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Lo básico
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El personal statement (PS) es un ensayo personal requerido por todos los programas de residencia de USA para que puedas aplicar.
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Como su nombre lo dice, es personal. En teoria, tu puedes escribir lo que quieras, pero la gran mayoria de programas esperan que incluyas por que escogiste medicina, cuales han sido las experiencias importantes en tu carrera y que has aprendido de ellas, cuales son tus metas y futuros planes.
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Trata de incluir algo que te diferencie del resto, o algo que resalte un logro que has tenido en tu carrera y que enseñanza trajo.
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Puedes incluir una experiencia con un paciente que te marcó o de la cual aprendiste algo valioso.
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Escribe parrafos no excesivamente largos. Que sean facil de leer.
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Que no sea una mera copia de tu CV.
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El ensayo no deberia ser mas de una pagina. Ningun entrevistador va a leer un ensayo de 3 o 4 paginas.
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Ten en cuenta que preparar un buen personal statement se demora en promedio 2 meses.
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Que alguien de habla inglesa te lo revise antes de enviarlo. Un PS con pobre gramática o redacción es pésima imagen de tu persona.
Ejemplo 1
My interest in internal medicine started during medical school. The field provides a constant intellectual challenge to diagnose and treat a wide spectrum of illnesses. Internal medicine continuously evolve, providing a source of permanent intellectual growth and new research opportunities.
My desire to expand my knowledge led me to work in the Peruvian jungle and then to perform clinical research in tuberculosis, a highly endemic infection in the developing world. These experiences were fulfilling and led to several publications, but even then I felt the need to be involved in research at a more basic level.
This feeling was fueled by renowned mentors during my medical school and I decided to move into the basic sciences to pursue research. I believe that basic research will provide the best way to develop novel tools to address and deepen our understanding of common medical problems. The potential to use imagination and creativity to design experiments and discover new knowledge is extremely exciting.
Currently, my main interest is in HIV because it is a chronic infection that affects millions of people worldwide. Some of its pathogenic mechanisms are poorly understood despite extensive investigation over the last two decades. It is fascinating that research in HIV brings together the application of several disciplines such as molecular biology, immunology and statistics. This is why I am currently involved in a research project to develop a cell-based assay for the quantification of viral load and drug resistance profile of HIV-1. This assay will potentially be more accurate and less expensive that the current PCR-based assays. Through this project, I am realizing why basic research is changing the way we practice medicine today and how it can improve clinical practice in the future.
I plan to continue my research endeavor by joining a residency program that provides ample opportunities to become proficient in translational research. An ideal program would also provide a comprehensive clinical training with a large and diverse patient population and faculty dedicated to teaching.
My long-term goal is to develop a career in an academic environment. Become a university professor to train the next generation of physicians is one of my personal goals as well. It is my dream that this path will allow me to improve the life of the people I will take care of in the future.
Ejemplo 2
As far back as I can remember, I have always seemed to have had an inquisitive mind. In due course I took the decision to go into medicine because it opened up before me unlimited roads to learning, in addition to constant intellectual development.
During my first clinical course at a hospital in San Miguel, I remember a 30-year old woman hospitalized because of partial complex seizures. I particularly appreciated her because of her cooperation during interviews and physical exams. One night, when I was finishing my progress note, she had a crisis. A relative of hers was there but he had no money and there were no anticonvulsants in the ward (this situation is common in my country). Consequently, I decided to go out and purchase some diazepam. When I came back, the seizure had fortunately finished.
This is an example of many experiences that taught me that the essence of medicine is the physician/patient relationship: to establish empathy with patients to understand their suffering and to look for a solution to alleviate their ailment. I have chosen Internal Medicine because it is the specialty that will allow me to encounter different experiences, like this one, and at the same time have contact with patients of every type with any kind of ailment. the prospects for learning and intellectual challenges are huge.
After my graduation, I decided to work in an impoverished district in the Amazon. There I was able to find a rich environment for learning not only about medicine, but also about life. I remember performing a gastric lavage on a young woman with severe organophosphate intoxication while her brother was helping me in the procedure. Unfortunately, the next day the woman died, but her brother was grateful.
I began to understand that it does not matter if we are working in large hospitals or in small rural health centers, we are all united as if in a big family, consisting of physicians, nurses, technicians and patients. We share experiences together, nice moments along with frustrations, struggling to overcome obstacles. It is noteworthy that this cooperation among team members was particularly strong where there was a lack of financial resources, as in the Amazon.
I arrive at this stage of my life eager to do my internal medicine residency in an academic environment. Attending a tropical disease course at Johns Hopkins University reinforced my idea that training abroad should give me further valuable insight into aspects that could eventually be considered and applied in my country.
Apuntes
Para escribir tu personal statement (PS) piensa en algo que te diferencia del resto de aplicantes
Que no sea una copia de tu CV
La redacción de tu PS debe estar PERFECTA
Evita usar abreviaciones en tu PS
NUNCA copies y pegues PS de otros. Te puede costar la residencia