I wanted to thank all of those who attended my AMSA national conference lecture. We had such great attendance that we caused a fire hazard – with audience members even packing the aisle. Yikes!
If anyone needs a lecture handout, please email me at insidermedical@gmail.com.
Hard to believe, but it’s already time to start tackling the medical school personal statement. Over the course of the next few blogs, I’ll offer tips on how to get started on your essay, so that you can initiate a draft early and be on top of your application.
Remember that the goal of the personal statement is to distinguish yourself from all of the other applicants. The best way to make yourself distinctive is by showcasing your accomplishments. Your essay should be dense with achievements. Avoid purple prose. After all, who you are to the admissions reader is what you’ve done.
Here’s a short blog of mine from 2012 that reminds applicants that highlighting accomplishments does not mean regurgitating a resume (although the highlights of your curriculum vitae absolutely should be covered in your essay).
Getting into medical school has gotten so competitive that it’s important to have a strong candidacy with excellent grades and robust extracurricular activities starting freshman year. There is no time to waste.
One mistake I see pre-meds make is that they are so focused on leadership and research that they forget a critical component – clinical experience. No one wants to hire a cook who hasn’t worked in the kitchen. If you want to prove that you want to be a doctor, it’s essential that you obtain clinical experience for a significant period of time – not just a health fair or two. Working as an EMT, in a good clinical care extender program, or in a low-income clinic are just some ideas for obtaining excellent clinical exposure.
To create a plan for your medical school candidacy, secure a Strategy Session with me here.
Please check out my latest guest posting “Exploring the Medical School Myth” on the Varsity Tutors blog.
I mentioned in my last blog that I’ll be speaking at the American Medical Student Association’s Annual Convention in New Orleans on March 7 at 1pm. I also wanted to point out that a former colleague of mine Sheri Fink will be a keynote speaker at the event.
Sheri is a talented professional and all around-nice person. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for her piece on the deadly choices faced at a New Orleans hospital post-Hurricane Katrina. Sheri’s latest book “Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital” was named as a top ten book by the New York Times.
Sheri was interviewed on the Daily Show. You can watch the segment here.
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital. She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
