ERAS Application, Residency Personal Statement, Tips and Hints

Welcome to the 2016-17 Medical Residency Application Season

It’s that time again!

Welcome to the 2016-17 Medical Residency Application and Match Season. As this year’s season progresses and beyond, we here at Residency Statement will be posting information pieces, advice, and more to help you better prepare your medical residency Personal Statements as a part of the medical residency application.

A few tips and reminders about medical residency Personal Statements:

1.  Always begin your writing process by brainstorming as many personal and professional stories you can. These can be stories about:

  • Interesting case studies
  • Day-to-day life in clinical rotations
  • Connections with patients
  • Good memories of your childhood (relatable to the person you are now)

 The more you brainstorm before writing, the easier it will be to write about your personality, skills, and accomplishments.

2. Remember, you will need a specialty specific Personal Statement for each medical specialty you apply to. Using a generic statement, or a statement meant for another specialty only shows a lack of commitment and dedication. Not a pretty picture for you to show Program Directors.  

3. Start drafting your Personal Statement(s) as soon as you can. This gives you plenty of time to brainstorm, outline, write, and revise. Rushed Personal Statements have a high chance of containing content or grammatical errors that will most certainly be spotted by Program Directors.

4. If you know the contents of your Letters of Recommendation, or have an idea of what the writer said about you, reflect their comments within your Personal Statement. That way, what you are saying about yourself in your Personal Statement will be confirmed by your Letters of Recommendation. For example, if they mention how well you worked with your colleagues, you can mention your teamwork in your Personal Statement.

5. Consider getting professional assistance to look over your Personal Statement or help you write one. With Program Directors’ expectations for the Personal Statement increasing every year, getting a little help is a smart choice.

Just getting started with the residency application process or need a refresher course?

Here are some helpful blog posts from residency expert, Match A Resident, from last year’s residency season to get you started. The more you understand about the residency application process, the better off you will be.

(Please note, these blogs will be updated as the season progresses and more information becomes available.)

There are also other posts about Letters of Recommendation, IMG friendly specialties, Interviews, and Rank Order Lists for you to explore throughout the blog.

Also, here are the official services to be familiar with:

  • ECFMG: Advocate and IMG services, your best friend. You will need to be ECFMG certified to start a residency.
  • AAMC: Home of ERAS, the main application website
  • NRMP: Home of The Match after you have applied to programs.

If you ever have any questions or need clarification about anything you read here, please contact us through:

(Email) support@residencystatement.com

(Phone) 760-904-5484 ext. 3

We will be happy to answer any questions about Personal Statements, or our services. Whether you are a re-applicant, or this is your first time applying, best wishes to all residency candidates.