journey2med
- Sep 20
- 5 min read

The Medicine Personal Statement – A Guide to structuring and Writing it

What is the Personal Statement?

By now, many of you will have finished your UCAT and should start focusing on planning and writing your personal statements.

The medicine personal statement is a crucial part of the application process and is your chance to showcase your passion for medicine, relevant experiences that show your understanding of the career, and qualities that make you suited to pursue medicine. Many students struggle to write their statements, as they try and seek perfection.

It is so important to remember, that universities want to see what your motivation to study medicine is, and why they should pick YOU. They are not seeking perfection. Your Medicine Personal Statement should be a maximum of 4,000 characters, roughly 500 words, and must not exceed 47 lines.

Different medical schools will use your personal statement in multiple ways. In the selection process of some universities – the personal statement may not matter at all. Alternatively, some may use it to ask you questions in the interview. For this reason, you should be very familiar with your statement and shouldn’t include anything you can’t elaborate on.

The Medic Portal and The UKCAT People have great guides on how universities may use your personal statement. Knowing how they will use it is important as it will let you decide how much time you should put into it. For example, when applying to universities that place a large emphasis on your statement – you should ideally be more scrutinising with how you write it and what experiences you would and wouldn’t include.

How do I start my Personal Statement?

What should I include?

There is a basic structure that is suggested by most websites and tutors. The Medic Portal summarises it nicely. Three main elements should be included in your statement:

1. Motivation:

· What inspires you to want to become a Doctor?

2. Exploration:

· Do you know what a career in medicine entails?

· What have you learnt about medicine?

· This is where you reflect on work experience, volunteering, wider reading and research you have done. For example, as a graduate student, I used this part to reflect on what I learnt that made me suitable for a career in medicine.

3. Suitability:

· This ties in with your exploration – why are you specifically a good fit for medicine?

· Throughout your statement you should be consistently reflecting on why you are suitable – think about the six core values of the NHS – how does your experience tie into these?

What shouldn’t I include?

When writing your Personal Statement, it's important to stay concise and avoid unnecessary details, given the limited word count.

Here are some common mistakes to avoid:

Don’t forget to check for spelling and grammar errors, and have someone else review your statement to get a second opinion.

How should I structure my Personal statement?

You might now be wondering; how can I include all of this in 4000 characters? I am going to suggest a structure with parts of my statement so that it makes it easier for you.

1. Introduction: What motivates you to pursue a career in medicine?

· Your motivation should always be the first thing you should write about – however, this can be hard. To combat this, I wrote my introduction and conclusion last.

· At this point, you should avoid cliches like “ I have wanted to study medicine since I was young”.

2. Work Experience: What specific experiences have you gained to determine if medicine is the right path for you?

3. Supra-curricular: In what other ways have you explored the field of medicine?

· I intertwined my points for work experience and supra-curricular activities – this allowed me to reflect better on my experiences. This is a great structure to follow, whether you are applying as a grad or an undergrad.

· Here is an example you could follow, although it is a graduate entry example, you could still follow this structure:

My dissertation project on current and future treatments for depression entailed analysing numerous studies. This experience helped me develop my research and critical analysis skills, cultivated my resilience and helped me to be more methodical. It highlighted how fundamental evidence-based practice is in providing optimal patient care. It also showed me how fast new treatments arise, emphasising the importance of lifelong learning. I enjoyed learning about the development of new therapies whilst writing my dissertation, which increased my desire to study medicine.

To learn more about mental disorders, I have started volunteering at a care home. I learnt more about capacity and the protection of those unable to make informed decisions. While getting to know the residents, I learned about DOLS and its consideration to ensure a patient's best interests are prioritised and protected. This made me more aware of the need to advocate for the vulnerable and promote empathetic and respectful care practices within the healthcare system.

4. Extracurricular Activities: What out-of-school activities are you involved in, and how have they contributed to your development of key skills?

· Ideally, your focus should be more on your extra and supra-curriculars, especially for universities like Oxford, Cambridge, UCL and Imperial. Additionally, as a graduate entry student, you should also be fixating on those more than extracurriculars.

· However, I suggest that you briefly touch on these – no more than a short paragraph.

· Here is an example:

My role as events head for a two-week charity project was demanding, requiring strict organisation and time management. I developed the ability to solve disagreements, problem-solve and organise under pressure. I also fostered my critical thinking skills and the ability to make decisions in stressful situations. Being vice president of the Pharmacology Society helped develop my leadership and teamwork skills. Painting in my spare time helps me to unwind and has improved my attention to detail.

5. Conclusion: Summarize your statement with a brief closing remark or two.

· This should reflect on everything that you have just written about – highlighting that you understand the difficulties and the positive attributes of a career in medicine. It should also link back to your motivation:

· Here is an example:

With all my experiences, I have realised that a career in medicine can be challenging, due to the emotional and physical pressure within the healthcare sector. The ethical dilemmas I encountered reinforced my passion. My commitment to lifelong learning, combined with my interpersonal skills, will provide me with an ideal frame of mind to pursue a challenging but highly rewarding career.