mood of the lonelier patients.’ This adopts a ‘telling’ approach, when the student needs to adopt a ‘showing’ approach. Simply telling us that they saw something does not adequately demonstrate an understanding of why those qualities are important, or what they actually mean. What does it mean to have empathy? What does that look like in real terms? How did they use it? What was the effect? Showing the tutor that you are empathetic is important, but simply saying it is disingenuous and shows a lack of understanding.
• The candidate spends a number of characters name-dropping the exact hospital they visited and its location, which isn’t the best use of valuable space, as it has no real impact on the message they’re trying to convey.
• Generally, it isn’t a good idea to talk about work experience with family members. Of course, this might be the reality, but try to have some other placements that you’ve organised yourself so that it doesn’t appear as if your family are doing all the hard work for you. At the very least, you could simply leave this information out.
• There are a few grammatical errors here, especially regarding the use of commas. It’s important to use a spell checker or to ask an English teacher to check your work for you before submitting your statement.

The better features of this example are:

• The candidate does show some insight into the role of a doctor when they talk about the resilience required by doctors to cope with the hard hours and challenging conditions. They just need to reflect in this way in other parts of the section, too.
• The author has clearly done a lot of work experience and is right to discuss this in their personal statement. Just remember that you don’t need to squeeze in every single little placement.

'I was pleased to be appointed as head boy in my last year of school, and as part of this role I headed up the school safety office. I carried out inspections of the dormitories, roll calls and helped in the running of school festivals and activity days. The office I was in charge of needed to ensure the safety of every student in the school and I helped plan and lead drills to prepare the students for storms, floods and fires. This role has made me a far better leader, and I also believe that I am now far more calm and logical when working under pressure or in uncertain situations. I’ve been an editor on the online school blog for over 2 years now and the experience has taught me how to work effectively in a team when under time pressure. In order to meet my deadlines I needed to remain motivated even when working independently, and I think that the diligence and work ethic I’ve developed as a result will be incredibly useful to me as a medical student. I took on the role of financial director for both the table tennis club and Model United Nations at my school. At first I struggled with the weight of responsibility as I was in charge of all of the clubs’ money and expenditures. However, I am now a far more organised individual as I came to appreciate the value of concise paperwork and of keeping a record of my actions. I not only manage the funds of the table tennis club but am also a regular member of it. I often play independently, and the lack of a specific coach means that I have to identify my own strengths and weaknesses. I am now far better at being honest about my weaknesses and then devising strategies for working on them. The sport has also allowed me to demonstrate my ability to work well in a team, but also to get my head down and work independently when necessary.'

This example is generally well written and showcases some of the features of a good main body section. However, there are some areas that can be improved:

• This section would benefit from the ‘show, don’t tell’ approach. Instead of explaining specific situations or events through which the candidate demonstrated certain attributes, they simply state them and then link them vaguely to a more general role or activity.
• The bigger problem, however, is that the author mentions a wide range of skills but falls short in linking these back to medicine.  ‍ For example, after reflecting on their role in the school safety office and the leadership skills they developed as a result, the author could talk about the senior role that doctors have within the multidisciplinary team and the importance of good leadership in a medical setting.  Similarly, the author mentions their ability to work independently but should really round this off by describing how this would benefit them in medical school, as the ability to progress your learning independently is crucial to success there. The student mentions an understanding of and proficiency with paperwork and recording their actions. Doctors must constantly do this when writing notes for each patient, so the candidate should really try to mention this in their statement to explain why their skills would be useful. The mention of teamwork could be followed by an explanation of why it is important in a medical setting and how the applicant witnessed this during their medical work experience. Finally, when the student talks about being able to identify and work on their weaknesses, they could use this as an opportunity to demonstrate further insight into the medical profession by discussing the importance of revalidation and audit in the modern NHS, or talking about how important it is for doctors to be able to work on their areas of weakness. 

Better aspects of this example:

• The applicant doesn’t simply list the activities they have been a part of, but also explains what they learned from these and the skills and attributes they developed as a result. This reflective ability is exactly what assessors will be looking for.
• The tone of the section is appropriate. The applicant doesn’t appear arrogant or over-confident, but at the same time, they manage to paint themselves in a good light, highlighting their range of skills relevant to medicine.
• This example uses the character count effectively. Unlike the earlier examples, almost all of the sentences serve a purpose and are succinct.
• They demonstrate a wide range of skills, most of which are very relevant to medicine.

' I am a resilient and empathetic individual and I think that I have the qualities to thrive despite the social and academic challenges of university. Through my work experience I’ve gained an insight into the difficulties doctors face but this has not dampened my enthusiasm. My placements and voluntary work have only strengthened my commitment and dedication to studying medicine.'

The effectiveness of a conclusion depends on the rest of the statement before it, so it is hard to judge how good a conclusion is without seeing what the candidate has mentioned in the rest of their statement. Assuming this follows on logically from the statement, however, we can say that this conclusion is generally good for the following reasons:

• It is brief, to the point, and highlights that the student holds some of the skills doctors need (this would of course need to be backed up with examples in the rest of the statement). 
• The author doesn’t introduce any new ideas here, as that would be inappropriate, but rather reiterates their determination, which is exactly what admissions tutors want to see. 
• The author demonstrates a balanced understanding of the demands of a medical career, illustrating this is a decision they have made rationally while considering the implications of their choice. 

As is always the case, this conclusion could still be improved:

• The mention of the social challenges of university is a bit too honest, even though these exist for everyone. Mentioning them could give the impression that the student struggles socially (which is not something they would want to highlight), or that they intend to dive into the social side of university at the expense of their studies. 
• If the candidate really insists on mentioning the social side, they should at least do this after discussing academics, and they should do it in the body of the statement, where they have space to explain what exactly they mean.
• The student describes themselves as empathetic. This should be avoided, as it should be evident from the statement itself.

'Over the years I have built up a large and extensive set of medical work experiences and volunteering opportunities. These have allowed me to demonstrate my ability to communicate effectively and work in a team, and they will allow me to become a more diligent student and effective doctor. I think that this, alongside my ability and strength of character mean that I should be considered for this course. I am excited to get started and begin to put my skills to good use.'

This is a reasonably strong conclusion. It provides a to-the-point summary of why the author believes they should be selected to study medicine and shows their excitement for starting this journey. However, there are some parts of this example that could be improved: 

• The author mentions 'ability' and 'strength of character.' These are nebulous terms and not specific to medicine or a medical degree in any way.
• The mention of a 'large and extensive range of medical work experiences' indicates overconfidence. Medical applicants are not expected to have any medical ability or any 'large and extensive range' of medical experience, nor is it probable that this candidate actually does (otherwise they wouldn’t need to go to medical school in the first place). Rather, medical students need a suitable set of skills and attributes in order to make the most of their medical education and become an effective doctor.
• On a similar note, the applicant says that their range of medical work experience will make them a better student and doctor, but this is only true if they can reflect on their experience and learn from it. Impassively watching an operation or clinic without properly engaging with it won’t make you a better doctor in the future.

We’ll now go on to look at an example of a strong personal statement. No personal statement is perfect, but this example demonstrates a good level of reflection, engagement and suitability to study medicine (we know this because the writer of this statement went on to receive four offers). 

It goes without saying that plagiarism of any of these examples is a bad idea. They are known to medical schools and will be flagged up when run through plagiarism detection software. 

Use these as examples of ways you could structure your own statement, how to reflect on experiences, and how to link them back to medicine and demonstrate suitable insight and motivation. 

'It is the coupling of patient-centred care with evidence-based science that draws me to medicine. The depth of medical science enthrals me, but seeing complex pathology affecting a real person is what drives home my captivation. As a doctor, you are not only there for people during their most vulnerable moments but are empowered by science to offer them help, and this capacity for doing good alongside the prospect of lifelong learning intrigues me. In recent years I have stayed busy academically - despite my medical focus I have kept a range of interests, studying Spanish and German to grow my social and cultural awareness and playing the violin and drums in groups to improve my confidence when working in teams and performing. This is similar to the team-working environment that dominates in medical settings, and I have found that my awareness of other cultures is a great help when interacting with the hugely diverse range of patients I meet during my volunteering work. The independent projects I am undertaking for my A-levels teach me how to rigorously construct and perform experiments, process data and present findings, developing my written communication. My work experience showed me the importance of these skills when making patients’ notes, and of course, medical academia must be concisely written and well constructed and communicated. Maths teaches me to problem-solve and recognise patterns, vital skills in diagnosis. Over the past two years, I have actively sought out and planned work experience and volunteering opportunities. My time last year in Critical Care showed me the importance of communication in healthcare to ensure patients understand their diagnosis and feel comfortable making decisions. I saw the value of empathy and patience when a doctor talked to a patient refusing to take her insulin and suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis. They tried to understand her position and remain compassionate despite her refusal. My experience deepened my insight into the realities of a medical career, as we were at the hospital for more than ten hours a day with breaks and lunches cut short by bleeps or calls from the ward. This helped me understand the physical resilience required by staff as I also came to appreciate the immense emotional burden they often had to bear. Despite this, the brilliant staff remained motivated and compassionate which I found inspirational. The Brighton and Sussex Medical School work experience and Observe GP courses I completed put emphasis on the value of holistic, patient-centred care, introducing me to specialities I had not previously considered such as geriatrics and oncology. Inspired by my experience I explored a variety of specialisms, reading memoirs (Do no harm) and textbooks (Oxford handbook of clinical medicine) alike. I investigated medical politics with my English persuasive piece, discussing the ethics behind the junior doctor strikes of 2016. I have been volunteering in a hospital ward since January, which helps improve my confidence and communication skills when talking to patients and relatives. I showed my ability to deal with unexpected situations when I found a patient smoking whilst on oxygen, and acted quickly to tell nurses. Over lockdown I felt privileged offering lonely patients some tea and a chat and seeing their mood change - it taught me that medicine is about treating patients as individuals, not a diagnosis. My work on the hospital door taught me to stay calm and interact assuredly with visitors, vital skills in public-service jobs like medicine. I coach tennis at a local club, planning and running sessions for younger children. I am responsible for players' safety and must manage risk while showing leadership qualities by making the sessions fun and inclusive. As a player, I am part of the self-run performance team, which forces me to better my ability without coaching. This means developing self-reflection and insight into my weaknesses, which I know to be integral skills for medics. One of the doctors I shadowed during my work experience was just starting her revalidation process and I saw the importance of self-awareness and honest reflection in meeting her targets and becoming a better doctor. I achieved my Gold Duke of Edinburgh certificate of achievement (and the Bronze and Silver awards), exhibiting my commitment and ability to self-reflect and improve. On our Silver expedition, we experienced severe rain, showing resilience by continuing when our kit was wet from day one. My diligence and academic ability will allow me to thrive in medical school, and I have the prerequisite qualities to become a compassionate and effective doctor. Despite the obstacles, I am determined to earn the privilege of being able to improve peoples' health. This is something that excites me and a career I would happily dedicate my life to.'

Strong personal statement example analysis

Introduction.

This statement is a good example of how a personal statement should be constructed and presented. The introduction is short and to the point, only dealing with the candidate’s motivations to study medicine while also demonstrating an insight into what the career involves. 

They demonstrate their insight briefly by mentioning that medicine involves lifelong learning. This is often seen as one of the challenges associated with the career but here they present it as an advantage which makes them seem more suited to the career. It also show they're a curious and interested individual who enjoys learning. 

The introduction's final sentence offers an opportunity for interviewers to probe the candidate further, to explore their curiosity, and ask them to explain what exactly attracts them to lifelong learning. An astute candidate would recognise this and try to think of a suitable answer in advance.

Paragraph 2 

The second paragraph opens the body of the statement by exploring the author’s academic interests. As with some of the previous example body paragraphs, the writer shows their reflective ability by explaining what each of their subjects taught them, and the skills they developed and demonstrated as a result. They improve upon this further by linking these skills back to medicine and explaining why they are important for doctors. 

This paragraph demonstrates the author’s work-life balance by showing their varied interests in languages and music, all without wasting characters by saying this directly. They also mention the diverse range of patients they encountered during their volunteering, which again implies an empathetic and conscientious nature while showing an insight into a medical career (particularly regarding the vast diversity of the patient cohort treated by the NHS). 

Their explanation of the relevance of maths could be more detailed, but again this could be something the applicant is hoping to be questioned on at interview. The candidate comes across as thoughtful and multi-talented, with the ability to reflect on their decisions and experiences, and with a suitable insight into how their strengths would play well into a medical career. 

In this particular paragraph, there isn’t much explanation as to how they drew their inferences about what a medical career entails from their volunteering and work experience (and what exactly these entailed), but these are explored in more detail later in the statement.

P aragraphs 3 and 4 

The next two paragraphs discuss the candidate’s work experience, beginning with a single work experience placement in detail. This is a better approach than the large lists of placements seen in the previous example body paragraphs. The author talks about a specific scenario and shows that they paid attention during their shadowing while also illustrating their ability to reflect on these experiences and the precise skills involved. 

The skills they mention here – communication, empathy, resilience – are skills that they specifically talk about developing and demonstrating through their activities in other parts of the statement. This shows that they have taken their learning and used it to inform the focus of their personal development. They also not only state that these skills are important for medics, but also explain why this is. For example, they explain that communication is important in helping patients relax and engage with their healthcare, and that resilience is required to deal with the antisocial hours.

In this section, the applicant briefly mentions a specific medical condition. This shows that they were engaging with the science during their placement and also provides interviewers with an opportunity to test the applicant’s scientific knowledge. Knowing this, the candidate would likely research diabetic ketoacidosis in order to be able to impress the panel. 

The author mentions some other virtual work experience opportunities they’ve been involved with and sets themselves up to discuss what these placements taught them. They then go on to explain the actions they took as a result of this, showing that they really engaged with the virtual placements and could identify what they learned and their areas of weakness. This is linked well to further reading and research they carried out, which illustrates their curiosity and engagement with medical science and literature. 

The reference to the junior doctor strikes at the end shows that they have engaged with medical news as well as the ethical side of medicine, which is something that many medical schools place a lot of emphasis on at interviews. Ideally, this section would explain how exactly they explored these different specialties and illustrate what they learned and how they developed their learning from the books mentioned.

Paragraphs 5 and 6 

These paragraphs discuss the applicant’s hospital volunteering and other extracurricular activities. The applicant doesn’t just state that they’ve volunteered in a hospital but goes into depth about the precise skills they developed as a result. They include an anecdote to illustrate their ability to react quickly and calmly in emergency situations, which is a great way to show that they’ve been paying attention (though this should really be backed up with an explanation as to why this is important in medicine). 

The candidate also shows their patient-centred approach when discussing how they cared for demoralised patients (again illustrating empathy and compassion). This style of healthcare is something that the modern NHS is really trying to promote, so showing an awareness of this and an aptitude for applying it practically will really impress your assessors. 

The author demonstrates another core attribute for medical students when talking about how their work on the front door of the hospital improved their confidence in communication, and they once more link this back to medicine. This last section could benefit from further explanation regarding the nature of their work on the hospital door and exactly how they developed these skills. 

In the second of these sections, the candidate simultaneously reflects on the skills they learnt from their tennis and explains how these apply to medicine, showing insight into the profession by mentioning and showing awareness of the process of revalidation. This will show assessors that the candidate paid attention during their work experience, reflected on what they learned, and then identified a way they could work on these skills in their own life.

The author name-checks the Duke of Edinburgh Award but then goes on to explain how exactly this helped them grow as a person. They link back to resilience, a skill they mentioned in an earlier section as being important for medics.

The conclusion is succinct and direct. Although clichéd in parts, it does a good job of summarising the points the candidate has made throughout the statement. They demonstrate confidence and dedication, not by introducing any confusing new information, but rather by remaking and reinforcing some of the author’s original claims from the introduction.

The following example illustrates how not to approach your personal statement. Now that you’ve read through the analysis of previous example passages and a complete example statement, try going through this statement yourself to identify the main recurring weaknesses and points for improvement. We’ve pointed out a few of the main ones at the end. You can even redraft it as a practice exercise.

' ‍ The combination of science with empathy and compassion is what attracts me most to a career in medicine. However, I wanted to ensure that the career was right for me so I attended a Medic Insight course in my local hospital. I enjoyed the course and it gave me new insight - the lectures and accounts from medical students and doctors helped me realise that medicine was the career for me. I was also introduced to the concept of the diagnostic puzzle which now particularly interests me. This is the challenge doctors face when trying to make a diagnosis, as they have to avoid differential diagnoses and use their skills and past experiences to come to a decision and produce the right prognosis. In order to gain further insight into both the positives and downsides of being a doctor, I organised some work experience in my local GP’s surgery. I managed to see consultations for chest pain, headaches, contraception and some chronic conditions which was very interesting. I also sat in on and observed the asthma clinic, which proved to be a very educational experience. During my experience, I tried to chat to as many doctors as possible about their jobs and what they enjoyed. I recently took up some work volunteering in a local elderly care home. Many of the residents had quite complex needs making it arduous work, but I learned a lot about caring for different people and some appropriate techniques for making them feel comfortable and at home. I became a better communicator as a result of my experience Nevertheless I really enjoyed my time there and I found it fulfilling when the patients managed to have fun or see their family. I appreciated how doctors often have high job satisfaction, as when I managed to facilitate a resident to do something not otherwise available to them I felt like I was making a real difference. My academic interests have also been very useful in developing skills that will be crucial as a doctor. I chose to study Physics and business at a-level and these have helped me develop more of an interest in scientific research and understanding; I’ve also become a more logical thinker as a result of the challenging questions we receive in physics exams. I know how important communication is as a doctor so I chose to study Mandarin, a language I know to be spoken widely around the globe. I was the lead violin in my school orchestra and also took part in the wind band, showing that I was willing to throw myself into school life. I really enjoyed our school’s concert, in which I had to perform a solo and demonstrate that I could stay calm under pressure and cope with great responsibility and i think that I’m now a better leader. This skill has also been improved in roles within my school on the pupil council and as form captain, which have improved my self-confidence. I needed to work hard in order to achieve my bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh awards, and have dedicated much of my time outside school to this endeavour over the past few years. I endured weekly sessions of Taekwondo, worked voluntarily in the charity shop Barnardo’s and took part in violin lessons.  As I’ve demonstrated throughout this statement I have an affinity for music, and so at university I plan to get involved with orchestras and bands. I also want to widen my horizons and discover new interests and hobbies, while trying to make new friends and cultivate a good work-life balance. I’m also keen to hike in the university’s surrounding territories. If I were allowed to study medicine, it would not only allow me to achieve one of my life goals, but to prove to you that I can become an effective, and successful doctor. I am absolutely dedicated to the study of medicine and know that I have the prerequisite skils and qualities to thrive in medical school and become a credit to your institution.”

Weak personal statement example analysis

• This personal statement does have some promising features, but overall it isn’t well structured and lacks appropriate reflection and insight. You can see this by comparing it to the strong example above. The author in this weak example very rarely describes what exactly they learned or gained from an experience and rarely links this back to medicine. 
• It reads quite like a list, with the candidate reeling off the experiences they’ve had or activities they’ve taken part in, without going into any real depth. They also use some vocabulary that implies that they really weren’t enjoying these experiences, such as when they speak of ‘enduring’ their time doing taekwondo, or of caring for residents being ‘arduous’ work. You don’t have to enjoy every activity you take part in, but implying that caring for people (a huge part of the job you are applying for and claiming to enjoy) is something you consider a chore isn’t a great start. This statement also has some questionable grammar and punctuation errors, which raises a red flag. Don’t forget to proofread your statement carefully before you submit it.
• The candidate often starts off their sections in a promising way. For example, by stating that they started volunteering in a local GP practice to gain more insight into the profession, but they rarely actually follow through on this. You never find out what insight the candidate actually gained or how they used this to inform their decision to apply for medicine. 
• Such lack of explanation and specificity is a theme throughout the statement. In the introduction, they say that personal accounts and lectures confirmed their wish to become a doctor, but they don’t actually explain how or why. They mention that their school subjects have helped them think more logically or improved their communication skills (which is good), but then they never go on to explain why this is relevant to medicine. They talk about leadership and self-confidence but again don’t link this back to the importance of self-confidence and the prominence of leadership in a medical setting.

To create an effective medicine personal statement, you need to provide plenty of detail. This includes concrete experiences demonstrating qualities that make a good doctor. If you can do this authentically, humbly and without selling yourself short, your personal statement will be in very good shape.

‍ ‍ If you're looking for more inspiration to craft a compelling medicine personal statement, check out our Personal Statement Online Course . It has over 100 personal statement examples, in-depth tutorials, and guidance from admissions experts, to help you create a ready-to-submit personal statement in just three days.

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Guides & information, useful links & resources.

• Personal Statement
• International Students
• What is UCAT?
• What Is a Good UCAT Score?
• How to Finish a Personal Statement for Medicine

Congratulations on starting your personal statement, or at least thinking about it. Just as starting a personal statement can be challenging, knowing how to finish your statement can be equally, if not more challenging. You want to start on a high and end even higher, leaving the personal statement reviewer impressed and confident in your abilities to practice medicine.

So, how should you end a personal statement for medicine? The main part of your conclusion shouldn’t include any new points, but clarify and summarise what you have already said. Re-emphasise your passion for medicine and include a brief summary of your skills.

In this article, we give you some tried and tested examples of great ways to end your personal statement, as well as information on how to write a successful medical personal statement as a whole. We also introduce ourselves at The Future Medic and tell you what we can do to support you and increase your chances of studying medicine at your chosen university.

What is a personal statement for medicine?

A medicine personal statement is the first impression you make to a medical school, so it’s very important to get it right. A good or exceptional personal statement increases your chances of getting an interview and being accepted into your chosen medical school. With the NHS workforce crisis , even more people are considering a career in medicine, so the competition has never been higher.

A personal statement is your chance to tell the reviewer why you want to study medicine and why you will be suited to it. Essentially, you’re telling them why they should choose you. Last year, 2022, was considered the hardest year to enter medical school . We don’t intend to put you off, but to stress the importance of getting it right if you’re set on becoming a medical professional.

Your personal statement should follow this structure:

• An introduction
• The main body- the longest part
• A conclusion

What to include in a personal statement for medicine

In this section, we will look at some essential aspects of your personal statement that shouldn’t be overlooked, including how to leave a lasting impression on the reviewer with a strong ending. After all, it doesn’t matter how good the rest of your personal statement is; if the ending isn’t good enough, you won’t be remembered.

So, how do you write a personal statement for medicine? First, you need to make sure you fully understand a personal statement and have a clear picture in your mind of how you want to portray yourself. It’s recommended to make notes before writing your statement so you can get all of your experiences, attributes, reflections and passions down in one place to then organise it in a formal way.

What to include in the introduction

This section should be straight to the point and offer a way for the admissions officer to start building a connection with your case initially. Using an attention-grabbing opening statement and coming across confident is the best way to begin a personal statement.

Your tone of voice should be conversational yet professional and represent the communication style that will be apparent throughout the rest of your statement. Content-wise, you should include a short introduction to who you are and why you are applying. All other details will be incorporated further on in the application.

What to include in the main body

While you must include most of your information in this section, be sure to keep the writing style succinct. Not only will this ensure the reader’s attention is maintained throughout your statement but the whole statement is only around 500-600 words so choose widely.

It would help if you wrote about your experience, qualifications, interests, and passions related to the course you are applying for. Careful attention should be given to the university course description and general statements, and an understanding of this should be applied to your content.

Whilst assessors will want to learn about your unique information, they will still want to see that you have considered this is the course for you. To do this, each point should feature information and evidence. Don’t leave a point unexplained or left to the imagination; be clear and back up what you’re saying with evidence.

What to include in the conclusion

This is the main focus of our article today, so we’ll go in more detail with how to finish a personal statement. Like the introduction, this section should be to the point so as not to lose interest.

You do not want to simply repeat any evidential information but should reiterate, in a different way, any of the critical points that you want to stand out.

Do not add new information, as it will dilute your previous messaging. Round off your statement with a strong closing sentence, and you are good to go. It’s also important not to forget your writing style as many applicants allow the quality to slip towards the end. Finishing on a strong and captivating note will leave that lasting impression that you want.

Why do you have a passion for medicine?

So, why do you have a passion for medicine? Your answer should be different to someone else’s as you don’t want a general answer that isn’t memorable. Think about what motivates you personally. You should already have expressed this in the main body of your statement but nows the time to emphasise it.

Focus on the current medical situation and how you can help

This is a particularly good example given the current NHS crisis. You should already have mentioned your skillset, attributes and experiences and how you can contribute to the medal world because of this, but ending with a strong, bold statement that reflects the current NHS status and what you will do to improve it will leave a lasting impression on the reviewer.

What can The Future Medic do for you?

We know that writing your personal statement isn’t easy. You need to list your top qualities, achievements, reflections, learning experiences, and more. With huge competition for spaces at universities, your personal statement needs to stand out and provide a summary of your best self.

What are the benefits of using The Future Medic’s personal statement tutors?

Our team of doctors have read through thousands of personal statement for medicine as part of the medical school admissions process and knows exactly what is required to make your personal statement special and unique. We’ve got some amazing support options to help you craft the perfect personal statement.

Our tutors sit on medical school interview panels and have vast experience in medical education- this level of tutoring is not guaranteed elsewhere! Our Personal Statement Coaching Services provide wonderful benefits for any aspiring medical student:

• Access to experienced British doctors, medical education specialists, and tutors who have coached and interviewed thousands of applicants.
• 24/7 access to your tutor doctor through a dedicated WhatsApp group.
• Tailor-made feedback on your personal statement which is specific to you.
• Help even if you need to write your personal statement from scratch.
• Personalised 1-1 lessons, with all the attention on you.
• A relaxed tutoring environment- our coaching isn’t like a classroom, where only one teacher has to cater to 30 students!
• You can use our tutoring service from the comfort of your home without having to travel to a physical location.
• The option is unlimited coaching hours, or between 1-20 hours.
• Quick turnaround for feedback, within as little as 24 hours or 1 week.
• Guidance on how to make your medicine application stand out.
• Improved confidence for the interview stage at your dream medical school.
• Saves you time and stress, allowing you to focus on your A-Levels, UCAT admissions test and other commitments.

So, to finish a personal statement for medicine so you leave a lasting impression and keep the reviewer’s interested, don’t bring up any new points but summarise and revise the points you have made that you want to stand out. Be sure to include why you want to be a part of that particular medical school, why you are passionate about becoming a doctor and what you can do to improve health care.

Related Articles

If you would like more information on writing a personal statement for medicine, have a look at what you shouldn’t put in a personal statement and what A-levels are needed for medicine .

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Medicine Personal Statement: The Definitive Guide

Home » Application Guide » Medicine Personal Statement: The Definitive Guide

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Writing a Personal Statement can be intimidating; having to pitch the most important reasons why you would make a great addition to a medical school (within a mere 4000 characters) can feel like a Herculean task that can wait until tomorrow.

This guide will help you put pen-to-(metaphorical) paper, and break down what exactly makes a successful Personal Statement for Medicine, including how to structure each section of the statement, things to do, and things to avoid.

Why is a Personal Statement used?

A Personal Statement is a way for Universities to find out a bit more about you as there is only so much that a set of grades (that is going to be remarkably similar to many other applicants) on a UCAS form can say. It is a chance to showcase what makes you a strong applicant and convince them that you deserve an interview. Additionally, many Universities will also use it as a springboard for certain interview questions, so it can be a prompt to help you in this part of the process too.

Need some extra guidance in your Personal Statement preparations?

Signing up to the Personal Statement Bundle means you’ll be guided by expert Medics who will help you write the perfect Personal Statement.

Want to learn how to Write the Perfect Personal Statement? T his bundle is the one for you…

What should your Personal Statement include?

Medicine Personal Statements can be slightly different to other subjects as there are some key areas you need to include due to the vocational nature of the degree;

#1 Motivation

Motivation should be conveyed convincingly as the degree and profession can be gruelling.

Medical schools invest a lot in each participant, so naturally would like to ensure the majority want to see the degree through (see more later in the Introduction guide).

Passion is expressing why you would be enthusiastic to undertake this path and what areas truly interest you.

This can overlap with, and form part of, motivation. It can, inevitably, get a little cringey or cliché so there are tips discussed later about how to avoid this.

Make sure you can verbally expand on whatever areas of interest you mention at interview especially if you claim that you read around the topics.

#3 Suitability

Suitability comes under what skills and qualities you have that would make you a good doctor. These can include:

• Good teamwork skills,
• Effective communication,
• Being trustworthy and acting with integrity,
• Being organised,
• Being emotionally resilient,
• Punctuality and being dependable,
• Being hardworking,
• Being caring and empathetic,
• Being confident but not arrogant etc.

The GMC has a good document explaining some of the traits they require from doctors. Medical schools also often specify which traits they want to see on admissions websites ( like this one from UCL ).

Make sure you show proof of these traits as opposed to just listing, which is less believable – known as “show don’t tell”.

#4 Evidence Of Interest

Evidence of interest (work experience, volunteering etc) – this is crucial to include as it shows you have proactively engaged with your interests.

A key trap many people fall into is listing and going for breadth over depth. It’s understandable as you may want to include everything you’ve done, but what you learn and how you reflect from each experience is far more important than whatever the experience happened to be (see later in the Main body guide).

How do medical schools use Personal Statements?

Medical schools have different marking criteria or ways of using the Personal Statement in the application process.

Medical School Personal Statement Marking Criteria

Some, such as Nottingham, use it alongside UCAT scores to settle tiebreaks between interview scores, whereas others, such as UCL, use it more holistically. To optimise your chances of getting offers, you should do thorough research and hit all the criteria that medical schools ask for.

A good way to approach this is to make a list of the key things each medical school you have applied for requires in the Personal Statement (this is often the motivation, passion, suitability and evidence of volunteering/work experience) and you will often find a lot of this overlaps. This will give you a good base with which to populate the main body of your Personal Statement with.

It can be hard to strike a balance as some medical schools prefer a Personal Statement to show that you are an all-rounded individual and like to hear about the extracurricular activities.

UCL Personal Statement

UCL, for example, like to see “other interests, for example music, travel, sports, or any activities that are considered to broaden the general education of the candidate”. If this is not clear in other parts of the UCAS application, it would definitely be wise to add in a paragraph in the Personal Statement to tick this box.

Cambridge Personal Statement

However, others such as Cambridge, do not place much weight on “specific extra-curricular activities that are not relevant to the course applied for” and like to see additional activities pursued that relate to Medicine or Science.

A way around this for Cambridge applicants could be the SAQ (supplementary application questionnaire), which has a box where you can include additional information that may be more academic and allows you to be slightly more balanced in the PS that goes off to other Universities.

Whichever way you attempt to strike a balance, make sure you do not completely alienate one of your choices in terms of their criteria.

Up-to-date information can often be found on websites for each University and below are some details about how certain Universities use Personal Statements. Remember that this can change year upon year (for example, Nottingham no longer use it as a weighted component) so it is important to get up-to-date information from the specific University websites.

Do not be afraid to drop the admissions team a quick email to signpost you to the correct information if you are ever uncertain!

How to structure a Personal Statement

1. introduction.

There is a reason why many agonise over the perfect way to start their Personal Statement. This is because it is undoubtedly impactful and creates the first impression that sets the tone for how an admission tutor reads the rest of your statement.

If you are finding the introduction hard to write, a good way to begin is by asking yourself why you decided to study Medicine (motivation) and write down the first thing you answer.

The key reason for doing this is once something is written down you can edit it, or change it altogether, but it is something solid to work with. You could even wait until after you have written the main body and then revisit this first attempt at an introduction and reshape it.

Personal Statement Opening Line

There has been research completed about how common certain opening lines were in Personal Statements. Here are the top five (to avoid!):

Things most people like to focus on in the introduction is a few lines about the “personal” nature of their choice to pursue Medicine as this is a good way to segue into writing. This could be some experience that shaped you, or simply what it is about Medicine that makes you want to spend the next 5-6 years studying it. You want to find the balance between conveying passion without being overly dramatic or cliché.

Make sure you are sensible – there is no expectation for your first word to have been “doctor” or to have been driven to study this since age 3. Instead, try to be honest and realistic, and make the reason something you would be comfortable saying out loud face-to-face if it came to it.

2. Main Body

The key things you want to ensure you cover in the main body are:

• Experiences (placements, volunteering etc)
• Some extra area of learning or reading you have done in a field that interests you (could follow on from an experience)
• Traits you demonstrate that will make you a good doctor (could be linked to what you developed during experiences)
• Brief mention of hobbies/outside interests that make you well-rounded (which could be linked to how you would cope with pressure and relax with a stressful job)

Some people like to approach the main body by dividing into paragraphs of certain traits/interests + examples and then work experience + reflections. Others like to integrate traits into paragraphs about their experiences. The key point to realise is that you have to prioritise what you want to mention as there is no way to crowbar everything in.

Another crucial thing people forget that they need to do is to reflect. For each major experience you mention (eg. a work experience placement) you MUST reflect on things like what it has taught you or how you have gone off to research further about the area etc.

It is a key skill in the profession itself and without reflecting, the main body becomes a list of things you have done which quickly becomes boring to read. By not reflecting, you do not demonstrate your capacity to improve and it does not add some of your personality and thoughts to experiences that others may have had.

For example, one candidate who simply states they did a flashy placement in a well-known hospital and lists all the things they did will have a far less effective and meaningful point than another who may not have managed to obtain clinical work experience, but reflects profoundly on lessons they learned and skills they acquired whilst making cups of tea for elderly people at a care home. By reflecting on major points, you will manage to strike the correct balance of breadth and depth in the main body.

3. Conclusion

Like the introduction, this can often be one of the hardest sections to write. At this point you have likely toiled away over the main body, and the job of the conclusion is to wrap up the statement and leave a positive impression on whoever is reading it. People like to approach this in different ways. Here is a list of some of the things you could use your conclusion to discuss:

• Reiterate the points you have made. Tie back to key points you made previously and re-emphasise them in the conclusion to give them another chance to hit home.
• Make it “personal”. Use the space to leave a final impression about why you personally would make a good addition to the university by maybe mentioning what you hope to give back to the community.
• Talk about moving forward. Write broadly about long or mid-term goals or maybe something relevant that you hope to achieve in the short-term. This could be future career ambitions (although make sure you do not seem close-minded about the path you want to take), areas you are looking forward to studying in more detail, or parts of the course that you are excited to get involved in.
• Mention an awareness of the challenges of the field. A typical way people show they are realistic whilst reiterating their key skills is a point about how they do know it is a demanding course/profession because of A, B and C but their traits of X, Y and Z would help them rise to the challenge.

This being said, there are plenty of things to avoid doing in a conclusion:

• Don’t trail off – after using this guide to write a fantastic Personal Statement, don’t ruin it by waffling and not having a decisive end. This will not leave the desired bold impact, and will make your piece seem weak and unstructured.
• Don’t make it very lengthy – the bulk of your information should be in your main body so use characters wisely in this set of closing remarks and be concise.
• Avoid being vague and introducing lots of new information – if you have a new big point, the main body is the place to make it as quickly wrenching it into the conclusion can just confuse the reader (and also likely means there is no reflection on this point)

Check out these Personal Statement Inspiration and Examples Articles:

Dentistry Personal Statement Examples – KCL (Emmy)

Dentistry Personal Statement Examples – KCL (Saif)

Dentistry Personal Statement Examples – Cardiff (Eera)

Are you feeling stuck with your Personal Statement?

Writing Top Tips

Apart from the points made above, here are 5 key tips to use when writing your Personal Statement:

Put pen to paper as early as you can.

The process of editing and checking takes most people longer than the writing of a first draft so organise ahead and leave plenty of time. If you are getting other people to check your statement, remember that they may be busy and take a while to reply. Factor this in and do not cut it too close to the deadline.

Start and end with impact.

Put yourself in the shoes of an admissions tutor who is going to be reading Personal Statement after Personal Statement. They are only human and, even if this is your labour of love, it is natural that they may switch off slightly. To create a lasting impression, make sure you hook them in with a good introduction, and end with a strong resolute conclusion.

Flawless spelling and grammar.

Making a mistake with spelling or grammar is a cardinal sin with such a prepared piece of writing.

As far as spelling goes, make sure you use spellcheck and have a very thorough check for words like “or” that may be typed as “of” etc.

Try reading it aloud a few times to see if commas are in the right place and sentence structure makes sense. Often teachers offer to have a read of your Personal Statement so reach out to them for a fresh set of eyes.

For the content side of things, it may be wise to find someone who has experience with the application process to have a read over but pretty much anyone can help you out by checking for spelling and grammar so don’t be afraid to ask for help and feedback. 

Don’t use a thesaurus too much.

If you’re a fan of Friends think along the lines of Joey with a thesaurus . If you can say something simply in fewer words then that can often be better than using overcomplicated vocabulary that can be misused and make the piece challenging to read.

It’s mentioned in detail in the Main body guide, but make sure your statement is a reflective essay and not a list. This is the best way to ensure you make the Personal Statement about you and shows you can learn and improve.

Want even more writing tips? Check out 5 more ways to improve your writing! Signing up to the Personal Statement Crash Course will provide you with heaps of tips and tricks to write the best Personal Statement you can. 

Mistakes/Things To Avoid

Now that we’ve been through 5 tips for your Personal Statement, let’s go the other way and cover things you SHOULDN’T say:

“Saving lives.”

This point is very medic-specific but often people give their motivation for picking the profession as wanting to save lives.

This can seem harmless and certainly doesn’t make you a bad person, but it does not demonstrate you have a true awareness for the field you are entering as the job will not always mean you can, or will be able to, save lives.

Whilst sounding a little less heroic, a better alternative is talking about how you want to improve their quality of life (and learning that this was the job of a doctor could even work in to a reflective point about something you learned from work experience/exposure to the field!)

The “P-word”…

Although it is a point you want to convey, the word “passion” is very overused. Check how many times you repeat words like this and try to cut out unoriginal phrases like “I am fascinated by” or “I am passionate about”.

It might be tempting to fib and over-exaggerate, but remember that asking about anything you put in your Personal Statement is fair game in an interview.

They aren’t expecting you to be superhuman and have an amazing background, but if you get caught out in a lie during the stress of an interview you basically throw your integrity out the window, which is a key trait for future doctors.

Name-dropping universities.

Remember that all choices see this Personal Statement so do not alienate and show disinterest in other choices by name dropping one.

Similarly, for your 5th non-medical option, check with the admissions team if they mind having a Personal Statement geared towards medicine. It is often the case that many biomedical courses do not mind this, and means you can focus on the medical aspect without alienating them, and give your best shot at the 4 medicine options.

Be VERY aware of plagiarism.

A quick Google search can unleash hundreds of exemplar Personal Statements.

This is a good way to understand the sort of thing you could write about but that should be it. Medical schools are very concerned with ethics and it would be very hard for them to excuse a violation of this before you have even set your foot through the door by means of plagiarising.

A good way to avoid this is by resisting the temptation to write your Personal Statement with another one in the same window on your computer. Additionally, be wary about posting excerpts of your statement in public forums as other people could lift these phrases.

That’s not everything that can go wrong though! Learn more about the mistakes you need to avoid when writing your Personal Statement!

Final Words

Understanding the things to write is as important as learning what not to write when it comes to a Personal Statement. Hopefully reading this has helped break down what you need to do to write a successful personal statement section-by-section and has inspired you to start early.

All that’s left to say is good luck with writing your Personal Statement and the application process as a whole!

There’s plenty more ways to perfect your Personal Statement!

Learn how you can write an amazing personal statement for free on our Personal Statement Resources page. Our top guides include:  

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• Personal statement

In addition to high academic achievement, medical schools will look for certain skills and attributes which they believe make an ideal candidate for medicine. Medical schools will look for evidence of these attributes in your personal statement, which is part of your UCAS application. The following points in the dropdown bar have been agreed by the medical schools as the skills and attributes they are looking for.

Skills and attributes of an ideal candidate to medicine

• Motivation to study medicine and genuine interest in the medical profession
• Insight into your own strengths and weaknesses
• The ability to reflect on your own work
• Personal organisation
• Academic ability
• Problem solving
• Dealing with uncertainty
• Manage risk and deal effectively with problems
• Ability to take responsibility for your own actions
• Conscientiousness
• Insight into your own health
• Effective communication, including reading, writing, listening and speaking
• Ability to treat people with respect
• Resilience and the ability to deal with difficult situations
• Empathy and the ability to care for others

Keep these in mind while writing your personal statement. Rather than simply stating that you embody these attributes, give examples of how you have demonstrated them in the past, for instance while on work experience or through extracurricular activities.

Medical schools vary in how they assess personal statements. Some score them while others do not. They commonly use personal statements as a basis for conversation during interview, so it is a good idea to write things which you would be prepared to expand on if asked.

For more on these attributes, see the   Statement on the core values and attributes needed to study medicine .

Writing your personal statement for medical school

Many students get very concerned about what to write in their personal statement. The most important thing is that it is written by you, it reflects you as a person, and is an honest reflection of your thoughts, skills and interests. Watch the video below to find out how medical schools use personal statements.

What makes a good doctor? 

Medical schools want students who have commitment, perseverance, initiative, concern for others and the ability to communicate. There is a list of  core values and attributes   needed to study medicine, and this list has been endorsed by all medical schools. It sets out what medical schools are looking for so they can recruit and train students to make good doctors.

Further reading

• The UCAS application - guide for teachers
• Personal statement  - i nfosheet
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• Entry requirements for 2024 start
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• Admissions tests
• International applicants

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• Residency Application

Internal Medicine Residency Personal Statement Examples

As you get ready to apply for residency, it’s a good idea to look at internal medicine residency personal statement examples. One of the most crucial parts of your application will be your residency personal statement, whether you are navigating ERAS  in the US or CaRMS in Canada. Directors of residency programs are interested in learning about your personality, your potential as a resident physician, and the reasons behind your specialty decision. They’ll be looking to understand this from your personal statement.

With a fill-rate of less than 45%, internal medicine was the least competitive among the most competitive & least competitive residencies in a recent survey. The higher the fill-rate, the more competitive the residency program. However, this is not a reason to skimp on any aspect of your residency application. In this article, we provide three great examples of internal medicine residency personal statements to help you write your own and earn that coveted spot in the program of your choice.

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Article Contents 11 min read

Residency personal statements.

Your CV is an impressive, legible, and flawless presentation of your achievements. Now it’s time for your personal statement. In one page, or about 500–800 words, you are setting out to explain to residency program directors why they should choose you, as well as all the events that led you to this particular decision and specialty. No pressure!

The purpose of a residency personal statement is to show the reader who you are. Unlike your medical school personal statement , this essay is not intended to convince someone to admit you. Instead, you are seeking the right Match. Consequently, your residency personal statement should highlight your accomplishments and potential contributions in a way that represents the truest reflection of you as a person and as a physician. The defining quality of a residency personal statement is authenticity. You want to find yourself in a residency program where you will thrive and be able to make a significant contribution.

Watch out for red flags in your residency application!

The following examples take different approaches to the personal statement, but they all include some essential components. They:

• Tell the applicant’s story
• Provide examples of significant moments and experiences
• Illustrate the applicant’s character
• Describe the applicant’s motivation for pursuing medicine
• Contextualize the applicant’s interest in a specialty
• List various skills and qualities the applicant will bring to the residency program

This personal statement presents the story of an international student applying to residency in the United States.

While studying medicine at the National University of Colombia, Bogotá, I experienced various life-changing events, many of which were associated with my role as a team leader for the response to aerial bombings of armed groups by the government. Along with other students, I travelled with paramedics and triaged the wounded in the ED at various hospitals. I came into contact with numerous communities. It was not uncommon to see some of these people again when they returned to our clinics for follow-up treatment or brought their family members in for the diagnosis of chronic illnesses.

Through this experience, I realized that medicine is a virtuous circle. Even in the most devastating circumstances, the connection with a doctor made by one person is often shared with others. Although I gained valuable expertise in emergency medicine, my interest in pathophysiological processes grew. I found it fascinating to be able to correlate clinical findings to reach an accurate differential diagnosis, a vital skill for an internist.

I also realized how important it is to communicate effectively with patients from different backgrounds. My exposure to various cultures and social strata has equipped me with the knowledge to appropriately treat individuals without causing offence. In Columbia, Catholicism is deeply culturally pervasive, for example, and knowing how to navigate patient expectations and limitations has a major influence on their medical decisions.

On our medical ward, there was a patient who had cutaneous leishmaniasis and was treated with parenteral and oral medications as well as local therapies before being discharged. She was a young, local girl of 19 who had been engaged to be married but felt stigmatized by the disease. With her permission, I reached out to both sides of her family and enrolled her in a directly observed treatment program. Seeing her recover successfully and renew her engagement in her subsequent marriage was both personally and professionally rewarding.

This encounter was one of many that confirmed my commitment to internal medicine. Although the ED gives a physician the sense of being immediately helpful in a crisis, I came to appreciate the value of building strong physician–patient connections. In time, I realized how wonderfully fulfilling it is to have such a significant impact on patients’ lives. I am certain my ability to effectively communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds is a strength that will help me become a capable and caring internist.

Recently, I completed a clinical elective at Kaiser Permanente in Pasadena, California, with the objective of acquiring useful US clinical experience. I am currently a clinical observer in the laboratory service. This practical training taught me so much about the American health care system. I’ve learned about patient management through case discussions, hospital rounds, and conferences. I’ve also become familiar with the duties of an intern. Given the courses I selected in medical school and hands-on experience with urgent care in Columbia, I see myself leaning toward infectious diseases as a specialty. This conviction was reinforced during the global health crisis when it became clear that we need more physicians with expertise and experience in this area. As an internist, I will have the exceptional opportunity to provide my patients with comprehensive analysis, appropriate treatment, and advocacy.

This personal statement presents the story of an American student applying to residency in the United States.

My achievements in life are a result of my enthusiastic embrace of challenges that pushed me to learn and grow while also cultivating deep connections. One such connection was with my volleyball coach, Dr. Sandy Mason, at Logan University. She selected me as captain during the last regular season of my senior year, even though I had ended the previous season with an injury. She told me it was because I had never lapsed in my commitment to the team, attending every game and cheering on my teammates, even when I was in pain. The year I was captain we emerged from the regular season undefeated.

The pride I felt at that last game was more important to me than winning the playoffs. Not only was I satisfied with my own recovery and skills, but I was also proud of what our team was able to achieve through our combined efforts. Not all leadership requires teamwork, but in sports and medicine, it does. By making me captain while I was still undergoing therapy, my coach supported me both mentally and physically; I truly believe that this is what enabled me to turn around and direct that same good energy to my teammates.

Another interesting connection in my life is the one I made between my injury and my eventual career plans. Observing the doctors while they tried to assess the complex damage I had sustained to my ankle inspired appreciation but also intrigue. After my sessions, I often found myself limping into libraries or scrolling online to follow up on what they had said.

My current obsession is rheumatology, though my condition resulted from injury, not illness; the next connection I made was with fellow patients in the clinic and hospital. At some point, I was told that I would regain full mobility with proper therapy, but for certain patients, the prognosis was less positive. The idea that they were experiencing as much pain as I had, but over the long term, affected me deeply. As a result, in my last two years of medical school, I’ve sought opportunities to collaborate in research on comorbidity and multimorbidity of chronic diseases, such as arthritis and diabetes.

I am also employed as the lead grant writer for our faculty. I did not actively seek this position but was recommended to it by two of my professors. This show of support underscored how leaders can set a good example by recognizing, investing in, and lifting up juniors. Grant writing is also about teamwork – another connection – which I realized after reaching out to over twenty medical students and investigators just to prepare the first proposal. In this environment, I learned to create a strong application, carry out protocols, analyze data, conduct literature reviews, and draft studies. I would apply these skills in a residency program to support research and enhance outcomes for patients with complex pathology.

I am especially interested in research in therapeutic settings. For instance, during my rotations at St. Luke’s Hospital, I met many patients with arthritis, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, fibromyalgia, and gout. Under the supervision of Dr. Xiu, our team surveyed these patients to compare the effects of current therapies on different types of arthritis and devise better treatments. Even at this early date, our research has led to improved results for a subset of patients who previously felt they didn’t have any other options. Applying what I learn is one of the most satisfying aspects of medicine for me, especially when it improves patients’ quality of life. I would be interested in continuing this work as a longitudinal study and potentially weaving it into my residency.

Going forward, I hope to learn existing approaches and techniques that represent best practices, but I am also keen to innovate and expand the scope of my specialty. I aim to have a lasting impact, first, by relieving pain and benefitting others as a caring, patient-centered physician, and then by devoting my energy to research, clinical excellence, and service.

Most importantly, I am seeking a residency that shares my vision of teamwork, as exemplified by my coach, Dr. Mason, my volleyball team, and my current faculty: first and foremost, everyone on the team is dedicated to achieving the same objective; everyone understands and values the contributions of each team member; everyone puts in a lot of effort; everyone encourages the personal growth of the other team members. If given the opportunity to join such a team, I will jump at the chance – and I will be able to do so, thanks to the doctors who helped me jump again.

This personal statement presents the story of a young immigrant to Canada applying to residency in Canada.

Not long ago, I returned to Syria, my birthplace, for the first time in eight years. I had left the country before the Arab Spring protests to participate in an international high school exchange program in science. Although I became more Canadian as time went on, I never stopped thinking about the rest of my family back home. I had expected to be gone for one year, but after my uncle was killed in the civil war, everyone urged me to stay in Canada. Ultimately, I was able to apply, with the help of my family, for Canadian Permanent Resident Status.

I pursued advanced science, biology, and physics options in high school, but during a career fair, I attended a presentation by Doctors Without Borders about their intervention in Syria. Two doctors who had recently returned from their tour spoke of their experiences, and the multimedia aspect, including photos and video, made me feel both homesick and terrified. The years of violence had severely damaged Syria’s infrastructure. The country’s once-relatively effective health care system was devastated. Numerous medical institutions had been destroyed, personnel had been killed or fled, and there were severe supply shortages. I understood then that what I had gained from my good fortune I would give back by returning to my country and meeting a part of the urgent need there, once I had the proper education and training.

After an undergrad and pre-med at Ontario Tech, I was accepted to the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster. However, with a six-month gap between graduation and the start of medical school, I decided to return to Syria to visit family and investigate the health care situation for myself. I wanted to have a concrete plan for how and where I would ultimately work as a physician.

This journey changed me. Whole towns were scarred by the vestiges of war; some villages I had known were completely wiped off the map. More disturbing was the impact on the population. Many people living in massive refugee camps, such as Za’atari, had debilitating injuries from bombings or AR assaults. The number of people with acute or chronic diseases in the camps was significant. While I was there, I helped attend to three people injured in a fire and learned a lot from the resident physicians about identifying diseases that were common there but would have been unusual in Canada.

During my first two years of medical school, I was torn between a focus on emergency medicine and internal medicine. The recent global health crisis settled that question for me. As an intern at St. Joseph’s Hamilton Healthcare, I assisted in the ED, helped admit urgent cases, and provided care. To facilitate appropriate interventions, we collaborated closely with specialty teams. I felt genuinely at home on the ward, despite the lack of resources, trauma, exhaustion, and constant worry about getting sick or infecting someone else. In my mind, I drew a direct line to Syria and knew that if I returned, I would have what it takes to endure it, even if the war worsened again.

However, my perspective on emergency care evolved last year when the crisis eased, and we began to see more accident victims and critical cases, such as cardiac arrest or CVA. At the same time, certain cases were especially challenging: patients with a combination of pre-existing health conditions and long-term consequences of COVID-19 were winding up in the ED. This was when I noticed the convergence of my different educations. Attending physicians noticed it too. I identified symptoms in patients that sometimes went undocumented, and my instincts for which test to order were strong. I realized that my science background and ease with theory and analysis were contributing to my diagnostic ability, even though I was not yet allowed to take on such a responsibility. On the patient side, I picked up on visual signs and subtle cues and with knowledge of Arabic, English, French, and Russian, I was able to communicate with a wide range of people.

In the year since, I have increasingly gravitated toward internal medicine, as this is clearly where my skills and aptitudes lie. Although I have remained mainly at St. Joe’s, this has not limited my versatility but rather, enhanced it, as I have had the privilege of caring for a broad spectrum of patients and working with several departmental directors in various specialties. The extensive patient contact, along with the intellectual challenge and learning opportunities inherent in each new case, are what convinced me that internal medicine is exactly where I want and need to be. Should you accept me as a resident, you can be assured of a strong, serious, mature contribution by a sensitive team player with a wealth of experience.

It is hoped that these examples give you a good idea of how to approach your internal medicine residency personal statement and convince you that you can craft your own strong statement around what makes you unique as a person and as a physician.

Here are a few more ideas of what to include:

Your internal medicine residency personal statement should generally be between 500 and 800 words, or one page. Be sure to check the precise requirements of the residency program to which you are applying.

Simply put: Yes! Your residency personal statement provides you with the opportunity to interact with the program directors and explain why you want to pursue your chosen specialty. It also humanizes your application. Your chances of being accepted into your ideal school may be greatly increased with a powerful personal statement.

Get an early start, so that you won’t feel rushed. Conduct comprehensive research on the residency program. Write an outline. Include anecdotes and concrete examples in your essay. Once you have included all the relevant content, work on weaving a story together and revising your writing to make it more concise.

Leave yourself a good six weeks to write your internal medicine residency personal statement.

Red flags should only be discussed if they are pertinent to your personal statement, and you haven’t previously addressed them in another application component. If you do address any areas of concern, be sure to accept responsibility for the issue and detail how you improved as a result of your missteps or setbacks.

With a fill-rate of under 45%, internal medicine is one of the least competitive specialties.

Although unlikely, you may heed every piece of advice from your consultant and yet fail to find a match. Therefore, we advise choosing a professional service that is guaranteed. For instance, at BeMo, we offer a money-back guarantee that you can learn more about by scheduling a free first consultation.

Certainly! While they cannot actually create the essay for you, they can help you brainstorm, offer writing advice and strategies, and guide you through the editing process to ensure that you produce a great residency personal statement.

Want more free tips? Subscribe to our channels for more free and useful content!

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How To Write Your Graduate Entry Medicine Personal Statement

Discover tips to write the perfect Personal Statement when you're applying for Graduate Entry Medicine.

This guide to writing a GEM Personal Statement is supported by The University of Nicosia Medical School .

Writing a Personal Statement for Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM) is a similar process to writing one for Undergraduate Medicine . However, it’s important to remember that you have more life experience than the typical Undergraduate applicant – and your Personal Statement should reflect this. Here are some tips to help you write the perfect GEM Personal Statement.

Explain your motivation for Medicine

To start with, you’ll need to explain why you want to study Medicine and train to become a Doctor. As a Graduate Entry applicant, it doesn’t matter if you developed a passion for Medicine at a young age, or if it’s something that came to you during your degree – as long as the motivation is strong and you explain it clearly.

Think about what’s unique or personal about your motivation for Medicine . Was it sparked by an experience you had? Did a particular moment during a work experience placement confirm that Medicine was the right path for you? And how have you pursued this passion since you had the initial spark?

Being specific in your Personal Statement will help you to stand out and avoid clichés.

It’s also important to show that you understand the realities of a career in Medicine and the challenges that come with it. This could be something you gained while shadowing Doctors and/or doing work experience in healthcare settings.

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99.8% of graduates are practising in top hospitals around the world!

Don’t dwell on school

If you’re a candidate who applied for Undergraduate Medicine when you were at school and didn’t get a place, it might be tempting to revisit your Personal Statement from that time and rewrite it.

However, this isn’t advisable because you’ll probably be better off starting fresh. After all, you’ve gained plenty of life experience since you left school!

Of course, if you did some valuable work experience, volunteering or extracurricular activities while you were at school, you can certainly still discuss these things in your GEM Personal Statement. But don’t waste words writing about what you studied at A-Level . Medical Schools will be a lot more keen to hear about what you’ve done recently than in what aspects of the A-Level Chemistry syllabus interested you several years ago.

Reflect on your time at university

If you’ve completed a life sciences degree (e.g. Biomedical Science ), aspects of the syllabus will likely be relevant to Medicine. However, you shouldn’t just list the modules or topics that you’ve studied. Remember that lots of GEM applicants will have a similar degree, so you need to think of things to include in your Personal Statement that will make you stand out!

Was there an element of your degree which interested you so much that you did extra work around it? This could include a dissertation, research (if you’ve had any work published, now is the time to mention it) or work experience/volunteering in a particular area.

If you’re applying for Graduate Entry Medicine with a non-sciences degree, which is possible at certain Med Schools , write about activities you’ve done which demonstrate your enthusiasm for pursuing Medicine. You could discuss anything from work experience and volunteering, to attending talks or events and reading books about Medicine .

Don’t forget about extracurricular activities

Med Schools are looking for students who won’t just work hard, but will also make a valuable contribution to university life. As a Graduate Entry applicant, you’ve already completed one degree – which means you can provide solid evidence of the contribution that you would make.

Use your Personal Statement to discuss extracurricular activities you’ve been involved with during your time at university. And this doesn’t mean listing all of the taster sessions you tried out in freshers’ week ! Think about any societies or sports clubs that you’ve been a key member of – or maybe you even started a new society of your own.

When talking about your extracurricular activities, make sure you reflect on what you learned from them. It’s a good idea to highlight how you used and developed skills such as teamwork and leadership, because these are essential skills for any Doctor to have.

Be selective

When it comes to writing a Personal Statement, Graduate Entry Medicine has the same word count as Undergraduate Medicine – even though you’re a few years older so it’s likely you’ll have a lot more to write about.

This means you need to be selective. Write a first draft with everything that you would like to include, and then be ruthless! Cut out unnecessary words, and think about whether some experiences are more unique or relevant than others to mention. Make sure you also pay special attention to your spelling and grammar.

If you need some more inspiration, check out this real Personal Statement example which was successful for Graduate Entry Medicine at King’s College London.

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