The Medicine Personal Statement Portal
The introduction is your chance to set the tone for the rest of the personal statement. You should apply great care to the section – consider what message you wish to convey, and how you’ll do so. Phrasing and grammatical accuracy are vital here.
Our first piece of advice for students is to avoid mentioning their own personal experiences at the outset. By this, we don’t mean avoiding mentioning work experience that you took on, for example – but rather that you ought to avoid memories from your childhood years or events that happened to you. Whilst some students will take this route and create an excellent personal statement, we believe it’s somewhat risky, as mentioning personal experiences can prove divisive or give admissions tutors a certain idea of you that will prove hard to change through the rest of the statement.
The second piece of advice is that you ought to work through the section with a variety of others, trying to find the clearest way of expressing your message. This means that you need to first be clear on how you want to begin, then you need to set this to paper. Then, have others read and review, and see to what extent they understand. Over time, you should be able to iterate the introduction until it’s clear, succinct, and immediately grabs your reader.
The third piece of advice is that you should make it clear why you’re drawn to Medicine at the outset. This fits with the above – that being succinct is key. If an admissions tutor can read your personal statement and understand why you’re motivated to study Medicine within the first 20 seconds of picking up your personal statement, then you’re evidently on the right track.
Lastly, consider if there’s anything that will set you above your peers, that can be used as part of your introduction. If, for example, you secured particularly outstanding work experience and found this to be vital to your desire to study Medicine, then find a way to integrate this with your introduction and have it as a central part of it.
Whilst We Can’t Write Your Personal Statement For You, Our Specialists Will Help You Draft, Tailor & Optimise Your Personal Statement.
UCAT, BMAT, Personal Statement & Interview Specialist Support with Preferential Rates & Availability
Successful Medicine Personal Statement Examples, Tips From Admissions Tutors & Trusted Tutorials To Help Tailor Your Personal Statement.
Conversations with doctors and medical students have brought me to the same conclusion: medicine is not simple. Placements in tertiary and secondary care settings have exposed me to medicine’s long hours, intellectual challenges and emotionally draining environment. Yet every placement showed how the care and diligence of doctors had a genuine impact on patients’ lives. The chance to replicate this, combined with unparalleled opportunities to teach, undertake clinical work and perform scientific research, is what draws me to study medicine.
This is an excellent example that immediately draws the reader in. It’s well written, with very few spare words – every line is packed with information. From the first line, we know that this student has considered the course and surrounded themselves with others who can inform them. From the second line, we know that they have some knowledge of healthcare – they talk about secondary and tertiary healthcare – and that they have undertaken a range of experience. They’re obviously clear on the fact that Medicine is difficult, yet equally clear on their own personal motivation. It’s interesting to note that this introduction might serve equally well as a conclusion; it contains everything we need to know about the student, written succinctly.
Tailor and optimise your Personal Statement with our 1-1 Personal Statement Specialists or review example personal statements & trusted tips in our Personal Statement Portal
My work with undergraduate students over a year developing an abdominal adhesions sensor kindled my interest in medicine. While shadowing a doctor in a postnatal ward, I witnessed the satisfaction she derived from using her clinical skills to benefit infants. She communicated complex neonatal issues, such as meconium aspiration and Moro reflexes to parents effectively. It was vital to convey complex information to parents from a variety of backgrounds. I developed this ability by collaborating with a diverse group of people on various women’s advocacy campaigns while interning at UN Women. I learned to persuade, cooperate and problem-solve. Developing the sensor also taught me to work with students from a diverse range of subjects, just as NHS doctors must work with a wide variety of professions in a multidisciplinary setting.
Here, the student doesn’t explicitly outline why they wish to study Medicine, but instead provides context on how they first became interested. They focus on experiences that they have had that set them apart from others. From the first line, we can see that they are academically and scientifically inclined. This is reinforced by their use of technical terminology, and the range of experience that they’ve had. They ensure that they don’t come across as someone who ought to be a scientist rather than a doctor, adding that communication skills are vital, and evidencing this through their own work with UN Women.
