Prion Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 I have some trouble with fitting various parts of my EC experience into the overall theme(i.e. what makes me want to pursue a career in medicine). The main problem I have is that I have all of these activities that have almost nothing to do with medicine and very little in common with each other.I was afraid that it'd turn out to be a boring description of my sketch I have some ideas and was wondering if they are on the right track. For example, I have a websites(academic based) which attracts a lot of users. I think it's a demonstration of my personal responsibility, i.e. taking this project very seriously. And of course the cliche:it shows my dedication in helping others to succeed academically. I worked in construction for a summer. It was my first ever job and my experience taught me some important lessons. And I was thinking of relating these lessons to why I believe I would make a good physician. Am I better off without the "connections to a career in medicine" thing? I mean frankly people participate in athletics, arts and other hobbies don't really do them in order to become better doctors, they do them because they are fun and interesting. However I'm always under the impression that everything you write in your statement have to relate to that one goal somehow. Correct? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laika Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 Try structuring your statement around the canmeds roles. This will help you to both organize your essay, and relate your activities to medical competencies. http://www.deptmedicine.utoronto.ca/CanMEDS.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnussey Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 I took an English class that was geared for interviews, C.V writing, etc. and our prof told us to start our interview essays with a bang. I began mine with a quote from that very prof and a vivid description of a fear I had as a child (which, of course, ties into my life-experiences--don't just throw anything in there for the hell of it!). If you take a look at other essays (samples in application books, online websites, etc.) you'll find that the styles vary--especially the introductory and concluding statements--and they are all fine. Write a list of everything you want to include and why, then formulate it all and work on presentation. Write what you need, then fiddle with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prion Posted September 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 Try structuring your statement around the canmeds roles. This will help you to both organize your essay, and relate your activities to medical competencies. http://www.deptmedicine.utoronto.ca/CanMEDS.htm Great website! I took an English class that was geared for interviews, C.V writing, etc. and our prof told us to start our interview essays with a bang. I began mine with a quote from that very prof and a vivid description of a fear I had as a child (which, of course, ties into my life-experiences--don't just throw anything in there for the hell of it!). If you take a look at other essays (samples in application books, online websites, etc.) you'll find that the styles vary--especially the introductory and concluding statements--and they are all fine. Write a list of everything you want to include and why, then formulate it all and work on presentation. Write what you need, then fiddle with it. I had some idea about creative hooks too. Just curious, how long was your "fear" anecdote? I think I took up around 200 words writing mine. It does relate to my overall theme tho. It definitely makes my essay look more unique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cnussey Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 It took my entire introductory paragraph which was umm...long enough? Lol. It was connected to my 1st important life-experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CD90.2 Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 Damn it Laika, you just ruin their day 1, hour 5-6 lecture on CanMED!!!! Just staring at those damn notes right now... Try structuring your statement around the canmeds roles. This will help you to both organize your essay, and relate your activities to medical competencies. http://www.deptmedicine.utoronto.ca/CanMEDS.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman101 Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 Something people may find useful: The 1000 word limit is not absolute. It can be a little over. Apparently they print them out (or something similar) and if yours looks visibly longer than the others then you get penalized a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laika Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Damn it Laika, you just ruin their day 1, hour 5-6 lecture on CanMED!!!! Just staring at those damn notes right now... CanMEDS actually came up on an exam last year, and some people failed that section because they couldn't remember the roles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Endeavour Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 CanMEDS actually came up on an exam last year, and some people failed that section because they couldn't remember the roles! R u serious??? cause they start pounding in Canmeds right off the first week. I think ive heard about it in 3 different lectures already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laika Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 R u serious??? cause they start pounding in Canmeds right off the first week. I think ive heard about it in 3 different lectures already. Yes, Dante decided to throw it on an exam, and yes, some people couldn't remember more than half of the roles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bustylegs Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Yes, Dante decided to throw it on an exam, and yes, some people couldn't remember more than half of the roles. You guys will very likely see CanMed roles again on your first FMP exam. Schrieber is also very passionate about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOC_Ma Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 I have some trouble with fitting various parts of my EC experience into the overall theme(i.e. what makes me want to pursue a career in medicine). The main problem I have is that I have all of these activities that have almost nothing to do with medicine and very little in common with each other.I was afraid that it'd turn out to be a boring description of my sketch I have some ideas and was wondering if they are on the right track. For example, I have a websites(academic based) which attracts a lot of users. I think it's a demonstration of my personal responsibility, i.e. taking this project very seriously. And of course the cliche:it shows my dedication in helping others to succeed academically. I worked in construction for a summer. It was my first ever job and my experience taught me some important lessons. And I was thinking of relating these lessons to why I believe I would make a good physician. Am I better off without the "connections to a career in medicine" thing? I mean frankly people participate in athletics, arts and other hobbies don't really do them in order to become better doctors, they do them because they are fun and interesting. However I'm always under the impression that everything you write in your statement have to relate to that one goal somehow. Correct? Thanks in advance To your last question, yes, everything has to tie back to why you wanna be a doc and how your experiences helped make you a good candidate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekken3 Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 forthose of you who had to write a personal statement for AMCAS, are you using the same one for UT? do you find its easily transferable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathvvv Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 personally i would write it from scratch, but you can use the major points you brought up for your essay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PermanentWaves Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Is it really necessary to touch on all of the things mentioned in the question stem (i.e. "Applicants should also describe their premedical studies, expanding on what they have chosen to pursue and how this has prepared them for their future, including a career in medicine")? or is that more like a guideline? For example, I spent my entire essay talking about a EC that inspired me to pursue medicine. Do I still need to discuss my premed studies, research etc? It just seems like that would really disrupt the flow of the whole thing (plus I don't have the space). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.