med school personal statement

Talk about anything you feel is relevant and "different" from what others can offer.
e.g. volunteering might have helped you see a range of patients who are all different and what life skills you learnt from that.
Life skills are skills you learn by experiencing things you generally don't do much is school.
And a strong opening paragraph will hook the tutor reading it so its good to be unique but nothing too fancy,
mentioning a particular area will show them you did own research and will show you are actually interested.

Some medical schools want us to have 'life skills'- what does this mean?

I would guess things like team working and communication skills - things that you would need as a doctor

I realise med schools want us to be optimistic about helping people. But would it be good to write that this isn't always the reality, not everyone can be helped?

I think that it is good to show awareness of the realities of medicine, although it may not be easy to write it in a PS

When reflecting on work experience and volunteering, do they want us to
write about what have learnt about the job or how it made us feel? If can't do both of these as my personal statement will be too long

More about what you've learned - be reflective and say WHY

Do we have to mention a particular area of medicine we're interested in e.g. paediatrics. How can i convey across my passion for medicine?

no - focus on getting through your med degree first! Just talk about why being a doctor interests you

How important is the opening/conclusion? Surely they'll be about the same- why i want to study med. Also, do they want us to say that we will be able to cope with the stress of being doctors?

It is fairly important, but don't get caught up in trying to make it too unique/out there. Just be honest. I think you could say a bit about what you do to destress, but don't make a huge deal of it

Do we have to talk about medical developments/the state of the NHS/ BBC health?

​If you have the space it might be a good idea, but don't worry about it too much

Thank you

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