Sample Medical Personal Statement
A career path in medicine is one that can only be embarked upon by people who are certain that they are suitable for the work involved, and who are absolutely aware of the challenges associated with practicing medicine, and not simply the benefits.
As a sixteen year-old, when faced with the choice of A-Level subjects and the different career paths down which they could lead me, I did not feel ready to attempt to study medicine, even though I had since a young age harboured the ambition of helping people as a health professional. With none of my family having attended university before, studying medicine seemed an overly ambitious step. Instead, I studied A-Levels in arts subjects, before going on to complete a BA in English Literature, receiving a 2:1. Whilst I found studying arts subjects highly rewarding, during the time in which my efforts have been focused in this area I have had the opportunity to grow personally and intellectually, through my studies and voluntary work, to the point where I now feel fully prepared and committed to a career in medicine.
In the summer of 2006 I carried out a one-week work placement at Whittington Hospital. The placement gave me an experience of the workings of several different departments of a busy hospital, as well as an insight into some of the challenges facing medical staff, in particular the pressures under which doctors must work. I spent part of the placement shadowing junior doctors. I became aware of the importance of thorough record-keeping by doctors, to ensure that when a patient is seen by several different doctors, as is normal in a hospital environment, information about the development of their condition and the treatments they have been given is easily available. Through observing an operation in the gynaecological department, I came to appreciate the importance of teamwork across a range of specialities, such as nurses, technicians, anaesthetists and surgeons, in successfully delivering care to patients. The placement also left a lasting impression on me because I was fortunate enough to witness the opportunities that doctors have to make potentially life-changing differences to people’s well-being.
Since 2007 I have been volunteering at Haringey Phoenix Group, which provides assistance to blind and partially-sighted people. I work directly with the charity’s members through activities such as braille classes. I find this interaction with people immensely rewarding as it offers an opportunity to empower people with skills that help them cope with their condition better. Through this work I have attended hospitals to set up information stalls, at which I handed out leaflets providing information on the different common eye diseases, such as macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, and on the importance of regular eye checks. My work with the charity has also given me direct experience of some of the difficulties that health professionals face in ensuring patients receive the care they need. For example, one of the problems that the charity encounters is that in some cases GPs are not aware of the full range of services that are available to help visually impaired people.
Part of my journey towards pursuing a career in medicine has involved additional study to prepare me for the demands of a medical degree. I studied A-Level Biology, Physics and Chemistry on a self-taught basis during the final year of my BA. Building on this, I am now taking the Certificate in Life Sciences for Subjects Allied to Medicine at Birkbeck, University of London. I am currently also studying towards re-taking GCSE mathematics, to correct the one academic result I have received that I feel does not match the standards that I set for myself. My motivation to take these steps is grounded in my belief that medicine is the career choice to which I am most suited; my enjoyment of these subjects has equally reinforced my self-belief in my ability to become a doctor.
We hope that this sample Medical personal statement can act as a useful point of reference when composing your own personal statement.