Family Medicine Personal Statements

Sample Personal statement 1

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Sample personal statement 1 for Family medicine program

Although I began my medical career in anesthesia, I have developed a genuine interest in family practice during and after my anesthesia training. While practicing anesthesia, I always missed the wide spectrum of pathology, the continuous care for patients of different ages, and psychosocial issues in medicine. Family practice is the specialty that offers all these. Through family practice, I feel confident that I can achieve greater personal and professional satisfaction.

Although unable to find an observership program in family practice, I found several programs in general internal medicine. I have been doing observership at both Medical Education Alliance and Medical Hospital. During my observership training at both programs, I felt great achievement in using my knowledge of pharmacology, microbiology, and physiology to explain signs and symptoms of patients. This ensures me that I would be greatly benefited from a specialty in primary care.

I personally believe that providing long-term care, both preventive and therapeutic, to patients is an integral part of practicing medicine. During my observerships, I admired the relationship the attendings had formed with their patients. I love the idea of caring for patients from birth to death and building long-term friendships with them. While I was an anesthesiologist, my contact with most patients usually started one day before and ended one day after surgery. Even though patients developed complications from anesthesia, they did not seek medical care from anesthesiologists, because there was no communication channel between anesthesiologists and patients.

My knowledge and skills in anesthesia will be a useful asset in family practice. I am skilled in performing different kinds of invasive and non-invasive monitoring procedures. This will make me feel more comfortable while caring for critically ill patients. My hands-on clinical experience at both Memorial Medical Center of Medical University and the University of California was a unique opportunity to learn how the medical care system works and to enhance my communication skills with patients of all age groups. My volunteer experience at a mental health clinic helped me realize the importance of psychosocial issues in managing mental illnesses and develop a great compassion. By participating in all the activities during my observership training, I honed my history and physical skills. In addition, while I was an anesthesiologist, I enjoyed easing the anxieties of children undergoing surgery before I delivered anesthesia. This not only increased the quality of anesthesia care but also decreased the psychological harm on children. All these will make me better prepared for my residency training in family practice. Meanwhile I know exactly what I am going to face and I know I am able and willing to handle it.

I will bring enthusiasm, dedication, and professionalism, as well as clinical knowledge and skills to my family practice residency program. More importantly, I am very glad that I receive support from my family in applying for a family practice residency program. I seek a residency program that provides a balanced training approach. Through this training, I hope to develop excellent clinical skills and judgment and embark on a career with constant intellectual stimulation and the opportunity to provide long-term medical care to patients in a manner that I could not provide as an anesthesiologist.

Sample personal statement 2 for Family medicine program

“Did you hear about that huge earthquake in India?” asked one of my classmates who knew that I was from India. My jaw dropped and a hundred thoughts went through my head. There I was during my first year of medical school sitting anxiously about to take my first written anatomy exam when one of my classmates asked me this. I did not get a chance to listen to the news that morning, but there was a massive earthquake in the city where my family is from in India. This really hit a nerve. The anatomy test was the last thing on my mind at that point. Fortunately, later that night I found out all of my family was accounted for. That still didn’t put my mind at ease. The evening news showed the devastation the earthquake did to an already impoverished part of India. At that time, I felt more selfish than ever before. Here I was living this comfortable life in the U.S. and attending medical school with one of my biggest worries of the day being an anatomy test. I wanted to go to India and assist the injured, but I knew that my lack of medical training would not allow me to do that. Excluding this experience, I have always thought that it is a duty of mine to give back to the country where I am from. Being the first physician in my family and having this opportunity to give back to the place where my parents grew up has always been one of my major long term goals. Family practice will offer me the diverse knowledge base to treat many different types of ailments.

Attending an osteopathic medical school has offered me the opportunity to rotate through many months of family practice. When making my decision to enter this specialty, I asked myself what months during my clerkships I was happiest, which attending physicians I had the best interactions with, and what patient populations I liked the most. The answers to all these questions drew me to family practice. Although I formed meaningful relationships with the inpatient population during my internal medicine rotation and was able to acquire vital medical knowledge, I felt unfulfilled in regards to the doctor-patient interaction in that environment and really missed the continuity of care. In my family practice experience, there was an abundant amount of clinical knowledge to gain and I found myself attracted to the type of relationship my attendings had with their patients. I was truly envious of the continuity of relationships that my attendings had formed with so many of their patients. The “medical visit” in the family practice clinic amazed me because of the amount of psychosocial issues that would be discussed. This required the family practice physician to go beyond the medical aspect of the visit and truly treat the person as a whole. It is much easier to have a patient be compliant and more honest about their health when the patient feels more at ease with their physician.

The public aid clinic on Big City’s Westside was a place where I further realized the importance of the family physician. My volunteer experience in that clinic reinforced the fact that not every patient has access to a separate pediatrician, gynecologist, or geriatric specialist. My love for educating patients on topics such as hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol and preventative medicine was easily fulfilled in this type of setting. Another one of my passions is to also treat children Family medicine, offered me this opportunity. This is where I realized that I want part of my time to be involved with clinics that provide healthcare to the underserved in Big City. The great thing about practicing medicine in Big City is that there are so many well-established free medical clinics all over the city and suburbs that doctors can donate their time at. I am confident that the underserved areas of will have more than enough spots available for family practice physicians to donate their time.

The bottom line is that family practice is both exciting and versatile. When a family physician goes into work she does not know what to expect. She could have a day full of common colds, orthopedic issues, and newly diagnosed diabetics. One can take all these tasks and consider them overburdening or view them as challenges. I have always found it easy to adjust to a constantly changing environment During and after my training, I want to be the type of family physician that my loved ones would want not only as their doctor, but also as part of their family unit.

My determination, resilience, and self-confidence are foundations of my personality and character that will be part of me throughout my residency, and when I am practicing as a family physician. My goal throughout this application process has to find a family practice residency program that plays a vital role in the community and a program that shares a passion for teaching, mentoring and showing residents that family practice is not just a practice of medicine but also a practice of how to work with people. I look forward to starting my family practice residency at your institution with enthusiasm, a willingness to work hard, learn, teach, and most importantly, to identify with my future patients so I can offer them the healthcare they deserve from a family physician.

Sample personal statement 3 for Family medicine program

Sample personal statement 4 for Family medicine program

My life experiences have prepared me for a career in family medicine. I find such a field to require genuine interest, dedication, and the ability to communicate and relate to patients of all age groups. Upon entering medical school with an interest skin conditions, I assumed that dermatology was the field for me. I soon discovered, however, that I was interested in treating the whole person, that I wanted a career that treats the entire body, mind and spirit.

Working with patients of diverse ages and backgrounds is essential to my happiness. As a physician, I strive to positively impact my patient’s lives. Through volunteering for Hospice during college and medical school, and working in a nursing home in high school, I have enjoyed working with the elderly. In addition, I have spent 2 years as an elementary school reading tutor and volunteered for a year in the NICU and Children’s Medical Center at the University of Florida. Building a rapport with teenagers as a camp counselor has proven both rewarding and insightful. All encompassing, family medicine allows me the opportunity to work with the pediatric, adult, and geriatric populations. A vast and diverse field, family medicine provokes my interest and will continue to excite me throughout my career.

Numerous life experiences have prepared me for this path. Traveling across the country with 35 teenagers for Big Tours and working as a Resident Assistant in a college dormitory exemplify my ability to work well with others. The oldest of four children, I have taken on the role of responsibility and leadership in my life. On an individual level, I have mentored a young child for the past several years, which has impacted us both greatly. Extracurricular activities have helped to mold me in the person I am today. Outside of medicine, I have experienced whitewater rafting down the Snake River, water skiing on Lake Tahoe and hiking through Bryce Canyon. I am not only adventurous and easy to get along with but I am also a dedicated hard worker who thrives on patient care.
Volunteering for several years in a family practice office has given me insight into the successful qualities of a family physician: patience, compassion and excellent clinical skills. My various work and volunteer experiences have confirmed that family medicine offers everything I want in a career – the ability to make a difference in the lives of patients while working in a field which I find exciting, challenging, and rewarding.

Much of my passion for family medicine stems from my desire to practice preventive medicine. The ability to retard or prevent the manifestations of disease inspires me. I intend to focus my future practice around this concept. Emphasis on treating the entire patient as a whole is also important to me. This holistic philosophy is essential to building strong relationships with patients. I want to become the best physician I can for my patients – a good listener, an excellent diagnostician, and a loyal confidant.
To achieve these goals I have high expectations for my residency program. To develop the clinical skills essential to becoming an excellent family physician I must train at an institution dedicated to academic excellence and superior patient care. A strong academic setting combined with my desire to succeed will mold me into a well-trained physician. In the future, I desire to work in a clinical setting with an academic affiliation, which allows me the opportunity to teach what I have been taught to others. Many experiences in my life have helped me decide, unequivocally, that the field of family medicine is the path for me. My desire to treat and heal patients’ medical and social troubles drives me to become a successful physician. I look forward to the future with excitement and optimism as I enter the field of family medicine.

Sample personal statement 5 for Family medicine program

Since the age of 6 years old, I found myself frequently in the emergency room due to severe asthma. It was frightening as a child, but I clearly recall the warm and friendly doctors who comforted me. Since I grew up on Welfare and Medi-Cal, it meant sometimes having to wait long hours before getting medical attention. While waiting, I would chat with other patients and found that I was overwhelmed by the vast array of existing illnesses. Today I am no longer overwhelmed by the intricacy’s of medical diseases, but instead I’m inspired by the challenges of caring for a broad spectrum of various aliments. This is one of the reasons I have chosen family medicine.

I am a University of State graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Physiology. I participated in an internship at State Medical Center in the operating room where I found that I enjoyed easing the anxieties of patients’ pre and post surgery. In addition, I worked with a paraplegic for one year who I cared for daily. My patient was extremely frustrated because he had to be entirely dependent on me for many daily functions. However, there was no greater fulfillment than to see him grow comfortable and trusting toward me because I not only cared for him medically, but I took the time to establish a strong bond. This experience helped me develop a great compassion and understanding of the difficulties patients have co-existing with their physical disabilities. My desire to launch a positive role in a patient’s recovery along with the long term interactions established through continual care, have been other factors that have sparked my further interest in pursuing Family Medicine.

The goal of improving my Spanish contributed to my decision to attend medical school at the University in Guadalajara, Mexico. I had the fortunate experience of working with Spanish speaking patients in a family practice clinic. I was able to follow the entire family history of many patients throughout three years. Being able to become an integral part of these patients’ lives is another crucial factor that causes me to seek family practice. During my last year of medical school, I participated in the pre-internship program at the Mexican Institute of Social Services which provided me with outstanding training. I enjoyed rotating through all of the various rotations; especially pediatric, obstetrics, dermatology, and geriatrics. Family practice is well suited for me because it encompasses a multitude of areas in medicine. I want to continually be faced with the challenges that family medicine offers such as diagnosing a wide-range of diseases from different specialties, instead of focusing on one particular disease or organ system.

I also enjoy working with the elderly and learned some of their fears when I took care of my most important patient yet, my mother. I took a semester off to care for my mother who was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer. Although it was extremely difficult emotionally watching her suffer daily, I knew that I had done my best in caring for her. I learned that many elderly patients neglect routine medical care and are hesitant or afraid to seek medical attention. As a consequence, they endanger their health or lives. My experiences have helped me mature greatly and have made me realize the critical responsibility as a primary care provider to continually teach preventive care.

I am applying to your residency program in family medicine because it is a well rounded community based program with broad-based training and a high level of responsibility that will prepare me to practice in settings comprised of a diverse population. In the future, I see myself as training future medical students. In addition, I plan to serve as a health advocate and mentor to children and adolescents. I feel that I will be an excellent role model for children, especially those in underserved communities, since I too grew up in an underserved area myself. I would like to return to my community or an underserved community where I feel that I am well prepared to fulfill the challenges and needs of my patients.

I am confident that I will benefit from your residency program because I have learned how to work and interact well with patients, families, doctors, and my colleagues through my life experiences. I also will never forget my earliest impressions of the dedicated and kind doctors from the emergency room. This is the type of Doctor I will be for all my patients

Sample personal statement 6 for Family medicine program

“ Some men see things as they are and say, WHY; I dream of things that never were and say, WHY NOT” –Robert Frost.

With this dream and vision along with many years of hard work and dedication, I am ready to embark in the exciting field of Family Medicine. Family Medicine adds a unique element to the practice of medicine that is very important: empathy. Family Physicians have compassionate beliefs and display caring values towards patient care. My choice to enter the area of Family Medicine expands this fascination and I am content, confident, and certain with this decision.

Beginning with grade school and throughout medical school, I made every effort to become the person and the physician I imagined. I learned early that two qualities produce a great physician: leadership and dedication. I realized ahead of time the importance of leadership and commitment as I participated in various sport activities in college. I enjoyed volunteering for my church in the community outreach program where I coordinated our youth group to assist various homeless shelters in Detroit. I later had the opportunity to be a teaching assistant for undergraduate and medical students in Anatomy class. I have gained many experiences by contributing to others the unselfish attitude, understanding, and dedication needed to be a respectful leader.

I was devoted to reach my aspirations of becoming a physician when I left my family and loved ones to attend the basic science portion of medical school abroad. This experience not only provided me with an outstanding and solid medical education, but also allowed me to mature and grow personally and professionally. I had the unique opportunity to discover how medicine was conducted in the Caribbean and to apply what I learned there to better my skills here at home. During my third year of clinical rotations in medical school, I was selected by the attending physician to lead my Internal Medicine group and to co-lead in my Surgery and Psychiatry clerkships. Furthermore, I was chosen by my Internal Medicine attending to work as a student assistant. My obligations were to admit, conduct a thorough physical exam and history, write progress notes, and dictate discharge summaries on detoxification patients. I learned to be proficient in patient management and to carry responsibilities in a structured and competent manner. These experiences have provided me the tools and knowledge to become the physician I want to be.

Many of the achievements I have attained are due to the encouragement and help of my family. Born in California and raised in New York, my parents have inspired in me the strong moral principles and loyalty that have made me the person I am today. Being the oldest of five children, our family was a close group largely because of our spiritual faith. Church service and fellowship was an integral part of our family upbringing and continues to be a vital part of my life. I am also exceptionally grateful for my wife for her immeasurable love and support.

Family Medicine best balances my abilities and assures my career ambitions. During my clinical rotations in Large City, I observed many aspects of medicine. I enjoyed working with patients in every age range and particularly enjoyed helping and solving their individual problems. The philosophy of Family Medicine is what especially appeals to me. It is important to me the idea of the continuity of care, being an active advocate, and most importantly to provide competent and complete health care.
I desire to enter an exciting family practice residency program that will provide the needed training to work in a private practice or to teach in an academic or hospital setting. I also wish for a friendly and supportive environment where the faculty, residents, and staff work together as a collaborative team. Finally, I seek a residency program not only to facilitate my future career in medicine, but also would encourage me to continue to develop into the physician I envisioned. My greatest goal is to challenge myself to be the best physician I can be, without any regrets, and to “dream of things that never were and say, Why Not”.

Sample personal statement 7 for Family medicine program

As sage smoke rises from a shell full of embers, I watch Sandra waft the smoke over her body, washing away any reticence she had about sharing her past. She holds an eagle’s feather to help provide the strength to talk about her struggles with alcohol and drugs. I witnessed her testimony in the Healing Circle, a Native-American tradition, adapted to treat clients at the Healing Center. Part of my Family Medicine rotation was spent studying the impact of cultural activities on drug and alcohol rehabilitation. While I had seen Maggie in clinic for her chronic joint pain due to rheumatoid arthritis and had discussed treatment options for her somatic complaints, I saw how the Healing Circle catered to her emotional and spiritual needs, giving her the courage to admit how badly alcohol and drugs had damaged her health, and to give her the resolve to abstain from further abuse.

This experience reinforced my belief that primary care must incorporate people’s emotional, cultural, and spiritual well-being with their physical health. I first realized the importance of primary care during my work in Chad where I encountered medical emergencies that could have been handled by a general practitioner. From this experience, my interest in medicine and primary care grew. Since then, I have taken special interest in activities that focus on the well-being of others such as providing emotional support to people with developmental disabilities, educating middle school children on HIV, and coordinating activities at the Retirement Home. I particularly enjoyed my Primary Care Track continuity clinic where I provided healthcare at a Med/Peds clinic to an underserved population in East Urban City. There, I learned the uniqueness of different cultures and personalities, fine-tuned my interpersonal skills, and came to understand the importance of social and personal issues to a patient’s overall health. All of these experiences have served to reinforce my interest in primary care.

I believe that these experiences in diverse socio-economic and cultural settings with people of all ages have uniquely prepared me for a career in Family Medicine. I thoroughly believe in working with family units and addressing the patient as a “whole person”. My two-month clinical rotation in Alaska reinforced this where I was impressed by the family practitioner’s ability to handle a wide variety of situations, from a pediatric case of asthma exacerbation, to an 84 year-old woman’s collagenous colitis flare. I also enjoyed coordinating patient care with other specialists and social service groups, educating people on preventative care, and helping patients understand their ailments. Furthermore, I found the opportunity in family practice, to establish long-term relationships with each patient and family.

My life experiences, clinical rotations, and education make me certain that a career in Family Medicine is right for me. I enjoy approaching complex problems in a systematic manner. My previous studies in biological and environmental engineering honed these skills and I use them in my clinical rotations and research. I enjoy taking a problem apart and dividing it into organ based systems, looking for connections, and searching for the root of a problem. My strengths lie in my ability to address and incorporate a person’s cultural and emotional well-being while tackling a generalized problem and narrowing the options down to a single source. Ultimately, my goal is to find a program with a diverse cultural and socio-economic patient population, with an excellent community outreach and ancillary programs that address patients’ mental and social needs. As a family physician, I feel I have the best opportunity to impact a person’s overall well-being and at the same time further enrich my life with culture and diversity.

Sample personal statement 8 for Family medicine program

My interest in family medicine has developed from personal and professional experiences over a long period of time. My father being a family physician was my first source of inspiration. I spent hours watching him at work and was impressed with bond he had with his patients and their families.
My interest in family practice was further heightened from my experiences in medical school. Volunteer work in underserved areas and clinical rotations during the last two years of medical school exposed me to a wide variety of cases from the prenatal through the geriatric stages of life. I realized that managing the health care of patients in these different age groups is challenging and intellectually appealing to me. I also felt that familiarity with the family system is essential in performing complete assessment and treatment of a patient’s condition. Family practice provides exposure to the full spectrum of problems and issues in medicine and provides an opportunity not only to connect with a patient but also with their families. Family practice gives scope of practice to the needs of the community, puts me on the front line of diagnosis and planning, and helps nurture long-term relationships with patients. For this reason, family practice is the most comprehensive and most attractive type of medicine to me.

Most importantly, I realized it would suit me perfectly. Having taken care of my grandmothers during their end stages of life and being a mother of two, I have developed tremendous mental and physical stamina, learned to think quickly and remain focused, and work with patience and diligence. My fine eye for detail, interpersonal skills, and enthusiasm to work with a wide variety of patients will come a long way to mold me into an empathetic and successful family physician.

Throughout my well-rounded and diverse education I have tried to keep an open mind and expand my horizons. The decision to come to the US for graduate medical education was a step in that direction. My internship training after medical school had provided me hands-on clinical experience to wide variety of cases in all facets of medicine. The exposure I gained as an observer in pediatrics and internal medicine, as a research assistant and as a hospice care volunteer has further honed my clinical skills and added to my personal growth and social awareness. During this time, I attended daily rounds with residents, participated in taking medical history, discussed differential diagnosis and management, interpreted lab values and regularly attended noon conferences and grand rounds. My research has led to three articles, one of which has been accepted for publication by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. I continue to work as an observer at UMDNJ pediatrics emergency department while I prepare for Step 3.

I seek a residency program that will provide intensive clinical experience with a diverse patient population, promote patient education and prevention, encourage participation in community service, and requires significant resident responsibility for patient care. Though I welcome the excitement and intellectual challenge, what I want the most from my career is to channel a lifetime of energy into something meaningful and worthwhile. I am thoroughly committed to pursue a career in family medicine and I can only hope that I am able to give the profession as much as I think it can give me.

I am applying to a family practice residency program with a strong belief that it would bring the best of me and help me achieve my future goals. I will bring energy, enthusiasm, integrity and creativity to the program and will be committed to my work, fellow staff and to all my patients. After completion of residency, I plan to pursue fellowship in geriatrics. My ultimate goal is to dedicate myself to serve an underserved population while committing time to research and education in geriatrics.

Sample personal statement 9 for Family medicine program

I am applying to a family practice residency program with a strong belief that it would bring the best of me and help me achieve my future goals. I will bring energy, enthusiasm, integrity, and creativity to the program and will be committed to my work, fellow staff, and to all my patients. After completion of residency, I plan to pursue a fellowship in geriatrics. My ultimate goal is to dedicate myself to serve an underserved population while committing time to research and education in geriatrics.

Sample personal statement 10 for Family medicine program

My path to family medicine was not a straight one. Drawn to improve community health care upon graduating from medical school, I joined ObGyn training. It broughta rewarding and immense satisfaction to have primary contact to patient care. I learned to manage common medical problems and emergency situations in ObGyn. However, I realized I could serve my community better if I could utilize my knowledge and clinical experience to help patients in all age groups and a wider variety of medical issues. This thought lead me to family medicine.

My interest in family medicine grew exponentially during my observerships. I found that preventive medicine which encourages patients to become health conscious through education and life-style modification was very attractive. I also enjoyed working with the elderly and learned of their neglect of routine medical care as well as fears to seek medical attention. I was inspired by family physicians. They combined their medical expertise with a personal commitment to understand their patients’ problems, recognize and respect different health belief systems, and empower patients to participate in health care decisions. This is the doctor I want to be: a person who acts not only as a physician but also as a patients’ family member, who treats the person holistically. The observerships confirmed that family medicine is the speciality for me.

Postgraduate training in ObGyn helped me develop qualities that are essential for the family physician. It gave me tremendous mental and physical stamina and taught me to think quickly and remain focused under stressful conditions. I enjoyed applying medical knowledge to clinical situations and using my hand skills to help patients. I was

satisfied with the close interaction with my patients and learned a great deal from each patient. Whether it was an oncology patient in her final days of life, an infertile couple trying to conceive a child, or an obstetrical patient who miscarried a pregnancy, I always empathized with their situation and made a difference in their lives. Having helped improve patients’ emotional and physical well being was gratifying to me.

Recent clinical observerships offered me the incredible opportunity of familiarizing myself with the US health care system and learning medical ethics. I realized the importance of confidentiality in medical practice as well as the uniqueness of different cultures and personalities, and to understand the importance of social and personal issues to a patient’s overall health. Through educating patients and coordinating patient care with other specialists and social service groups my interpersonal skills have improved greatly. All these experiences have further prepared me for my residency training in family medicine.

Outside of the wards, I have strived to build a solid foundation of medical knowledge through my pathology/pathophysiology training and clinical research in order to accommodate a broad spectrum of various diseases. With my hard work and problem solving ability, I have accomplished several research papers in peer reviewed journals. Growing up in a large loving family helped me learn the invaluable attributes of being a team player and an excellent listener. My cultural background will make me unique to minority patients and to provide valuable access and service to those patients.

I believe with my enthusiasm, hard work, and my past clinical experience I will be able to make an immediate impact on my family medicine program. I look forward to the satisfaction of undertaking specialized training and education, which combined with my personal abilities, will allow me to contribute to the prolongation of life and to the alleviation of suffering in others. My career goal is to be a well-trained physician who is dedicated to making a difference for every patient in a community.