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I've had the opportunity to review a lot

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of different personal statements for people

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who are going to medical school . I've

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been a medical school admissions interviewer and

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I've written my own personal statement as I

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journey to medical school . So today

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, on this episode of the BMAID podcast

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, we're going to tackle how to write a compelling

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personal statement , and I'm even going to share

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parts of my personal statement with you that

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helped me to get two full-ride scholarships

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to different medical schools . So

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before we get started , I want you to first

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follow BlackMed Connect on YouTube

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. If you're listening on a podcast platform

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, be sure to follow and subscribe . Now

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let's jump right into the episode

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. Welcome

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back to the BlackMed Connect podcast . I'm

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your host , dr Jasmine Weiss , and we share

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inspiring stories of Black physicians

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and physicians in training , and

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today I'm going to share with you three tips

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to help you write a compelling personal

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statement . So the first tip

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I have for you is to make sure you

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crush the opening act , just

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like in a play or in a movie , when the action

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gets started . You want to make sure

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your first paragraph of your personal

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statement is something that's very attention

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grabbing . It's something that captures the

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reader's attention and I know this

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sounds unique because you're writing an essay

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to get into medical school . But individuals

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are reading a lot of personal statements and you

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want to do your best to stand out . So

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let me share with you a snippet from my own

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personal statement . When I was applying to medical

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school as a child , it

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was very common for me to stare out of the window

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as the school bus would go by . All

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I wanted to do is go to school , but the

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wheezing , the coughing and the nebulizer

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treatments made this an impossible

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feat . Multiple stays in the hospital

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and recurring doctor's office visits due to my

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asthma were absolutely dreadful

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. The only source of comfort at the doctor's

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office was the pediatrician , whose kind

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words always eased my mind and

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helped me with my illness . My

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experiences with asthma , coupled with

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my pediatrician's compassion , warmth

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and ability to relate to me during my time of

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sickness , sparked my interest in

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medicine At a young age . I

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knew that one day I wanted to reciprocate

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the generosity afforded to me in an effort

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to care for suffering individuals . So

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this was my opening act and

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this was a way to make sure that the readers

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knew my passion for medicine was

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personal and very deep for me . So

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make sure you figure out what's

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important to you and showcase that

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experience in your opening paragraph

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. The second tip I have for you

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is to make sure you showcase your personal

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experiences throughout your personal statement

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. This is not the time to

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be shy . I want you to be sure

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you think about activities that you've

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done that you really really valued

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, that really helped you solidify your

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interest in medicine , and this

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isn't the time to be superficial . I

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want you to be very specific about what

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you learned during the experience , how

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it impacted others and impacted patients

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, and ultimately , how that experience

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helped you move forward as

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you decided to go to medical school

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. Let me share this next excerpt

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with you from my personal statement , where I highlighted

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a particular experience . There was

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a day when every single patient that came into the

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office suffered from high blood pressure , diabetes

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or high cholesterol . A common

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thread amongst the majority of these patients was

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that these individuals were from minority populations

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. While working as an assistant

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office manager for a durable medical equipment

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company , I also noticed that a majority

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of the patients were coming in for diabetic

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supports and motor wheelchairs

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due to amputation , and these individuals

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were often African Americans who were on

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Medicare or Medicaid . Having

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these personal experiences allowed me to see

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the vast effects of lifestyle

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diseases and how they impacted minority

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communities . Being that minorities

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collectively have less access to quality

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, affordable healthcare in the United States , it

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is my desire to be a part of the solution by

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serving underserved populations . As

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the daughter , granddaughter and great-granddaughter

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of three women , each of whom have diabetes

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and high blood pressure , I can identify

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with patients and families who are trying

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to help their loved ones make lifestyle changes

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due to these illnesses . So

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, again , this highlights how my

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own personal family experiences and

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my work experiences and shadowing

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opportunities and shadowing experiences that

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I've had helped me to really become

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interested and passionate about health

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and underserved communities . So

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that's tip number two Make sure you

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showcase the experiences that are important to you

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and why they've helped you to decide

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on a career in medicine . My

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third tip for you is to make sure

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you are authentic when you write your

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personal statement . This is about

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your unique journey , so don't

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try to copy anyone else . Don't

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look at the framework or the way in

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which other personal statements have been written . You

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can use , ultimately , the same kind of opening

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paragraph talk about your experiences

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and , conclusion , make sure you talk

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about something that is very near and dear

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to you . Remember , this personal

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statement will be something that schools will

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read to get to know you better . So

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you don't wanna pick an experience that you think

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is important just because it may have

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been the most popular or most prominent

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experience you had . Pick something that was

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really impactful to you and your journey

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to medicine . So that is my third tip

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for you Make sure you are authentic

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when you're writing your application and

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writing your personal statement . My

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final bonus tip I have for you is

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that this process takes time . So

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I want you to make sure you take some time

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just to brainstorm about what

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type of topic you wanna talk about during

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your personal statement . I want you to

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reflect back on different volunteer

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experiences you've had , any patient

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care experiences you've had . What has happened

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with you personally and your health , or maybe

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even your family or a friend . Make

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sure you take the time to reflect on how all

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of those experiences have shaped you and

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made you the person you are as you pursue

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medical school . So when writing that

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personal statement , I want you to take the time

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to brainstorm . So that's my

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bonus tip for you . So I hope

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you've enjoyed this episode where I shared

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three compelling tips to help you tackle

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your personal statement . I want you to

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remember to hit that personal statement

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hard in the first paragraph . Make sure

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you have a great opening paragraph that

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is interesting and exciting and

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gets the reader engaged in reading your

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personal statement . Then I want to

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make sure you highlight and showcase your personal

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experiences that helped you to

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decide why medicine is a career that's

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important to you . And then don't

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forget to be authentic . Write about something

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that was meaningful to you and impactful

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to you as you write your personal statement

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. I hope you have enjoyed this episode

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. Next week we're gonna also tackle

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a little bit more about the common mistakes

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that people make when writing their personal statements

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. So make sure you tune in . Next week

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. Don't forget to follow

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BlackMed Connect on all podcast

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platforms . And until next time

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, always remember to dream without

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limits . No mistakes

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will be easier than ever in your journey .