Iserson's Getting Into A Residency: A Guide for Medical Students, Sixth Edition copyright 2003 by Kenneth V. Iserson, with permission of Galen Press, Ltd.  -  Buy the book

Check out Dr. Iserson's other great books, including 
Grave Words: Notifying Survivors about Sudden, Unexpected Deaths, 
Death to Dust What Happens to Dead Bodies? Second Edition, and 
Demon Doctors: Physicians as Serial Killers.

THE PERSONAL STATEMENT

The personal statement requested by many residency programs causes more anguish among applicants then almost anything else in the application process. A great deal of time and effort is often put into these epistles - and, in general, it is mostly wasted. Although some program directors carefully read applicants' personal statements (especially those in primary care specialties), many use personal statements only to eliminate those individuals who clearly stand out as being: (1) relatively illiterate, (2) pompous or tactless, or (3) outside the mainstream of physicians in the specialty or institution. The key to writing a good personal statement is to be honest, but not shy about trumpeting your virtues. Many students find this hard to do. The elements of a "safe and sane" personal statement include:

• Section 1: Why do you want to go into the specialty? Briefly explain what has drawn you to the specialty. If there was one particular event that stands out, describe it. Do not state that you are interested in the field primarily because of either the monetary rewards you anticipate or the way in which it fits your lifestyle. These reasons are usually considered evidence of a shallow personality and a sloppy decision-making process.
  

• Section 2: What do you intend to do during your career in the specialty? Be general. In a community hospital program, it is always safe to say that you are planning on a primarily clinical career with some clinical research and teaching. This question may be difficult to answer in some high-powered academic centers where there is a palpable rift between the researcher-physicians and the physician-occasional researchers. You may want to tailor this part of your personal statement to the institution to which it is being sent, as well as to your particular interests, Do not state, however, that you want to be a small-town practitioner if you are applying to a high-powered research program, or vice versa.
  

• Section 3: Other interests. What else do you do with your life? Be brief. Discussing your family, sports, and community activities is safe. This section of your statement should be the shortest.

Additional points that may be addressed in the statement include explanations of any major problems, deficiencies, or questions that might arise after a review of your application or transcript. You might want to mention something particularly outstanding from your undergraduate career or your life outside school. Avoid discussing politics or religion. Neither has any place in any of your application materials. Tysinger's Resumes and Personal Statements for Health Professionals contains special instructions for addressing these issues.

The keys are to make it: 
(1) short enough to read easily 
(2) in readable English without spelling or grammatical errors 
(3) based on one or more stories that illustrate your life 
(4) interesting

Occasionally students ask whether they should try to make their personal statement unusual enough to stand out. Literate and witty are the best ways to make a personal statement get noticed. One applicant, for example, vividly wrote, "Activity is my oxygen." The faculty remembered her! 

Generally though, you take a big risk by writing a very unusual personal statement. Remember that physicians, in general, are conservative animals. Anything odd or unusual will ordinarily be viewed negatively. "Unusual" in a personal statement is normally interpreted by those reading the statement as something that is cute, flippant, or crass. That is not the impression you want to create. Of course, some applicants have gotten interviews and even positions based, in part, on unusual personal statements. But it is rare. Unless your life story itself is unusual, stick with standard and boring.

From: Iserson's Getting Into A Residency: A Guide for Medical Students, Sixth Edition 
copyright 2003 by Kenneth V. Iserson, with permission of Galen Press, Ltd.