Abstract: The coursework and clinical rotations have been completed with flying colors, and the US Medical Licensing Examinations has been aced—so why are many applicants to residency programs across the country still so anxious? This anxiety is caused in part by the daunting task of writing the "personal statement," one of the required elements for the residency program admission process.Ideally, selection committees view the personal statement as a window into the thoughts, priorities, career commitments, and persona of the applicant. Thus, students invest a great deal of effort and seek assistance from faculty mentors, family members, peers, and even professional writers. Web sites provide guidance on how to compose the "best" personal statement, along with, in many cases, examples of "outstanding" personal statements. In addition, some medical schools provide guidelines, didactic sessions, and a list of do's and don'ts for the personal statement. Original ideas that started with the applicant are modified by others until the statement appears to "fit" some ideal mold. The statement, which should have been the true articulation of the applicant's own personal journey, dreams, and desires, turns into a team effort with the sole purpose of impressing the residency program directors and resident selection committees.Given the various sources of input, the question of whether the personal statement remains an authentic portrayal of the applicant must be raised. Moreover, because the personal statement is rarely crafted solely by the applicant, how much value should residency program directors and selection committees place on the process of selecting candidates for interviews and for residency positions? Even though the intent of the personal statement has been widely endorsed, in practice the statements have become homogeneous and lack distinguishing, substantive value.1Max B.A. Gelfand B. Brooks M.R. Beckerly R. Segal S. Have personal statements become impersonal? An evaluation of personal statements in anesthesiology residency applications.J Clin Anesth. 2010; 22: 346-351Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (32) Google ScholarAttempts to develop objective criteria by which to evaluate personal statements have been unsuccessful.2White B.A. Sadoski M. Thomas S. Shabahang M. Is the evaluation of the personal statement a reliable component of the general surgery residency application?.J Surg Educ. 2012; 69: 340-343Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (31) Google Scholar Any scoring of the personal statement is inherently subjective, and a review of the literature indicates that opinions of the value of the personal statement vary among specialties, with some ranking it high and others ranking it very low in importance.2White B.A. Sadoski M. Thomas S. Shabahang M. Is the evaluation of the personal statement a reliable component of the general surgery residency application?.J Surg Educ. 2012; 69: 340-343Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (31) Google Scholar, 3Taylor C.A. Weinstein L. Mayhew H.E. The process of resident selection: a view from the residency director's desk.Obstet Gynecol. 1995; 85: 299-303Crossref PubMed Scopus (55) Google Scholar Attempts to develop criteria for the statement as a means of identifying individuals to invite for an interview are ongoing.4Smith E.A. Weyhing B. Moody Y. Smith W.L. A critical analysis of personal statements submitted by radiology residency applicants.Acad Radiol. 2005; 12: 1024-1028Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (12) Google ScholarTheoretically, the personal statement is important, communicating a candidate's personal commentary on his or her strengths, passions, and other personal beliefs and sentiments to the resident selection committee in a way that the more structured and less personal elements of the application do not permit. The personal statement could be a valuable tool for program directors in formulating the tone and laying the groundwork for a personal interview with a candidate. For example, the consistencies or inconsistencies between the views and thoughts in the personal statement and the impressions created by the candidate during the personal interview provide keen insight into the candidate's motivations and true desires to pursue a career as a physician.Therefore, we pose the following questions: Should the expectations for the personal statement be modified so that the candidate is motivated to write a personal statement that is truly "personal"? Should the Electronic Residency Application Service provide explicit guidelines on writing personal statements, rather than just warning against plagiarism? Should we ask medical students to include personal milestones in the personal statements to make it "personal," as suggested by Lee et al?5Lee A.G. Golnik K.C. Oetting T.A. Beaver H.A. Boldt H.C. Olson R. et al.Re-engineering the resident applicant selection process in ophthalmology: a literature review and recommendation for improvement.Surv Ophthalmol. 2008; 53: 164-176Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (44) Google ScholarSignificant change would not be possible without changing the role that the faculty and mentor play in making the personal statement truly personal. For example, faculty could pledge to help students understand what should and should not be the components of a personal statement and stop there. Perhaps in that way, the personal statement could better aid the resident selection committee in evaluating the candidate on his or her own merits rather than reading the consensus statement generated by the candidate's well-wishers and advisers? Let us resolve to return the personal statement to fulfill its original intent: to allow the student's individual and personal stories to shine through. We certainly should not encourage cookie-cutter personal statements that are clones rather than valuable "eyes" into the individual personality of the medical student. The coursework and clinical rotations have been completed with flying colors, and the US Medical Licensing Examinations has been aced—so why are many applicants to residency programs across the country still so anxious? This anxiety is caused in part by the daunting task of writing the "personal statement," one of the required elements for the residency program admission process. Ideally, selection committees view the personal statement as a window into the thoughts, priorities, career commitments, and persona of the applicant. Thus, students invest a great deal of effort and seek assistance from faculty mentors, family members, peers, and even professional writers. Web sites provide guidance on how to compose the "best" personal statement, along with, in many cases, examples of "outstanding" personal statements. In addition, some medical schools provide guidelines, didactic sessions, and a list of do's and don'ts for the personal statement. Original ideas that started with the applicant are modified by others until the statement appears to "fit" some ideal mold. The statement, which should have been the true articulation of the applicant's own personal journey, dreams, and desires, turns into a team effort with the sole purpose of impressing the residency program directors and resident selection committees. Given the various sources of input, the question of whether the personal statement remains an authentic portrayal of the applicant must be raised. Moreover, because the personal statement is rarely crafted solely by the applicant, how much value should residency program directors and selection committees place on the process of selecting candidates for interviews and for residency positions? Even though the intent of the personal statement has been widely endorsed, in practice the statements have become homogeneous and lack distinguishing, substantive value.1Max B.A. Gelfand B. Brooks M.R. Beckerly R. Segal S. Have personal statements become impersonal? An evaluation of personal statements in anesthesiology residency applications.J Clin Anesth. 2010; 22: 346-351Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (32) Google Scholar Attempts to develop objective criteria by which to evaluate personal statements have been unsuccessful.2White B.A. Sadoski M. Thomas S. Shabahang M. Is the evaluation of the personal statement a reliable component of the general surgery residency application?.J Surg Educ. 2012; 69: 340-343Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (31) Google Scholar Any scoring of the personal statement is inherently subjective, and a review of the literature indicates that opinions of the value of the personal statement vary among specialties, with some ranking it high and others ranking it very low in importance.2White B.A. Sadoski M. Thomas S. Shabahang M. Is the evaluation of the personal statement a reliable component of the general surgery residency application?.J Surg Educ. 2012; 69: 340-343Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (31) Google Scholar, 3Taylor C.A. Weinstein L. Mayhew H.E. The process of resident selection: a view from the residency director's desk.Obstet Gynecol. 1995; 85: 299-303Crossref PubMed Scopus (55) Google Scholar Attempts to develop criteria for the statement as a means of identifying individuals to invite for an interview are ongoing.4Smith E.A. Weyhing B. Moody Y. Smith W.L. A critical analysis of personal statements submitted by radiology residency applicants.Acad Radiol. 2005; 12: 1024-1028Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (12) Google Scholar Theoretically, the personal statement is important, communicating a candidate's personal commentary on his or her strengths, passions, and other personal beliefs and sentiments to the resident selection committee in a way that the more structured and less personal elements of the application do not permit. The personal statement could be a valuable tool for program directors in formulating the tone and laying the groundwork for a personal interview with a candidate. For example, the consistencies or inconsistencies between the views and thoughts in the personal statement and the impressions created by the candidate during the personal interview provide keen insight into the candidate's motivations and true desires to pursue a career as a physician. Therefore, we pose the following questions: Should the expectations for the personal statement be modified so that the candidate is motivated to write a personal statement that is truly "personal"? Should the Electronic Residency Application Service provide explicit guidelines on writing personal statements, rather than just warning against plagiarism? Should we ask medical students to include personal milestones in the personal statements to make it "personal," as suggested by Lee et al?5Lee A.G. Golnik K.C. Oetting T.A. Beaver H.A. Boldt H.C. Olson R. et al.Re-engineering the resident applicant selection process in ophthalmology: a literature review and recommendation for improvement.Surv Ophthalmol. 2008; 53: 164-176Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (44) Google Scholar Significant change would not be possible without changing the role that the faculty and mentor play in making the personal statement truly personal. For example, faculty could pledge to help students understand what should and should not be the components of a personal statement and stop there. Perhaps in that way, the personal statement could better aid the resident selection committee in evaluating the candidate on his or her own merits rather than reading the consensus statement generated by the candidate's well-wishers and advisers? Let us resolve to return the personal statement to fulfill its original intent: to allow the student's individual and personal stories to shine through. We certainly should not encourage cookie-cutter personal statements that are clones rather than valuable "eyes" into the individual personality of the medical student.