Finding your why for your medical school statement

medical school admissions personal statements writing
By Sara AZ

Applying to medical school is one of the most involved application processes that anyone can go through. The application cycle feels overwhelming. Now that I'm well on the other side of the application process and I near the end of medical school itself, I can share some lessons to help you through the intense yet rewarding experience of the application. 

I struggled to write my personal statement for medical school. The words just weren’t coming to me. I wanted to say, “It just feels right.” Now that I am here, I can assure you: you won’t truly know until you’ve begun. Your true why will come when you least expect it.

For me, that "aha" moment came in the middle of a night during rotations after being awake for 20 hours. Exhausted and nearly delirious with lack of sleep, I suddenly knew it was the right choice. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t thrilled to commit to a life of long shifts (up to 27 hours!). However, something about being able to visit and support a patient during one of the worst nights of their life—their most vulnerable moment—struck me. I could finally articulate my why for myself.

Now, back to the reason you’re reading this. Finding your why. You have to ask yourself a few things: 

1. What do I want from my life?

It seems like a big question, but break this down into small steps. Start at the bottom of Maslow’s Hierarchy and go up the ladder: physiological (food and clothing), safety (job security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization. Fill in your dreams.

2. What do I think will make me happy when I’m nearing the end of my life?

Is it caring for patients? Is it research? Is it having a balanced life? Is it having a hands-on job? 

It’s quite morbid, but life is short. Your medical career will be long. To know yourself, you must be vulnerable. Death is one of few things that we avoid discussing as young people, but it is a guide that keeps us from getting trapped in unimportant details.

3. What about medicine brings me joy? What about medicine worries me? No career is perfect. Are the things that bring me joy greater than the ones that worry me?

Medicine is a vast field. There is no “typical” doctor. And there shouldn’t be. But you absolutely must have a purpose to be able to help people in a genuine way. I’ve found that listening is often the most healing I have the privilege to do as a physician. 

Ask yourself these hard questions and give yourself honest answers. When times get hard, I pull out my personal statement to remind myself that there is an end goal and there is a dream that can become a reality.

Comments

topicTopics
academics study skills MCAT medical school admissions SAT expository writing college admissions English MD/PhD admissions GMAT LSAT GRE writing strategy chemistry physics math biology ACT graduate admissions language learning law school admissions test anxiety interview prep academic advice MBA admissions premed homework help personal statements AP exams career advice creative writing MD study schedules summer activities Common Application history test prep philosophy computer science secondary applications organic chemistry economics supplements PSAT admissions coaching grammar law statistics & probability psychology ESL research 1L CARS SSAT covid-19 legal studies logic games reading comprehension dental admissions mathematics USMLE Spanish calculus engineering parents Latin verbal reasoning DAT case coaching excel mentorship political science AMCAS French Linguistics Tutoring Approaches academic integrity chinese DO MBA coursework PhD admissions Social Advocacy admissions advice biochemistry classics diversity statement genetics geometry kinematics medical school mental health quantitative reasoning skills time management work and activities Anki English literature IB exams ISEE MD/PhD programs algebra algorithms art history artificial intelligence astrophysics athletics business business skills careers cold emails data science internships letters of recommendation poetry presentations resume science social sciences software engineering study abroad tech industry trigonometry 2L 3L Academic Interest DMD EMT FlexMed Fourier Series Greek Health Professional Shortage Area Italian Lagrange multipliers London MD vs PhD MMI Montessori National Health Service Corps Pythagorean Theorem Python STEM Sentence Correction Step 2 TMDSAS Zoom acids and bases amino acids analysis essay architecture argumentative writing art brain teaser campus visits cantonese capacitors capital markets cell biology central limit theorem chemical engineering chess chromatography class participation climate change clinical experience community service constitutional law consulting cover letters curriculum demonstrated interest dental school distance learning electricity and magnetism enrichment european history executive function finance first generation student freewriting fun facts functions gap year genomics harmonics health policy history of medicine history of science hybrid vehicles hydrophobic effect ideal gas law induction information sessions institutional actions integrated reasoning intern international students investing investment banking lab reports logic mandarin chinese mba mechanical engineering medical physics meiosis microeconomics mitosis music music theory neurology neuroscience office hours operating systems organization pedagogy phrase structure rules plagiarism pre-dental proofs pseudocode psych/soc quantum mechanics resistors resonance revising scholarships school selection simple linear regression slide decks sociology software stem cells stereochemistry study spots synthesis teaching technical interviews transfer typology units virtual interviews writer's block