Medical School Personal Statement

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I started writing and drafted my first personal statement as a freshman in college. At that point I had already shadowed physicians in pediatrics, general surgery, and internal medicine. I was very involved with many different extracurricular activities from working nearly full-time, leadership in campus organizations, and volunteer involvement with my church. There were several pivotal points throughout college that served as inspiration and motivation to write my personal statement. I am not a particularly good writer, I articulate myself as I might speak, which can explain my excessive use of commas and exclamation points as well as my problem with run-on sentences (LOL). 

With all that being said, just write. Start early. Start today. A shadowing experience might prompt inspiration, write about it. Maybe you traveled abroad and experienced healthcare in a developing country, write about it. You might have a stimulating conversation with a professor about the opioid epidemic, state of healthcare in your nation, anti-vaccine sentiment, overmedicalization, moral injury, medical ethics, or capitalism as it relates to healthcare business. Write about it! The sooner you can articulate your passion for medicine and answer the question why you choose medicine, the easier it is to prep for your medical interview. 

I'm a journaler, always have been, there is something so special and therapeutic about putting pen to paper (or in my case now: typing up drafts) and spilling your thoughts out onto paper. It's so important in personal and professional development to process your successes and setbacks, strengths and weaknesses and how to overcome them. Never stop working on yourself! Take self-development seriously, self-reflection and insight about how to continue on to your desired destination. Often the biggest hurdle is taking the first step, so get a notebook or create a OneNote section dedicated to the ideas, experiences, quotes, and fragmented paragraphs that will shape up to be your own personal statement. 

Though I started drafting my personal statement in 2012, I actually wrote and re-wrote it three times for the three times I applied to medical school. In terms of practical tips on writing your personal statement here's my opinion:

• Get a Grammarly account: hands-down the most useful writing tool on the web.
• Give your "final" drafts to English professors, other pre-med students (peers), and friends who are good at grammar to proofread your writing. Make sure you have good input regarding personal statement content as well as grammar, structure, punctuation/etc.
• Tell your story: it may be helpful to format your personal statement chronologically, that's how I did mine since I logged all my impactful experiences as they occurred, otherwise concisely emphasize your unique perspectives that led to you choosing medicine avoiding the "I love science and people" cliche. 
• Watch your word count. Stay on topic and don't overdo it! Make sure the transitions between paragraphs are cohesive. Think: communicate simply.

I hope that this is practical and helpful advice if you're a pre-med student, if you want to read my personal statement you can access it here.

"Put gaps in your life: moments to reflect, prepare, meditate, and breathe." ~Jody Adams

Thoughts on Identity and Attitude: MCAT Preparation

"Competence means keeping your head in a crisis, sticking with a task even when it seems hopeless, and improvising good solutions to tough problems when every second counts." ~Chris Hadfield

Getting an offer to medical school depends on many variables and circumstances that are entirely outside of my own control. It always made sense to me that an offer to medical school is not an entitlement. I'm not hanging everything on the prospective job: my sense of self-worth, happiness, or my professional identity. I will do whatever it takes to become the physician I desire to be, though I'm convinced that success is feeling good about the work I do throughout the long, unheralded journey that may or may not end up with me wearing a white coat. Of all the variables outside my control there are two things I can control: my preparedness and attitude during the journey. My attitude is what keeps me feeling steady and stable heading in the right direction. So I consciously monitor and correct, if necessary, because losing attitude would be far worse than not achieving my goal.

Be confident, know your motivations, know why you want to be a physician, and above all else don’t give up. Surround yourself with positive intelligent people who are living and successfully doing what you are striving to become. I strive to be competent. It's the most important quality to have in anyone's pursuit to become successful, and especially a physician. Competence encompasses ingenuity, determination and being prepared for anything. Academic mastery is my goal - I will be the best most competent internal medicine physician I can possibly be. Thinking like a physician is a matter of changing perspective - reduce stress by sweating the small problems; imagine the worst thing that could possibly happen. 

During my gap years after undergrad I worked for a private medical billing company called Covenant Surgical Partners. During the first five months of employment I was in a hardcore prep/study mode for my 2nd MCAT attempt. I was studying rigorously 3+ hrs./day either before or after work 5 days a week and 6 hrs. every Saturday with one day off. I was enthusiastic about studying and re-learning the concepts from my pre-med coursework and had developed a rigorous plan before my September test date. My employer was so very encouraging during the process they were as excited for my future as I was, then I got my score back, though I knew it was sub-average I thought for sure I had a chance since other aspects of my application made me a strong candidate. But after a second application cycle and rejection I began to doubt everything about pursuing medicine and consequently became complacent. 

My biggest fear, failure, began to creep into my life and consequently I fell into a brief depression. I can't quite pinpoint what changed in my life that motivated me to get back on the horse and prepare for my third MCAT attempt, but I have a feeling it was my community. When I surrounded myself with the right people, positive voices encouraging me (despite my setbacks) my meaning and motivation for pursuing the dream and scoring well on the MCAT skyrocketed. Also when I stopped hyper-focusing on myself, performance, over-analyzing the tiny details instead of the BIG PICTURE, and focused my energies back on serving others I felt even more inspired to complete another Anki deck of MCAT prep or power through 15 more AAMC question bank questions. 

By August 2018 I made some big life changes, I moved out of my parents house and took a management position with Visionworks Doctors of Optometry. Still pushing for admission into D.O. schools I was studying for hours everyday and using my paid time off to take full-length practice exams. I had virtually no social life outside of church and work. Blinders were on and I was determined. September came around and I took the MCAT for the third time - scoring exactly the same as my second attempt. I felt:
Relieved it didn't drop. 

Frustrated it didn't raise closer to the national average. 

I had a dilemma on my hands. Every D.O. admissions counselor for the schools I planned on applying to told me if I scored less than 500, regardless of the other positive factors from my portfolio, my application will not be considered. Disappointed, I yet again felt my journey to the summit was stunted by my own intelligence attributed to the score of a standardized test. I felt short-changed, osteopathic medicine claims holistic patient-centered medicine but when it comes to admission standards they could not look past 490 - my best work. Convinced I had a strong application with a 3.7 GPA, B.S., 343 shadowing hours, extensive leadership/extracurricular involvement, relevant healthcare employment/volunteering, and a clear sense of purpose communicated through my personal statement, I still didn't have what it takes for their standards. All I needed was for an admissions board to give me a chance. That was when I abandoned the notion that I would ever become a D.O. It was in November 2018 that I considered Caribbean schools as the route to my summit. 

Why I chose Saba University School of Medicine

Saba University School of Medicine is, in my opinion, one of the better Caribbean school choices. In my pre-interview research of the school there were several factors that made their program much more appealing than the other island institutions: 

• USMLE prep/emphasis in curriculum & 99% first-time pass rate/outcomes on STEP 1
• Modern curriculum organ-system approach with a research module
• Excellent residency placement in competitive programs such as Johns Hopkins, Yale, and Mayo Clinic
• Small class size: 90 students each entering class translating to extensive student-teacher interaction. 
• Remote learning environment: un-distracted medical school experience, supportive learning environment, non-traditional student demographic (offering wider peer perspectives into medicine/healthcare.)
• Affordable medical education: ($17,850/semester on the island, $20,700/semester for 3rd & 4th years)
  

After my phone interview with Bill Purnell in early January 2019 I realized how the program is a perfect fit for me. There is nothing more appealing to me than a medical program that values exactly what I do: relationships. I believe that Saba's unmatched reputation is grounded in the quality of physicians produced because of the emphasis placed on student success through personal individualized training and mentorship resulting from the small class size. The foundation of high-quality medical care is placing value in the therapeutic patient-physician relationship, this is the training I will undoubtedly receive. 

What is most attractive about SUSM is the professors and instructors are 100% focused on student success and teaching. Physicians are often referred to as doctors- one who teaches- and I can think of no better school to complete my medical sciences education at than at SUSM where the faculty are here for my long-term success as a physician and not just USMLE success. An important role of a 21st century physician is their ability to teach practical-contextualized medicine promoting good health and holistic wellness. As a physician I hope to be known by my outstanding communication and reputation as one who teaches medicine.

Read more about The Best Caribbean Island You've Never Heard of here.

Why Caribbean Medical Schools?

A lot of friends and family members ask me why I chose the Caribbean for medical school. My answer often is some version of the following: Attending Saba University School of Medicine provides me an opportunity to achieve my personal and professional goals. They gave me a chance to prove myself and fulfill my calling. 

I cannot become a physician without proper training and instruction from a reputable well-established medical program. Medical school is foundational and a critical stepping-stone that will allow me to achieve my personal career goal of becoming the best physician I can possibly be. Medical curriculum, regardless of the school, will train me how to think about the body and its dysfunctions in an analytical evidence-based method.

Becoming a physician will take more than someone who reliably makes good decisions when the consequences really matter. It will take years of serious, sustained effort because I need to build a new knowledge base, develop my mental capabilities, and dramatically expand my technical skill set. The biggest thing that will change is my mind. Medical school will train me with the how to approach medical science, and since medicine is an apprenticeship profession- mentorship with experienced physicians will train me how to think like a physician.

**the following is a post I wrote the week of my admissions phone interview with Saba University College of Medicine, January 2019:

I will do whatever it takes as long as it takes to become the best practitioner I can be. Caribbean medical school is an opportunity to make my career in medicine a reality. All through undergraduate I was fed the negative stigmas associated with Caribbean schools - and quite frankly I believed them without verifying the "facts" I was blindly believing from my pre-med advisor. It's been 2.5 years (almost 3) since I graduated with a bachelors of science and 4 years since I started preparing and taking the MCAT. 

Despite the setbacks of not making it past secondary applications in the AACOMAS cycle due to sub-average MCAT scores I persisted and demonstrated resiliency by faithfully studying for and re-taking the MCAT 3 times. Though my MCAT score is not at 500 I believe I am a competitive applicant and candidate for medical school - I do not want to be underestimated by my MCAT, I am intelligent and have a lot to offer the medical community because of my desire to serve others for good! 

I am determined and committed to succeed as a physician, everything I've completed in my adult life, academically, and professionally has brought me to this point and to quit now would be a loss of 7 years of effort, time, money, and resources. I will become the physician I strive to be. If the Caribbean schools accept lower MCAT scores then they will give me the chance and opportunity to make my professional and personal goal a reality.

“Skill can be taught, tenacity cannot.” ~Atul Gwande