Growing up in a family full of people with science backgrounds, I have always desired to make my own mark in this field. Back in India, my parents work as physicians and my earliest memories are that of accompanying them to their clinics and various hospitals.. Ever since then, I have been curious about  the role of the man-made/ artificial objects in modern medicine that largely helped the workings of the human body. It enthrals me how people survived the diseases that are persistent today, decades ago with limited, if not non-existent, technological innovation. These interests grew on me and I started enjoying biology classes at school as they took me a step further towards answering the questions that I had been contemplating. . As a next step in this quest, I decided to apply to medical school and came across St. George’s University, Grenada. The island was heaven and hell at the same time. 

This is all about getting to be a doctor. Now you are a doctor, and you need to show why you are a great doctor for the program you are applying too. You should avoid the concept of being an FMG, and you soould never put a negative statement (in haveaven and hell at the same time”

In my culture, psychiatric conditions were always considered to be a taboo. Rather than following the norm of ignorance, I grew more curious about psychology. I found it a free-flowing river with no boundaries – a flow that could get turbulent at times – which fascinated me and the uncertainty kept me on my feet! The popular medical drama ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ had shown me the trailer of the life that I would have but looking back, there was nothing that could prepare me for what I had coming.

A very negative way to comment on a culture. Also referencing a popular and inaccurate medical show is not helpful.

In my culture, psychiatric conditions were always considered to be a taboo. Rather than following the norm of ignorance, I grew more curious about psychology as a subject. I found it to be a free-flowing river with no boundaries – a flow that could get turbulent at times – which fascinated me and the uncertainty kept me on my feet! The popular medical drama ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ had shown me the trailer of the life that I would have but looking back, there was nothing that could prepare me for what I had coming.When I started my clinical years, I noticed that the real world was nothing like ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. My core psych rotation gave me a better insight into the variety of things that a psychiatrist has to deal with on a regular basis. Witnessing patients being compliant with their medicines and adequately performing their daily routine was a sight to behold. Watching someone untangle the complexity of the human mind  was like a rollercoaster ride without any brakes! An instance that I remember as clear as day is when I assisted the medical team to deescalate the situation when one of my patients got abusive during an interview. This taught me how strong words can be when used at the appropriate moment along with the importance of physical proximity. By the end of it, I started missing the roller coaster ride. Humans being social animals crave the company of others which is something that the psych patients lack. Being a good a listener put me right in their good books. I believe that every experience from a person provides a better insight into their lives which is especially useful when treating psych patients.

“has to deal” is very negative.. Don’t write “I believe” – all of this is what you believe it is your persornalstatment. This is about what you observed and that your inaccurate expectations of medicine were inaccurate. How did you know know the power of words by this point in your education. You need to get across it was the way they used the words, and better yet it should be how you used the words or got through to a patient, not how you saw others. this is about how you are going to be a good doctor, not how you can recognize a good doctor. .

By the end of it, I started missing the roller coaster ride. Humans being social animals crave the company of others which is something that the psych patients lack. Being a good listener put me right in their good books. I believe that every experience from a person provides a better insight into their lives which is especially useful when treating psych patients.

This does not seem to mean anything. The end of what? A roler coaster ride often is a negative conotation. Don’t write “I belive”. How do you want that last sentence to come across? It doesn’t realy tell me any thing about you.

Through my medical student experience in psychiatry, I learned being inquisitive with patients is never a good thing. During my time there, I would encourage patients to look forward to things that gave them pleasure. One such occasion is when I encouraged one of my patients suffering with schizoaffective disorder to join computer groups as she was quite interested in computers. This gave  her the incentive to get out of her room more often and socialise – something she was not seen doing before. Being a cheerful person definitely helped in dealing with the patients better and uplifting their mood. The patients called me ‘Sunny’ because according to them, I was ‘a dose of sunshine in their daily lives’ and I consider this tag as a badge of honor. However, it has not all been rosy. Since the unconscious mind is better evolved in a psych patient, they spurt out words without a filter which at times felt hurtful. But as time passed, I learnt to not pay heed to it and do my duties to the best of my abilities. 

• , I learned being inquisitive with patients is never a good thing. : This sounds a little counter intuitive to what I have been taught. I do not think it comes across as what you may have meant.
• Using I would, I could, however, “has taught” etc.. This is a very passive way of writing. You need to Say I encoraged. No extra words.

My experience in this field has taught me the importance of patience as a person’s behavior and thinking takes a lifetime to alter. 

Fortunately, patience is a virtue I have acquired through my previous personal and professional experiences which I can see translating into great doctor patient relationships. 

Can you show that rather than tell it in the PS?

Considering the fact that psychiatry is a subjective field, more patients tend to be over diagnosed in this field than in any other. Our patients have struggled countlessly through various stages in their lives. During my years of residency, I aim to be able to correctly diagnose patients so that they can avoid facing unnecessary trauma due to an incorrect diagnosis. Another reason for this is to ensure that it does not further deteriorate the patient’s condition. 

You are commenting on a specialty that you are not yet part of, nor have the experience to make the types of claims you have ” more patients tend to be over diagnosed in this field than any other”. there is no basis for this that you have talked about. it sounds like you are demeaning the field of psychiatry and saying they are doing a bad job. I understand that you are trying to say that you will do a good job; you have not gotten this point across well and insult the reader. You need to talk about the skills you have as a doctor, commenting on psychiatry in such a negative way will not get you a position in residency of fellowship. This will likely result in going unmatched, and labeled an ignorant know it all.

At the end of my path, I aspire to publish a book from a psychiatrist’s perspective, describing the experiences they have throughout their residency period and how this field does not fail to astonish and challenge.

This is not the best way to talk about your future. Your personal statement is a cover letter that shows who you are as a doctor. You need to show what you will do with the outstanding training you will get… The conclusion should  focus on what you want to do. If you are applying to programs that do not offer these things, do not include it in the personal statement that you send to that program.  If you said you wanted to heal underseved Chinese immagrants, certian hospitals would not be the place if they do not have that population locally, and that line would not help in your PS.