The Medfools Anesthesiology Personal Statement Library is now open!
These sample anesthesiology residency personal statements are here for your viewing pleasure (fully anonymous). We’re hoping to add more in the future, including Pre-Med personal statements. If you’ve got one to add to the free library, don’t forget to contribute yours.
ANESTHESIOLOGY RESIDENCY PERSONAL STATEMENT
I have decided to enter the field of Anesthesiology with a scope to further specialize in critical care medicine. Anesthesiology offers the perfect blend of the mental challenges seen in internal medicine with the direct, hands on approach of surgery into an amalgam that sustains my desire to keep learning and practice medicine. The variety of cases that I will encounter in anesthesia will enable me to work in a field that will test my medical knowledge and creative skills to individualize patient care. I also appreciate the multitude of career options that exist within the field of anesthesia.
Medical school was undoubtedly the most challenging and enriching time of my life. The early years of medical college provided a strong foundation in basic medical sciences. I loved patho-physiology and was fascinated by the way pharmacological agents could modify disease outcomes. During my clerkships, my primary goal was to develop my clinical skills. As I rotated through the various specialties, I began to get a better understanding of what I found interesting. I discovered that I was drawn to the operating room, specifically to anesthesiology. I could apply my knowledge of pharmacology to predict and observe physiologic responses to drugs and how it could be used to manipulate these processes to allow healing, normalization of function and relief of pain. I found that an anesthesiologist appeared to be the only doctor in an OR responsible for taking care of a patient in entirety. The complexities of assessing preoperative risk, supporting life functions during surgery and later treating patients in the ICU was invigorating. Furthermore, I enjoyed learning procedures that can make critical difference during surgery and save a patients life.
After graduation, I gathered clinical experience by working in three of the best medical centers in India. As I worked in various departments in medicine, it was the critical care unit I found most stimulating. I loved the dynamic environment of the ICU, the thought process and procedures that went to keep the critically ill alive and steer them away from harms way. Pursuing a career in critical care after Anesthesiology training is the most complete as this specialty offers the opportunity to learn many aspects of medical and surgical care and from a wide array of conditions from obstetrics to intensive care to the operating room.
I have several attributes that will make me an excellent
anesthesiologist. First, with the variety of experiences that I garnered in both surgical and medical fields I developed a strong knowledge base and the desire to further my knowledge in the field of Anesthesiology. Second, I am a logical thinker who can process and solve complex problems promptly. Third, I enjoy working in a team with the goal of attaining the best outcome for the patient. I am flexible, capable of improvisation if required. Finally, I have a strong interest in scientific research. My research experiences include both clinical and basic science research in diabetes and the retina. I can study papers, analyze data, draw conclusions and most importantly, raise new questions. These experiences helped me develop my ability to multitask and appreciate the necessity for attention to detail. Fifth, I have excellent interpersonal and listening skills. This coupled with my compassion will help me work with families and patients stressed by illness and surgery.
To further explore my interest in Anesthesiology and critical care I gained clinical experience at the VA hospital at Small Rock in the Anesthesia Department and in the SICU where I enjoyed my interaction with faculty and achieved a familiarity with the way the OR and the SICU functions in the United States. I am grateful to the residents as they extended their camaraderie to me and made me feel like a member of their team. This experience has simply reassured me that Anesthesiology and critical care medicine is my calling.
I am seeking a strong academic program that cultivates learning, research and independent thinking, where residents are given extensive responsibilities under the close supervision of excellent faculty. I am confident that with my zeal, commitment, perseverance and last but not least my attitude of ‘doing what it takes to make a positive difference, I will become an indispensable member of my team.