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Your Medicine Personal Statement structure should cover three key elements:
The first part of your Personal Statement should cover your motivation to study Medicine. Think of this as your “I want to be a Doctor” paragraph – but keep it concise.
There are two common ways that people typically choose to show their motivation to study Medicine when writing a Medicine Personal Statement:
Both of these are acceptable motivations – but you need to find a way to be unique.
Think about the following prompts:
If you had an experience that made you want to be a Doctor, you can certainly use that in your Personal Statement. However, don’t feel that you will be disadvantaged if this is not the case. You don’t need to manufacture a medical epiphany if there wasn’t one.
If you truly were inspired by one moment, think about these prompts:
Once you’ve shown that you’re motivated to study Medicine and you’ve explored this option thoroughly, you need to explain why you’re suited to becoming a doctor.
The best way to demonstrate suitability in your Personal Statement for Medicine is to ‘show rather than tell.’ For example, saying “I’m a very empathetic person” is easy to do. And anyone can write that on a piece of paper. It’s better if you can demonstrate it with examples from your work experience or other situations.
There is nothing wrong with using ‘buzzwords’ in your medical Personal Statement, as long as they are backed up with evidence and you can show that you understand them.
Also, remember that suitability for Medicine requires understanding what the medical profession is all about. You can establish this by speaking to medical students and doctors, reading widely, and carrying out relevant work experience.
You can also use this section to talk about your extracurriculars, which can be helpful in describing your attributes that are relevant in a career as a doctor. For example, you may be part of a music ensemble where teamwork is vital for successful concerts.
The next thing you need to weave into your Medicine Personal Statement structure is exploration, which means showing how you’ve explored that studying Medicine and becoming a doctor is the right path for you.
This is the part where you focus on work experience, volunteering, community work, and wider reading. Don’t just write a list of things you’ve done though – Medical School Admissions Tutors are more interested in seeing how you reflect on your experiences.
You should be clear about what you did, and where you gained your experience. It can be good to write in detail about something specific: what happened and, crucially, what did you learn from it?
When it comes to wider reading, you should only mention texts that you’re actually familiar with and would be capable of discussing at interview. Ensure that you have read some recent medical research that you understand enough to be able to discuss at interview.
Some possible areas for discussing in your personal statement include:
Whatever work experience examples you cite in your Personal Statement, you must be prepared to talk about these and more at interview.
The most important advice for your Personal Statement is to reflect on every experience you discuss. Reflection is a skill that you will practise constantly at medical school and in your future career, and it is valued highly by medical schools when reading your Personal Statement.
It is vitally important that you do not list attributes and experiences, but choose some key topics and reflect on them thoroughly.
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