Applying to an Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program
Getting into any medical fellowship program is difficult. Applying to an interventional cardiology program and writing cardiology fellowship personal statement is no different. It is extremely competitive and there are usually many more well qualified applicants than openings. However, those who have progressed to this stage of their medical career are well used to hard work and overcoming obstacles in their way.
Documents Required for Interventional Cardiology Program Application
The document requirements for application to interventional cardiology programs are similar for most institutions with only some slight variations. It is always best to check with each individual institution to make sure nothing gets left out. The following are the documents you should be prepared to submit with your fellowship application:
- ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) application
- Curriculum Vitae (CV)/Resume
- Three letters of Reference (One letter should be from your cardiology fellowship program director)
- USMLE transcripts
- MSPE (Medical Student Performance Evaluation)
- Official medical school transcript
- Personal Statement
Of these documents, the personal statement is the only one that allows you to directly influence cardiology fellowships program selection.
How to Write an Interventional Cardiology Personal Statement
There are not many rules when it comes to writing your personal statement for application to an interventional cardiology program. Most programs will place a restriction on the length of the personal statement and everything else is up to you. However, there are some questions that selection committees want to see answered in personal statements even when they don’t say so directly. Your personal statement for fellowship application should address the following:
- Your reasons for choosing interventional cardiology as a sub-specialty: Admissions committees would like to know your specific reasons for selecting interventional cardiology as a sub-specialty. Answering this question may be the most important part of the personal statement.
- Assets you bring to the program: Assets refers to the skills, personal characteristics and experiences you have that will benefit the program and the field.
- What you expect to get out of completing the program: They want to know what you hope to gain by completing their program
- Your career plans after completing the program: The selection committee would like to know what specific short and long-term career plans you have after completing the program. They would also like to know how your plans are related to the program.
How you choose to address these questions in your personal statement is up to you.
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Personal Statement for Interventional Cardiology Writing Tips
Here are a few tips for writing the personal statement for interventional cardiology program application that may prove useful:
- Be interesting: Boring personal statements don’t generate much interest and they are seldom remembered. You needn’t have led an exciting life to be interesting. Use personal anecdotes and tell a story. Stories are remembered far longer than test scores and awards.
- Be specific: Using general statements tells selection committees nothing personal about you. It is called the personal statement for a reason. Be specific and use examples that support what you say
- Write succinctly: Use a clear concise writing style without using any flowery statements. Get to the point without using a lot of adverbs and adjectives
- Use your own word: Selection committees want to read what you have to say. Avoid using clichés and quotations in your personal statement
Avoid Common Mistakes in Your Personal Statement for Interventional Cardiology
Be on the lookout for these mistakes that are often made by applicants in their fellowship personal statements:
- Writing what you think the selection committee wants to hear: You might think you know what the selection committee wants to see in your personal statement but you are probably wrong. Give your honest opinion and thoughts
- Listing accomplishments: Your accomplishments are probably already included in other parts of your application. It is also boring to read a list like this and does nothing to make you stand out
- Writing about the interventional cardiology field: The people reading your personal statement are experts in interventional cardiology and don’t need a lecture from you. They want to know about you.
- Failing to proofread: This may seem obvious and should go without saying yet there will be personal statements submitted that haven’t been proofread. Make sure there are no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors in your personal statement