Common Mistakes When Writing Personal Statements for Residency

Through hundreds of consultations about students’ personal statements, we continue to see a common theme: you’re all in the dark. Every student we talk to tells us a different story grounded in the same truth: medical students have limited guidance concerning their personal statements or even their overall ERAS submission.

With the pressure of clerkships, rotations, boards, and everyday stresses, writing a personal statement seems daunting and almost impossible. We can promise you will get through it, but you need to make sure you start the process early enough and you know the DOs and DON’Ts of a quality personal statement.

Listed are 4 common mistakes medical students make when writing a personal statement for residency.

1. Not answering the necessary questions

That’s right, there are questions you need to answer in your personal statement. You may think this is simply story time to tell your reader why you are interested in pursuing a residency program, but you also need to answer questions such as:

· Why you are pursuing your chosen specialty over others?

· What experiences or roles have contributed to the type of applicant you are today?

· Why are you a better candidate than your peers?

The way you choose to answer these questions is up to you, however, ensure that every answer is genuine and not just for show as these are also questions you could be asked in an interview.

2. Telling too many unrelated stories

As hinted at above, your personal statement is your chance to share why you are the right fit for a residency program in your chosen field. This means your reader wants to know about you, your passions, and your experiences, not a long-winded story about someone else or a meaningless anecdote.

When written and structured properly, a story or memory can often paint the best picture of who you are and what you have learned from that experience. Think about which stories will authentically tell your reader who you are and then book an appointment with us here to help add that story to your personal statement.

3. Using AI Websites (you know the ones) to write the statement for you

We will be the first ones to point out how helpful Artificial Intelligence can be when writing - spell check, formatting suggestions, and even pattern recognition. These are great tools we now have at our disposal, but with everything in life - take it with a grain of salt.

While there are not necessarily screening measures to detect your AI use in ERAS, we do caution applicants from relying too heavily on these tools as they tend to sterilize your statements. Instead, we encourage you to use AI to help with planning, improving vocabulary and most importantly, inspiration!

4. Only telling readers about your skills

When applying for residency, you are transitioning from medical student to a physician on the payroll. Your personal statement, therefore, needs to show your reader you are hirable and an asset.

We emphasized the word show in the previous sentence because people often fall into the trap of simply telling people about their skills instead of showing them. You can easily display your best qualities via examples or discussing how you acquired them.

A dedicated paragraph to your strengths and skills is one of the most important pieces of your personal statement as you reveal your accomplishments and present your potential. If you fail to describe what qualities you bring to the table, you are missing an excellent opportunity to convince the audience of your capabilities.

PRO TIP: Tailor your skills and strengths to match those of professionals in your intended specialty with a simply Google search - there are evidence-based resources that have information on what Program Directors and Committees are looking for in an OBGYN, IM, Ortho, Gen Surg resident.

5. Using poor word choice

Word choice is something that can truly make or break your statement. We have read many statements with top-notch content and remarkable passion, but those characteristics are overshadowed by elementary word choice, vague descriptions, or too many searches on Thesaurus.com.

Using low-level language not only weighs down your statement, but it will most likely increase your word count as well. With the high volume of applications, program directors need to be able to read and assess your statement quickly, which can only be done if your writing is succinct and professional.

Use your word choice to your advantage both descriptively and structurally to enhance your statement and thoroughly engage your reader.

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Remember, no one is going to market you better than you. You already know what makes you a qualified physician and resident, all you have to do is convince others of the same. Use this opportunity to set the tone for an interview and give the reader a peek at who they will be speaking with. We all have to start somewhere, so start brainstorming and get writing!

Book an appointment with us today and we will work together to ensure your statement is the best example of you.

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