Medical Residency - Presidential Advice!

Presidential Advice for Medical Residency Applicants:

The President of the NRMP took time from his busy schedule to give you his unique insights into what makes a good personal statement for Medical Residency applicants:

Arthur Maron M.D. was President of the NRMP from 1998-99. Please note his words:

“A good personal statement will not guarantee a residency, but a poor one will certainly lose the position.”

1) Grammar, typos, spelling mistakes or instances of obvious stylistic awkwardness are fatal. The MUA staff does not have time to correct your grammar; get several proof readers.

2 Limit is 1 page: training directors read hundreds of statements. Be concise. (We realize that the statement is ultimately put into a format generated by ERAS and not uploaded as a Microsoft word document; however, the document should be one page with normal formatting in Microsoft Word, such as size twelve (12) Times New Roman font.)

3) The first paragraph should clearly focus on your choice of a residency in a medical specialty. It is recommended that you do not use detailed case examples in this particular paragraph, nor open with questions or quotes.

4) Do be confident and dedicated, but also humble and sincere. Definitely make your statement personalized so that it avoids appearing like a “boiler plate,” or generic statement.

5) The statement should reflect your in-depth knowledge of the medical specialty- its philosophy of patient care, the knowledge base and skills needed, contemporary issues and innovations in the specialty, etc.

6) Do talk about your core and elective clerkships- any unusual procedures, presentations or research projects- especially those that relate to your choice of a residency.

7) Do not write the same general statement that you wrote to get into medical school. Example: “Since I was a child I wanted to be a doctor,” “My grandfather was my role model,” “I excelled in sciences so therefore I decided to become a doctor,” etc.

8) Do not tell your life story; it’s on your C.V. Your prior career is not the focus, even if it was in the medical field.

Quite possibly the best help available online: MyStatementofPurpose