Important Questions in Your Medical School Application Essay

The reasons you want to be a doctor and how you expect to survive all the years of med school are among the high points of your essay. Give meat to these queries and you’ll surely deliver the information being sought by the readers.

Discussing why you want to be a doctor in your personal statement for med school

Saying I want to be a doctor because I want to help the indigent simply would not cut it. This reason has been used so many times that it has turned into a cliche. Besides, even if it is what you really want to say because you feel it’s true, the admissions officers may doubt your sincerity since they’ve heard it a thousand of times before. You could certainly alter the statement into something more meaningful and believable. Chances are, there were a couple of experiences in the past that you consider as most pivotal in your life. If one such event led you to this goal, then put it on the essay. Be sure to relate your personal attributes to your dream, and also to the main thesis of the essay.

Discussing how you can survive med school in your admissions essay

Med school has very rigid requirements, among them is long hours of studying. This means that you may have to pull an all-nighter or miss some of your social activities to commit yourself to constant reading or practice, especially for interns. There are a good number of students who quit med school simply because they can no longer take the pressure. The admissions office would want to grant the slot to an applicant who can make it through the course and be a successful medical specialist. You should discuss in your application how you can surpass the challenges of being a med school student.

The way you elaborate your reasons for wanting to be a doctor is important, but just as crucial is how you discuss how you can meet the challenges of med school. You must highlight in your med school admission essay the discipline and character traits you have to succeed in this course.

Related questions:

1. How does one answer the question why do you want to be a doctor?
2. What are some crucial issues to discuss in the med school admission essay?
3. If one’s father is a doctor, should this be mentioned in the essay?

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Recession-proof Medical Careers – Top Jobs in Today’s Economy

The healthcare industry, like many other industries in today’s economy, has certainly felt the blow of the economic recession. However, there are more than a few medical careers, which have remained recession-proof, despite the recent economic downturn. Here are some of the top medical jobs, which have remained in demand despite the recession:

Physicians and surgeons

In today’s economy, and even more so in today’s fast-paced world, people have become subject to innumerable forms of stresses and pressures. This has resulted in the growing demand for well-trained physicians who can give proper diagnosis and treat the ill successfully. Since physicians and surgeons are at the forefront of medical care, their services will always be needed despite the recession.

Health services manager

Healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics, and laboratories are constantly in need of healthcare administrators who can manage and direct the day-to-day operations of such facilities, especially in the delivery of healthcare. Since it is necessary for such health facilities to be managed successfully by capable individuals, the job position of a health services manager is not one to be threatened by the recession.

Registered nurse

Registered nurses are one of the most indispensable assets in any healthcare facility, from hospitals to clinics to nursing homes. This explains why, even with the recession, registered nurses continue to be highly in demand. During poor economic times, people are subject to more stress, causing them to fall sick more often. Not only do nurses enjoy a highly secure job, but they are also able to enjoy better pay and have more room for advancement opportunities.

Pharmacist

Pharmacists have specialized knowledge when it comes to administering the right medications to the sick, and this knowledge and medical background is considered highly important in the healthcare industry.

Physical therapist

Physical therapists need to undergo specialized training so that they may be able to provide a specialized kind of care to their clients or patients. Individuals suffering from injuries, pain, or those requiring rehabilitation will do best to seek out the specialized services of physical therapists.

With these recession-proof medical jobs, it’s easy to see why completing your medical degree can actually be a step in the right direction.

Photo Credits: Salim Fadhley

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What to Avoid in Your Personal Statement Medical School

When you write your personal statement medical school, you have to know the pitfalls that you have to avoid. John Hopkins University has some tips. Read on to know some of them.

Avoid cliches on your personal statement medical school

How many times do you think admissions committees have read the phrase, I want to become a physician because I like science and I want to help people?

Phrases such as the one mentioned above won’t grab the attention of the admissions committee. So avoid them. Instead, try to be original. Write through your own voice.

Avoid showing that your application is a manifest destiny

You have not always known that you want to be a physician (or dentist, etc.). See above. Similarly, who cares if everyone has always said that I would make a good physician. What do they know?

Instead of saying that your decision is prompted by a calling, you can just state your real reason. The most important thing is you should be sincere and honest.

Avoid aiming for grandiosity

Claiming that you plan to cure cancer (or HIV, or healthcare disparities, or anything else) shows a grave lack of understanding of whatever problem you are planning to solve.

You have to get real. You should not give the  impression that you are a hopeless dreamer who dreams of changing this world.

Avoid being insincere

This includes information that may be factually accurate but is presented in a misleading way.

Being insincere include discussing info that is probably true but presented in a wrong way.

Harvard Business School shares some interesting points about sincerity:

Sincerity

The secret of success, said the French novelist, essayist, and dramatist Jean Giraudoux, is sincerity. Once you can fake that you’ve got it made. Though Giraudoux was being humorous, he touched on a fundamental truth about writing–that sincerity, or at least the appearance of sincerity, is crucial. Nothing alienates readers faster than insincerity in any form–hyperbole, hype, hypocrisy, untruth. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating your readers’ ability to recognize insincerity. Write honestly.

You have to use an honest voice. Remember that the admissions panel reads thousands of essays every year and for sure, they have a way of seeing through your lies.

When you write your personal statement for medical school, you have to avoid the pitfalls of writing cliche, being too self-centered, and aiming too high for grandiosity. You also have to avoid being insincere.

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