A Personal Statement for a Residency Program

My decision to join the Surgery Residency Program in the United States is a coalescence of several driving factors. With ten years experience in surgical training and practice, my decision to pursue a career in surgical residency was the easiest, informed, and the most natural choice I have ever made. Reflecting back in my life, a clear surgical career path emerges and the last decade has been full of experiences preparing me for this career. I chose the United States for my residency program because I desire a highly standardized training that would qualify me to be the best surgeon one day.

My interest in Surgery Residency Program evolved naturally from my five-year training in surgery at a university hospital in Amman, Jordan. While fascinated by the challenges in surgery, I was consistently drawn to a variety of simple, rare, and highly specialized surgical skills and procedures. I have been motivated by the strong temporal association between surgery and the dramatic change in the physical and mental state of the patient which elicit a strong sense of casualty in my mind and that of the patient. My natural interest and compassion for the patients made me take my responsibilities in patient care seriously. I genuinely enjoyed and tried to be top in surgery and knowing bits of information about my patient, discussing images with the radiologist, attending my patients endoscopies as well as seeing specimens with the pathologist.

My well-rounded training gave me the opportunity to acquire skill in surgical sub-specialties. The drive, meticulous attention to detail, and the high level of motivation gained have improved my knowledge and skills. My training has implanted the desire to continue with the residency program. My happiness in life meant success because I assisted underprivileged individuals and war refugees without medical insurance. Through surgical skills and procedures in my surgical training in residency, I gained competence in a wide variety of skills and procedures as I treated referral cases because the surgeons were inexperienced in certain surgical conditions. Despite working in a 24-hour shift, I was captivated by the confidence in my skills and the positive impact I made on the lives of the patients.

Despite the deficit in training and research opportunities in my program, I have honed my research skills by taking online courses in Clinical Research and Statistics as well as Data Management and Analysis. My clinical skills and surgical knowledge will make me a suitable candidate for the Surgical Residency Program as these will instill my focus in acquiring advanced surgical and research skills. This is because I have hands-on experience having worked in diverse settings with different patients and performed surgeries that covered various specialties. I believe my strong drive and passion will provide me with the energy and zeal to succeed in the residency program despite being trained in a third world country. Given an opportunity, I will exploit it to the fullest and use my experience to bring high standard surgical training and research in the United States and my home country.

I envisioned myself as a faculty member at the university where I received my surgical training because of few specialized surgeons and the desire to be a pioneer of a mature multidisciplinary service in my country. I hope that the residency program will afford me the opportunity to use my clinical and research experience and supplement my clinical fellowship with another year of dedicated research in Surgery Residency Program. I will utilize my knowledge, experience, and network to start a highly standardized Surgical Residency Program which will breed confident, skilled, and highly trained surgeons armed with scientific research.