title: The personal statement for residency application: review and guidance.
abstract: All applicants to US residency programs are required to write a personal statement. Recent reports of plagiarism and homogeneity in these freeform essays suggest the need for better guidance in this process. The authors review the historical and current role of the personal statement and provide a practical framework for writing a unique and effective personal statement, which will help both applicants and residency directors to maximize their chances of a successful match.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency Program and Harvard Medical School, Office for Multicultural Careers Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA. carbelaez@partners.org
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arbelaez
authors.forename: Ishani
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ganguli
mesh_terms: D002321:Career Choice; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D009042:Motivation; D015714:Plagiarism; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D014481:United States; D014956:Writing