personal statement for pathology residency samples

Pathology Residency Personal Statement Examples

Reading over pathology personal statement examples can be of utmost help in composing your own personal statement. You cannot allow the blank page to conquer you, but when you find yourself unable to proceed, taking a look at what others have written will be your greatest boon.

How to prepare for residency applications will necessarily include writing the perfect personal statement to send out to programs. Even if you are in one of the medical schools with the best match rates , you will still benefit from standing out in every way, including your personal statement.

Even if you already know everything about writing style, tone, and structure, even if you have all of your past accomplishments on hand, it can still be a daunting task to write out a personal statement. It’s a great comfort reading example statements, which is why we present them here for your edification.

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Article Contents 10 min read

Pathology personal statement example #1.

I have to assume that most people don’t find their true calling while being covered in blood and surrounded by sundered body parts and organs. But there I was in the pathology lab, after a particularly grueling session, with a smile under my mask, and an understanding that this was where I wanted to be. 

Any lab was home to me, ever since I was little my parents gave me a “kid’s science kit”. They are both scientists themselves, and are the ones who spurred my natural curiosity about the world.

When I was a little boy I would ask questions about why moths are attracted to light or what makes a bat come out in darkness. They would rarely give the answer. They would start me on my journey of discovery, and I would move forward to learn. I learned how to set up very rudimentary experiments from them, and I did so often, learning about the natural world.

This paid off when I was enrolled in the gifted program. I was taking high school courses in junior high, and would continue to excel academically.

Unfortunately, I must stress that word, “academically”. I found that a lot of my friends didn’t really like me in the advanced program, and as much fun as I had there, I was – I admit – becoming insufferable. My friends let me know this, and we got into a lot of fights.

After a while, I started to flub my grades in an attempt to just “Be normal”.

My life didn’t get back on track until one evening when I heard that one of my friends – Dale – was in a car accident and was on life support. In his hospital room, I remember thinking how small he looked.

I felt guilty for not being a better friend to Dale, and so I started volunteering at the hospital, hoping to help him as best I could. I found I loved that, too, and had an aptitude for much of the work that was being offered me at the facility.

“Five letter word. Neckwear for a highlander.” Ascot. A Scot. That was the first cryptic crossword clue that I ever solved, and I was happier for that small victory than if I’d run a marathon.

I am a puzzle-solver. Crossword puzzles are my favorite ones to crank out, and I cannot consume enough of them. Much of my spare time is devoted to puzzle-solving, and when it came time to choose a path in life and a vocation, I wanted to solve puzzles. “Puzzle solver” isn’t on any of the forms, though, and so I was stumped as to this puzzle: what should I do with my life?

To make some money for university tuition I was a lifeguard. I remember being mostly bored, often doing a crossword puzzle nestled beside me in the lifeguard seat. Fourteen-down, seven letters… Then a splash moved my eyes from the page. It was a “wrong” splash. I can’t explain it, but it wasn’t like the others. Maybe it was the commotion around the splash, but I knew it was wrong.

If it sounded wrong, boy did it look wrong. Red was in the water, floating like crimson mist, and I dove into the pool. Forget the whistle, just dive. I lost track of time, I think, and remember only dragging the boy out of the pool, his head bleeding, his eyes closed, water seeping from his mouth, and my CPR and first aid training took over. I was counting and pumping and breathing, and finally – finally – after an agonizing time, I saw him cough and splutter and sit up. His mother had been shouting the whole time, but I hadn’t heard her; I was focused and in the zone.

I saw her bright embrace of the boy, and I knew I wanted to save lives.

Medical school came next, and there was always, lingering in the back of my mind, the sense that I had been beaten by that puzzle: how to be a puzzle-solver for a career. I was enjoying my classes, my labs, learning about aspects of medicine, shadowing physicians, but nothing was really solving that itch. I resigned myself to being a weekend puzzle-solver and a doctor by day.

Nine letter word; an aspect of medicine concerned with the study of tissues. PATHOLOGY.

I encountered a fellow puzzle-solver: a pathologist named Dr. Claire Barton, and she had me hooked from day one. I found a world I had never seen before in the study of pathology, and I started doing as much extra credit as I could.

Dr. Barton showed me how to use clues contained in tissues, how to investigate and discover, and how to handle the technical aspects of the ins and outs of her profession. I know this is what I want to do.

With my work and education under Dr. Barton, I shared my crosswords and Sudokus and murder mystery novels, and she and I found new insights in applying puzzle solving patterns to our lab work. Treating it almost like a game helped our minds relax and work faster.

Dr. Barton and I worked one case – in perinatal pathology – where we put in extra hours to find the root cause of a patient’s miscarriages. It turned out that she had a rare autoimmune condition which was affecting her pregnancies. Months later, Dr. Barton showed me a picture of a baby, and told me it was sent to us by our patient. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my life.

Someday, I hope to be a physician working to solve problems faster. I want to solve the problems of solving problems, and my ambition is to refine pathology methods into a superior state. My dream job would be to work in a laboratory and ferret out the best methods for identifying and disposing of illnesses. I would also like to write materials, text books, that combine my two loves to make pathology more accessible – teaching the discipline through a series of puzzles and games. That would be a tremendous project and undertaking.

The real goal, though, at the end of the day, is to always give out more of those bright-eyed hugs – the welcome-back embraces of that mother to her child. Puzzle solving is fun, but saving lives is the goal, and that’s what I want to do. Wherever I do it, however I do it, that’s the principle and purpose of my four-letter-word for existence.

They were panicking. They didn’t know where the campsite was and they had the compass calibrated all wrong. Even worse: they knew it wasn’t quite right, but nobody could remember how to fix it. I did, but I was waiting to see if they figured it out. It was funny because we weren’t really lost, had plenty of food, and I knew there was no real danger.

My first foray into guiding was as a boy scout, and I was in my teenage years leading some campers on their first-ever canoe trip.

Don’t worry, I only let them panic for about five minutes before giving them some pointers on how to calibrate their compass. That’s the thing, I don’t want people to just have answers handed to them. I had that happen to me; I had a grade school teacher who would just give us the answers, and that was never satisfying to me. I wanted to figure it out myself – just a few hints. So that’s how I taught: here’s how to calibrate the compass, hold the map like this, now figure it out. The best part? They did.

I had other teachers who challenged me the way I liked to challenge others. I think we learn best when we do that.

As much as I enjoy teaching students and guiding them, I never really wanted to purely be an educator. It’s a fine field, don’t get me wrong, but I felt like I wanted something different. Medicine seemed just right.

How did I arrive at medicine? Well, let me give you some pieces.

My mother was a nurse and used to complain about a lack of good doctors. She said they were few and far between.

I had gotten a few high grades, high enough that I started to think the sky was the limit when it came to educational opportunities.

I wanted a field where I could teach, guide, and help, but not where I would just be a teacher.

It’s obvious that I decided on medicine. What really clinched it for me, though – good as those reasons were – was when I went with my mother on career day into the hospital and watched her first-hand care for patients. I saw what she dealt with and the impact she made.

I’ve always been close to my mother, and she taught me well. She was the first to hint-teach, and maybe that’s why I prefer that method over all others.

She needed my help when she caught the coronavirus at work, too. She isolated, but I had to care for her and the household, and keep on top of my studies. I had already expressed an interest in pursuing medicine, and at the end of the fortnight of caring for her she asked, “So, you still want to be a doctor?”

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So I enrolled in medical college and started trying everything. Pediatrics wasn’t for me, although it was almost what I wanted. Pathology wasn’t even on my radar until I took a course and then as a research assistant for the instructor in the next semester. Teaching pathology students was special because a lot of them liked learning how I liked learning. A couple expressed an interest in piecing answers together rather than having them presented.

I had many excellent experiences working with pathologists, and I found I had an aptitude for it. I helped diagnose a bone condition in one patient, for instance, that let us solve a long problem he had. He had a history of fractures, and since the patient was in his 60s, his doctor had thought that this was just age. Still, he wanted samples tested in the pathology lab, and we discovered that the patient had a medical condition which affected his bones – outside of just age. That patient is now receiving treatment that will help combat his fractured condition.

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I loved working with that team so very much, and I knew this was the specialization for me. I want to work as a physician and a teacher, even if only a class or two at a local medical college or high school, but that is my main goal and what I hope to accomplish. Someday I would like to create educational programs that more closely operate within my ideal educational methods, but that’s the far future. The next step is to study further and find more students who love the question and the answer as much as I do.

Between 700 and 800 words, or about a page.

Not with a letter grade, no, but they will absolutely affect your chances of acceptance.

It’s the best way that the applications committee can get to know you. These statements move beyond residency CVs , MSPEs , transcripts, and USMLE and MCCQE , and let the committee know the kind of person you are, the values you have, and the growth you have experienced.

Yes, if you can show your growth and strength of character in overcoming obstacles and learning from past mistakes. You can’t just say that you’ve failed a class or have a problem with procrastination. Instead, you need to explain why failing a class once made you a stronger student and why you’ll never procrastinate again. Use specific examples.

It means that you can’t just list off your accomplishments or abilities, you have to make the reader understand them.

It’s the difference between saying, “I never give up and fight for the underdog,” and telling a story of how you championed a weaker person, faced adversity head-on, got “knocked down”, but never quit, and kept trying.

The story will communicate those qualities (perseverance and helping out people weaker than yourself) without ever needing to say them directly.

That’s how to show instead of tell.

Residency applications are looking for one page, keep it to one page.

Keep in mind that these readers are going through a stack of applications, so you don’t want to bog them down by being overly verbose. Better to say something quickly and effectively than simply with a lot of empty ink.

By the time you’ve hit residency application, odds are very good that you’ll have a stack of experiences as long as your leg – or longer. The trick can be figuring out which to use.

Pick your two or three best qualities and stories that illustrate those. You will also want to pick qualities and stories that highlight your appropriateness for the discipline to which you are applying. Specializing in pathology means you pick stories that highlight how good a pathologist you’ll be.

Never lie, never brag, and never be unprofessional – including putting anybody down.

Your statement should never have any poor spelling or grammar.

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How to Write a Personal Statement for Pathology Residency Applications

Your personal statement for pathology residency is your story. Your tale. This is your opportunity to share why and how you got to where you are right now in your medical journey.

Your personal statement is not a multi-page thesis or research dissertation with references. Nor is it a regurgitation of your curriculum vitae (CV). Your personal statement should be a brief narrative (500–600 words), starting with a reflection of your personality, achievements, and what brought you to pathology. You will end your personal statement on a high note, with well-thought-out remarks on your goals as a future pathologist and what you hope to accomplish in your residency.

As with any published writing, your work isn't complete once you've written the final sentence. That's why it's crucial to get started sooner rather than later. Put your draft together at least 3–4 months in advance so you can have your friends, colleagues, and mentors review, revise, edit, and make suggestions.

If you're struggling to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), here are a few tips and examples from recently matched pathology residents:

Tip 1: Own your journey

Fess up to all the times you didn't see yourself as a pathologist, and don't pretend to be someone you're not. Nolan Donahue, DO  was sure he'd end up anywhere but pathology before going into medical school. But, as he shared in his statement, a cheek swab at a health fair completely changed the trajectory of his career. A story about your honest first impressions of pathology, and the experiences that changed your perspective, is often very relatable to the program directors who will be reading your statement! Stories with unique experiences and viewpoints will work best with this approach.

Tip 2: Get personal to demonstrate your worth ethic

As a new father, David Afework, MD exemplified the value of daily patience, something that crossed over into his academic pursuits in medical school. Show program directors what kind of resident you will be and what you bring to the table by sharing examples from your personal life, hobbies, and extracurriculars. Be sure to keep your statement short, as program directors and interviewers manually review hundreds of applications. Make their lives easier, and make your statement stand out from the rest, by keeping your story engaging and to the point.

Tip 3: Show where you leaned into the specialty

Use your personal statement to demonstrate your commitment to pathology, especially if you had to overcome barriers along the way. Meredith Herman, DO highlighted the leadership positions she took to deepen her involvement and understanding of pathology both on campus and virtually, as well as in a post-sophomore pathology fellowship.

Were you fascinated by a case where a pathologist's diagnosis completely changed the direction of patient care? Did you see a patient’s cells for the first time under a microscope following a frozen section? Did you assist with an autopsy and correlate the gross to microscopic findings that solved a case? Demonstrate your " why pathology" through strong, real-life examples of situations in which you had an active role; use your statement to showcase your involvement and understanding of the specialty.

Tip 4: Let your personality shine

It's okay to mention the activities you do outside of medical school, preparing for residency, and studying! Even at age 14, Tiarra Price, DO knew that binge-watching medical diagnosis shows on TV might have foreshadowed a career in diagnosing diseases as a pathologist. Share why you think being a pathologist suits your personality, and how your life experiences have gotten you to this stage. Demonstrate how pathology aligns with your career goals, values, and ambitions, and don't be afraid to have fun with your statement.

Tip 5: Show a different path

If your path to pathology residency didn't follow the same trajectory as others, this is your opportunity to elaborate. As a college athlete, Chris Bell, DO felt too busy to consider medical school immediately upon graduation. What started as a volunteer opportunity turned into a medical technologist career where he met pathology residents. This ultimately inspired him to apply to medical school.

Demonstrating work experience, professional development, and other activities you did before pursuing medicine can show a future residency program that you have what it takes. Don't forget the personal part of your personal statement; your statement shouldn't make the reader cry (like the beginning of the movie Up), but vulnerability is okay.

Tip 6: Highlight experiences that aren't found in your CV

Tell about the barriers you overcame and what they taught you, even if they didn't make it onto your CV. Your statement is a great place to touch on adversities you faced during your journey and to describe how they led you to application day (eg, overcoming failure, time off from medical school, "red flags").

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Yasamin Mirzabeigi, MD ’s observership plans were put on hold. Leveraging the opportunity to work in a pharmacy while studying for the USMLE, Dr. Mirzabeigi leaned on her experience to help her focus even more on pursuing pathology and becoming a trusted member of the clinical care team.

Tip 7: Lean into a (good) metaphor

Residency and medicine can be like many other parts of life. For example, my personal statement focused on playing football as a college athlete. Draw on experiences where you can showcase your specific interest in pathology while also highlighting areas where you demonstrate positive behaviors in everyday situations (eg, handling success, facing defeat, and dealing with difficult people). These experiences can come from sports or other avenues such as art, music, food, etc.

Your personal statement is your story and your story alone. As residency programs review your application and statement, they should have a solid idea of who you are and what you will bring to their program. Let your personality shine through and make it known that you want to be a pathologist.

Thank you to the following recently matched pathology residents for their contributions to this article and for sharing their personal statements:

• David Afework, MD | PG1Y at Oregon Health & Science University Department of Pathology | Twitter: @pathpapi
• Chris Bell, DO | PG1Y at Loyola University Department of Pathology | Twitter: @PathDad
• Nolan Donahue, DO | PG1Y at Loyola University Department of Pathology | Twitter: @hisDOlogy
• Meredith Herman, DO | PG1Y at University of Michigan Department of Pathology | Twitter: @MeredithKHerman
• Yasamin Mirzabeigi, MD | PG1Y at University of Miami Department of Pathology | Twitter: @YMirzabeigi
• Tiarra Price, DO | PG1Y at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center | Twitter: @TiarraPrice
• Casey Schukow, DO | PG1Y at Beaumont, Royal Oak Pathology Residency | Twitter: @sarcomapathdoc

Casey Schukow, DO, is a pathology resident at Corewell Health in Royal Oak, MI. Prior to this, he completed a transitional year internship at ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital (Monroe, MI). He has contributed numerous pages, articles, essays, and book chapters to multiple websites, including KevinMD, Doximity Op-Med, VisualDx, DermNet New Zealand, StatPearls, PathElective, The Pathologist, and Pathology Outlines. Social media has played a key role in his #Path2Path and his research interests include utilizing its different platforms to promote free, high-quality medical education globally. Prior to his residency training, he graduated from Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (’22) and attended Hillsdale College (’18) where he earned a degree in Biochemistry. Currently, he serves as an Ambassador for the online platform Knowledge In Knowledge Out, or KiKo.

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Sample Pathology Residency Personal Statements #3

by · Published · Updated

Research interest is another important reason that I chose pathology. During my fifth year of medical school in China, I participated in a project to study the protective mechanism of a traditional medicine in a guinea pig asthma model which ignited my avid interest in research. Hence, after completing medical school, I came to the US to pursue a Ph.D. in molecular biology and pharmacology at the University of Big State Health Science Center. The 5-year Ph.D. training for me was both enlightening and rewarding. My work demonstrates that in addition to thiazolidinediones , rexinoids represent a second class of insulin sensitizing agents with potential application in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. These findings were published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry and Cell Death & Differentiation, and presented at several national/international conferences. I was honored with an achievement award and earned a top prize in the University graduate students poster competition. During this time and later postdoctoral work in the field of endometrial cancer, I have been closely collaborating with some outstanding pathologists, and I am always awed by their extensive knowledge, meticulous eye, analytical mind, and a strong sense of responsibility. It has made me realize that further residency training in pathology will afford me a more varied and balanced career. It will give me a unique platform to bridge basic research and clinical medicine, while applying the latest scientific discoveries to improving human health.

Making me a goof fit for pathology are not only my passion and solid research background, but my personal character as well. I have an inquisitive nature, an insatiable appetite for knowledge, and the discipline to maintain independent study. I have come to realize that constant study is not a tedious burden, but a luxurious pleasure. Also, I am a team player who loves working with others. All these mesh well with the field of pathology.

I am looking for a residency program that will provide rigorous and comprehensive pathologic training. I will devote my passion, energy, and medical expertise and research skills to serving my patients, to learning from my colleagues, and to educating medical students and young physicians. After residency, I plan to finish a fellowship in either oncologic pathology or ob/gyn pathology. I am currently completing an observationship in the Department of Pathology at the University of Large State Medical School at Metropolis, and this hands-on experience has me further convinced that the field of pathology is for me.

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