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Writing the Personal Statement for Health Professions Applications

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The personal statement gives you the opportunity to present a compelling snapshot of who you are and perhaps why you want to be a doctor. Use your personal statement to say what others can’t. The personal statement can be a tricky genre to master. On the one hand, you want to give the admissions committee a sense of your personality and who you are. On the other hand, you must sound focused and professional, which sounds like it might impede your ability to capture your personality.

But this does not have to be the case. What you need to do is figure out how to say what drives you to want to become a healthcare professional in as specific a way as possible. The more specific you can be, the more the admissions committee will feel as if they have a sense of who you are.

You don’t need gimmicks, jokes, artificial drama, or hyperbole to express who you are or why you would make a good medical student or doctor. All you need are carefully selected details that you can craft into a unique and compelling story that conveys a sense of purpose and motivation.

What Makes a Good Personal Statement?

• There is no exact template for an effective personal statement. Often, however, strong personal statements combine a concise description of a personal experience with reflection on how this experience either led the writer to pursue medicine or indicates the writer’s character or commitment.
• Good personal statements often have a strong sense of narrative. This does not mean that they read like short stories, though they can relate a few scenes or anecdotes from your life. They have a strong sense of narrative, rather, in how they convey the writer’s sense of dedication to medicine. Strong personal statements often give readers an idea of how applicants see their experiences as leading to the decision to pursue medicine.

How to Get Started

The personal statement is an exercise in self-reflection. Questions to consider:

• Who are you?  I am driven to… I have learned to… I believe…
• What are your most passionate interests or concerns?  What problem(s) most occupy your thinking and your efforts?
• How did you develop those interests?  (Not just the story, but what drives you.)
• What errors or regrets have taught you something important about yourself?
• When does time disappear for you?  What does this tell you about your passions, your values?
• What ideas, books, courses, events have had a profound impact on you?  How so?
• To what extent do your current commitments reflect your most strongly held values?
• When have you changed?  Consider yourself before and after; what does this change mean?
• How do your interests and who you are relate to your goals in medical school and as a doctor?

Start a “shoebox”; a place to keep random notes for your personal statement; be ready to write at any time. Review these items occasionally; let them tell you more about what you want your personal statement to say. Start writing drafts, experiments; you will know when a paragraph begins to gel.

A Suggested Writing Process

Everyone writes differently, so these are potential strategies rather than rules.

• Make a list of some of your most defining experiences – extracurricular activities, specific classes, volunteer work, research, hobbies, etc. Try not to include overly personal experiences (breakups, trouble with parents, illnesses in the family, and so on). It’s difficult to write about such things without being sentimental or cliché. You want experiences in which you did something and had to make a choice.
• From this list, try to select an experience that particularly demonstrates your intellectual curiosity, your dedication to service, your composure under pressure, your leadership ability, or any other personal trait that you think is particularly relevant to your case that you would make a good doctor or medical student.
• Start writing a draft based on this experience. You want to be specific, but don’t get bogged down with an abundance of anecdotes or minutiae. Try to use your draft to craft a succinct story that demonstrates your character and your motivations.
• Set the draft aside for some time (a number of days or weeks), and then revisit it with fresh eyes. Be as honest with yourself as you can be: What works in this draft? What doesn’t work? What sounds cliché or unspecific? Would a reader who doesn’t know me at all get a sense of my personal character and dedication?
• Revise, revise, revise: tighten the structure, add new things to make your point clearer, take away sentences or sections that now seem unnecessary, use the active voice as much as possible, and anything else that needs to be done. If what you have just doesn’t seem to be coming together, do not be afraid to start over.
• Solicit feedback from a couple of trusted readers and revise again based on the suggestions that you find most useful. Don’t solicit feedback from too many people though – too many responses can be overwhelming.
• Edit your work for grammatical mistakes, typos, clumsy repetitions, and so on. Make your prose impeccable before you submit your statement. Asking help from other readers can be especially helpful with editing, as sometimes it gets difficult to read your work with fresh eyes.

Things to Do

• Use the experience that you describe to tell a story of personal progress, particularly progress towards your commitment to medicine.
• Write with active verbs as much as possible.
• Strive for concision.
• Sound humble but also confident.

Things Not to Do – Common Pitfalls

• Don’t talk in hyperbolic terms about how passionate you are. Everyone applying to medical school can say they are passionate. Instead, show your readers something you have done that indicates your passion.
• Don’t adopt an overly confessional or sentimental tone. You need to sound professional.
• Don’t treat the personal statement like a piece of creative writing.
• Don’t put your resume in narrative form.
• Don’t use jargon, abbreviations, slang, etc.
• Don’t use too many qualifiers: very, quite, rather, really, interesting…
• Don’t write in overly flowery language that you would normally never use.
• Don’t include famous quotations. If you must quote, use something that shows significant knowledge.
• Don’t write about yourself in an overly glorifying or overly self-effacing manner.

What to Remember

• They are read by non-specialists, so write for an intelligent non-medical audience.
• Actions sometimes speaks louder than words so give examples of experiences rather than describing them.
• All information must be accurate – don’t pad, but don’t be falsely modest either.
• The personal statement, in part, serves as a test of your communication skills.  How well you write it is as important as the content.

Writing Resources

• AAMC: 7 Tips for Writing your AMCAS Personal Statement
• Graduate Admission Essays: What Works, What Doesn’t and Why , Donald Asher, Ten Speed Press
• On Writing Well , William Zinsser
• Elements of Style , Strunk and White, Macmillan
• Article :  2 Med School Essays that Admissions Officers Loved
• Guidance for Writing Personal Statements, Work & Activities Section, Secondary Applications

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Health and Social Care Personal Statement Examples

• by [email protected]
• 2 January 2024 2 January 2024

Table of Contents

Introduction, example 1: personal statement, example 2: health and social care statement, example 3: statement of purpose.

Are you seeking guidance in crafting a remarkable health and social care personal statement? Dive into exemplary examples that illustrate effective personal statements, offering insights into crafting your standout statement.

Explore a compelling personal statement reflecting dedication to health and social care, highlighting experiences, and demonstrating passion for making a meaningful impact.

Discover an exemplary health and social care statement illustrating commitment, expertise, and aspirations in contributing to the well-being of individuals and communities.

Delve into a statement of purpose outlining professional goals, ethical principles, and a vision for positively influencing health and social care practices.

Gain valuable insights and inspiration from these health and social care personal statement examples to craft a powerful statement that showcases your dedication and passion. Begin your journey at HealthcareDiploma.org !

Ready to create your standout health and social care personal statement? Visit HealthcareDiploma.org to kickstart your career aspirations!

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Personal Statements

Please read over the resources on this page, and then you are welcome to meet with a Pre-Health Professions Coach to discuss your ideas before starting your personal statement.

Recommendations for Personal Statements

The purpose.

The personal statement/essay should provide evidence to the admissions committees that you are knowledgeable about the profession (know what you are getting into) and are well-suited to the profession (have the necessary qualities, strengths and skills).

The Audience

The essays are likely to be read at different stages of the process.

• Initial review of the application
• Committee decision to invite for interview
• By interviewers in preparation for the interview
• Committee admission decision

You are not writing for one reader as you do for a course where you write what a particular professor is looking for.

The readers are very diverse. A committee may have up to 20-30 people on it who represent different generations and cultures and have a variety of ideas about who is suited to and prepared for the profession and a particular school.

Keys to Content

All essays are essentially about the same thing – you! – your strengths, your knowledge of the profession, how you have tested your desire to pursue this health profession and in what ways you are suited to and prepared for professional education and training. 

You need to know yourself and the profession well enough to choose the personal strengths, knowledge and insights you will write about.

Take inventory.

Take an inventory of your qualities and skills and how they relate to your experiences. Check out the “Tools to Help You Build Your Personal Statement” under Personal Statement Resources & Tools below. 

Get more mileage out of your essay with valuable content. 

Write about experiences that will demonstrate the qualities, strengths and skills that successful health care professionals must have.

Make the invisible visible.

Consider what the committees will see in your application. Is there something important about you that is not obvious from the numbers and information already listed in your application?

Make it matter.

Is there something included in your application that needs to be emphasized? For example, will you be listing one experience where you took on a leadership role, but the actual knowledge and abilities that you developed there are not obvious? Did you volunteer in one place rather than several but the experiences there were substantial and of great value in your pre-professional development? You may decide to give these more weight by writing about them

Read the prompt carefully.

The applicant is responsible for understanding the prompt and providing the kind of information that the admissions committees have asked for. 

Some prompts are as simple as “Why do you want to be a _________?”

Many are more complex.

In either case, the prompt requires thoughtful consideration, first to understand it and then to decide on the content of your response. 

Don’t get hung up on any one word or phrase in the prompt. Read the whole prompt, and decide what they are really asking for.

Can you explain the prompt in your own words? 

Decide which of your personal strengths as well as your knowledge and insight into the profession relate best to the prompt. (This is when the “Tools to Help You Build Your Personal Statement” can be of help.)

In responding to the prompt, your goal is to use your experiences to demonstrate those things about you that predict your success in professional school and in professional practice.

When Writing about You

“Why do you want to pursue a career in this health profession?”  is not asking you to write an essay on how very much you want to be in the profession. It is not asking what is so amazing about people who are in this profession. Admissions committees want to know who it is that wants to pursue this career and in what ways you are capable of and prepared for professional school and professional life. 

“I love science and want to help” is important but is not enough. Demonstrating how compassionate and caring you are is great, but there are many careers in which one can apply a love of science to help people. Write about the experiences that demonstrate specific knowledge of and exposure to the profession and the strengths and skills that will help you to succeed in this specific role.

When Writing about Mentors

If you write about what you observed/learned while shadowing a healthcare professional, you must then turn your attention to yourself and in what ways you have developed and demonstrated those qualities that you admire in your mentor.

Remember, this is about your qualities and skills, and knowledge. The experiences you choose to write about are the vehicles that convey that information.

Inspiration is important, but then what ….. ? 

Inspiration is essential to pursuing a health professions career. But… while the most interesting, breathtaking, awesome, unique, inspirational experience can be a place to start, after the aha moment, what did you do to test your motivation and to find out what professional education, training and practice are actually like? Show the committees that you are an informed applicant who has made a rational and mature decision to apply for acceptance into training for this profession.

By the way, it is not at all necessary to have one of those mythic and epic inspirational experiences. There are many health care professionals who realized their interest in their profession in a more gradual evolution of experiences.

No matter how you got here, the committees are more interested in what you’ve done recently than every step along the way.

This is not an English or Rhetoric or Creative Writing assignment.

Still it will make an important impression. So, if you want to make a very good impression that will help you earn an invitation to an admissions interview, it should be well-written, technically correct and, most importantly, respond appropriately to the prompt.

Don’t get hung up on having a theme. 

Doing so takes over and steals the room you need for details about valuable experiences. This is a very short essay, and the themes eat characters and spaces for lunch. Let the theme be subtle. Let the theme be the things about you that show you are suited to the profession and have what it takes to succeed and to care for patients. 

Use active verbs and active voice .

Health professionals are proactive. Write about what you’ve done and the value of those experiences. 

Everything you write should add value.  

If you write about a challenge or struggle or obstacle or mistake , get some mileage out of it by showing what you did to succeed, what you learned from it and who you are as a result.  

You have a small space and, hopefully, many strengths and experiences.  Each experience, paragraph, sentence, word takes up space.  Know why you are telling the committees a story and what messages you want to send. 

Your personal statement should be primarily about your experiences since high school. However, a pivotal moment or particularly valuable relevant experience from your pre-college years may be needed to set the stage for who you are today. If so, take care to write it concisely and save room for more current information.

Consider structure.

You may choose to write in a chronological order of events or in a modified chronological order in which you lead with an interesting recent experience and flashback to background information that is relevant. Either way, the first experience you write about should be interesting enough to get the reader’s attention.

There is not a lot of room for the Big Intro paragraph and the Big Concluding paragraph. Usually, a few lines of intro that lead into the first anecdote or background statement will work. You may use only the last few lines for your concluding statement. 

You may have room in a personal statement for only two or three experiences; however, each experience may reveal several different strengths that will be of interest to the admissions committees.

Be concise.

Avoid overuse of descriptive words and introductory words and phrases that are unnecessary to the message.

Get to the point. Each sentence moves the reader forward. No slow build. You don’t have that luxury. Neither does anyone else.

There is no space for reiteration.

There is usually some sacrifice of a smooth, flowing feel that you may have in longer essays.

Use your own vocabulary, not the thesaurus. When you interview, you should sound like the person who wrote the application essay.

You may see or hear the word “unique” in relation to essay prompts. While you want to stand out, you do not need to have an experience that no one else has had. A unique experience can be thought of as being unique or special to you in your own life rather than unique among all of the applicants.

Stand out by being well-prepared, mature, informed, experienced and able to communicate in writing that you possess the qualities that excellent health care students and professionals must-have.

Where to Find Help

Personal Statement Brainstorming – Health Professions Office

Pre-HP Coaches can help with

• Understanding prompts
• Content brainstorming
• Special circumstances – examples: academic difficulties, health issues, gaps in education, reapplication

Personal Statement Review and Feedback – University Writing Center

• Getting started writing
• Technical writing questions
• Help with structure, organization, style, tone

It is not the responsibility of UWC consultants to interpret prompts or select appropriate content. 

As the applicant, you should be able to explain to your writing consultant the prompt and the messages that you are attempting to get across.  Writing consultants can help with whether and how you are getting those messages into writing.

If you are still struggling with this, spend some time reading and thinking through the prompt. Discuss this in your Personal Statement Brainstorming appointment at the HPO.

YOU CAN DO THIS!!

Health Professions Program

Tips for writing a personal statement.

• Reflect on your academic and extracurricular experiences and how they have shaped your motivations for a career in health care.
• Create a list of experiences that represent the evolution of your path to a career in health care. 
• Identify key people (mentors, faculty, supervisors...) who have inspired you.
• Think about the message you wish to convey.
• How do you want to tell your story?
• What are the key elements of your story that bring it into focus?
• If you start with a thesis statement, remember to return to that thesis at the end t provide closure.
• The conclusion is a restatement of your focus, but in a way that shows how your story has evolved over time from mere observations to reflection to wisdom that will continue to serve you in your medcial training and as a clinician.

In answering the prompt " why do you want to become a clinician? "

• Seek to illustrate rather than merely tell your story.
• shadowing a clinician,
• volunteering at the ER, hospice center, or inpatient clinic
• volunteering at the local medical, dental or vet clinic,
• working as an EMT,
• serving as a translator at a free clinic
• Incorporate examples of service outside the clinic, to help further illustrate your commitment to service and desire to help others.
• Incorporate examples of leadership and overcoming hardship, to demonstrate perseverance, resilience and grit.
• Be succinct in illustrating your examples.
• Create smooth yet strong transitions throughout your story.

How to SHOW and not tell

• Use sensory details to help set scenes. Note what the sky looks like, what color a child's dress is, how the food smells. Make sure your reader is right there with you.
• Share your personal emotions and indicate how your surroundings affected you. This will give the reader a better idea of your individualism and make experiences that are common seem unique.
• Be anecdotal and use examples to illustrate your observations.
• Write with the intention of communicating something original. Don't just put down what you think the reader wants to hear.
• Avoid general commentary.

Things to avoid

• Overly flowery language
• Controversial language
• Reference to longing to be a clinician since a very young age
• Discussing why you don't want to do research
• Discussing why you don't want to become a health care provider other than your intended career path

Final items to keep in mind

Style refers to how you choose to use words to say what you have to say. There are a lot of different styles, and many of them are acceptable for a personal statement. However, make sure your grammar (syntax) is correct. Proofread for errors, spelling, and subject-verb agreement. Make sure that you don't have sentence fragments or run on sentences. Use punctuation correctly. Always have someone proofread your statement, and if grammar is not your thing, have someone who is good at grammar check your statement for errors.

If you bring raise issues, follow through on them and offer explanation or background. A common mistake is to make a statement and then assume that the reader will be able to place it as relevant. You must be explicit, and make sure that you round out the issues you raise with supporting details. For example, if you introduce the fact that you are a single mother, you must make sure that it is relevant to your focus, and you should offer details about how it is relevant. If you say that your desire to become a doctor started after your trip to Mexico, you need to tell why this is so. Sometimes writers rely too much on meaning that they believe to be implicit and leave the reader with questions. Remember, the person reading your essay knows very little about you, your life experiences, your character, or your personality. Be clear.

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Healthcare Management Personal Statement Samples & Tips

Table of Contents

A one- to two-page personal statement describes what you intend to do in your profession, why, and how. We have provided effective healthcare management personal statement samples to help you write your own.

Be sure to follow the guidelines given in the guide to help you craft an insightful and engaging personal statement for the application process.

What Is a Healthcare Personal Statement?

A Healthcare Management Personal Statement is an individualized, written summary that outlines the qualifications, experiences, and goals of a professional in the healthcare field.

This statement provides insight into how the writer approaches their work, communicates with patients and colleagues, and manages health systems efficiently and ethically. It should include facts about the writer’s accomplishments and demonstrate an understanding of the critical issues within healthcare management.

Additionally, it should convey a passion for serving others and show how they utilize technological advances to create better patient solutions.

A successful personal statement will reflect the author’s unique personality while employing creative language and thought-provoking examples to stand out from similar applicants.

How to Write a Compelling Healthcare Management Personal Statement

The personal statement can tell medical schools why you want to study there and how your background and experiences will benefit their faculty.

Remember that you want your statement to sound like you rather than like a list of clichés. Since the personal statement is generic and will be used for other school and course applications, don’t mention schools or departments.

Include the following in your statement of purpose:

• Explain your interest in the position and your qualifications to the reader. Mention why you want to become a healthcare manager and what aspects of healthcare particularly intrigue you.
• Include any relevant experience, talents, or accomplishments you’ve picked up in your time at school, on the job, or elsewhere. Use it to explain how you make a good candidate for a future in healthcare.
• Think back on your time in the workforce and the lessons you learned about yourself or the field.
• Discuss any recent events you have heard about in the medical or healthcare fields, and elaborate on why you found them so fascinating.
• Provide details about any further higher education outreach events you may have attended and why you found them engaging.
• Remember to mention your hobbies and how they’ve helped you grow professionally.

Include in your statement any extenuating circumstances that have influenced your academic performance or your choice of specialization. Things like caring for a sick family member, experiencing a medical emergency, etc.

Great Healthcare Management Personal Statement Samples

These INK samples show the different perspectives of a personal statement. Use these samples to inspire your writing to prepare a hugely successful personal statement!

I’ve driven good change in healthcare administration for over two decades thanks to my extensive knowledge and insight.

I provide compassionate, efficient, and cost-effective patient care solutions by combining empathy, innovation, and thoughtfulness.

I can manage persons, resources, and processes to implement successful plans with tangible outcomes by identifying and assessing possibilities and foreseeing potential hazards.

I’ve utilized my skill set to create and maintain effective relationships with patients, families, and medical staff. Additionally, by leveraging technology and data analytics, I can ensure that sound decisions are made in accordance with established protocols and standards.

I can manage competing priorities within tight deadlines and deliver high-quality results due to my experience managing complex projects. With each accomplishment, I endeavor to push myself further to see what else I can achieve.

I look forward to applying my talents and understanding towards new challenges within healthcare management.

I’ve worked in healthcare management for over 20 years and am driven to make a difference.

I can quickly learn, analyze complex systems, and create unique ideas that work, thanks to my experience.

Throughout my career, I’ve worked on numerous projects that have helped streamline processes and reduce costs significantly. I also have excellent interpersonal skills, which helps me cooperate with stakeholders to design health equity and accessibility strategies.

This holistic approach to healthcare management drives me to push beyond limits and drive good change through resilient, forward-thinking strategies.

I’ve always loved healthcare management because I want to help people. I’m a highly experienced professional with a background that includes managing complex systems in hospitals and clinics throughout my career. With an innate sense of empathy and enthusiasm for practical problem-solving, I believe I can bring both knowledge and innovation to any healthcare organization.

I used inventive methods in a critical care unit to cut wait times and enhance efficiency without compromising patient outcomes. This experience inspired me to pursue additional health service administration certifications, allowing me to gain further insight into how this dynamic sector operates.

Familiarizing myself with cutting-edge trends such as data analytics has enabled me to develop farsighted approaches to improving service delivery. My ability to build trust, understanding, and support among varied coworkers has also improved. My dedication to bettering our healthcare system is evidenced by my record of initiating quality control initiatives that prioritize ethical integrity above all else.

As someone always looking for ways to make a difference, I plan to use my skills and interest in healthcare management. In addition to bringing fresh perspectives to projects, I am confident that I can leverage my insights and enthusiasm to generate tangible results.

Final Words

Healthcare management personal statement samples allow you to get a sense of how personal statements look and function in myriad fields. Start with the offered samples and compose your statement to ensure that your topic is conveyed as desired .

Abir Ghenaiet

Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.

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Master of Health Administration (MHA)

• Admission Requirements
• Career Outlook

How to Write an MHA Personal Statement

If you’re applying to a Master’s in Health Administration program, you must be passionate about helping medical facilities run smoothly and supporting life-saving care. You’ve also done a lot to prepare for this point in your career, having earned an undergraduate degree and likely held at least one position in this rapidly growing field. Now, you’re ready to advance your career with the right master’s degree. One thing stands in your way: crafting the perfect personal statement to include with your application.

Also called a statement of purpose, the MHA personal statement is your chance to make your application more than just a collection of data and facts. An effective statement of purpose will give the admissions office an idea of who you are, complete with a glimpse into your personal and professional goals and accomplishments. It should communicate why you’re a good fit for the university’s MHA program.

If you feel intimidated by writing your personal statement, you’re not alone. Many people find writing about themselves to be a difficult task. However, to gain admission to a top MHA program , you’ll need a compelling statement of purpose – and this guide will teach you how to achieve just that.

Step 1: Brainstorm

Your first step in crafting an effective MHA personal statement or statement of purpose is to brainstorm. Many people find brainstorming methods like freewriting, clustering, or listing useful. However, there’s only one hard-and-fast rule for this step in the process: Write down your thoughts. Brainstorming is most effective when you make notes or a visual representation of how you might answer the personal statement prompt. The questions below are a few examples that may be helpful to ask yourself during this step:

• Why did I decide to pursue a career in health administration?
• What do I want to accomplish in my career?
• What are my goals in earning my MHA?
• Why am I applying to this MHA program?
• Why do I want to attend this university?
• How do my accomplishments make me a good fit for this MHA program?

Step 2: Outline

Writing out an outline for your essay will save time later. Return to what you wrote during the brainstorming phase. Which parts of your notes are the most compelling? Which ones make you feel genuinely passionate about the MHA program you’re applying to? These are the pieces of information you should be sure to include in your statement of purpose.

If the application provides a prompt, use it when building your outline. For example, the MHA personal statement prompt at Methodist University is: “Complete a typed personal statement including your background, interest in attending Methodist University, interest in the program, and your career goals.”

Here is an example outline for an essay responding to this prompt:

• Explain why you chose to pursue a career in health administration.
• Describe your educational background.
• Identify details about MU that made you interested in attending this school.
• Point to specifics about this program that make it the right fit for you.
• Explain what you want to accomplish in the next few years.
• Describe how this MHA program will help you achieve your goals.
• Summarize your main points.

Step 3: Draft

After taking the time to brainstorm and outline your statement of purpose, the process of writing your first draft should go smoothly. Return to your outline, and use your brainstorming notes to fill out each section. Think of this as the part of the process where you tell a story. Add relevant details to make your personal statement more compelling to the reader, and include examples from your lived experiences to demonstrate the message you’re trying to communicate.

Step 4: Revise

Revision is just as important as the drafting stage. Read through your statement of purpose and revise it to make the essay more clear and compelling to the reader. Here are a few examples of questions to ask yourself during the revision process:

• Is anything I wrote unclear?
• Can I be more specific about any of these details?
• Does my personal statement directly respond to the prompt?
• If I worked for the admissions office, what questions would I have?

Step 5: Proofread

Finally, proofread your personal statement for grammar, punctuation, or spelling mistakes. It’s essential for your final statement to be professional and free of errors, as mistakes could cloud your overall message. Once you’re happy with your statement of purpose, you’re ready to apply for your MHA program.

MHA Personal Statement Example

MHA personal statement examples are useful tools in planning your essay. Read the example below, and use it as a guide or inspiration for your statement.

“I’ve aspired to work in the health care field since I was a teenager. For much of my adolescence, my mother, who lives with rheumatoid arthritis, was also a caregiver to my maternal grandmother, who was battling Alzheimer’s. Due to the medical needs of the entire family, we all spent a great deal of time in medical facilities. I soon learned just how lucky my family was to have access to top-notch care and treatment. The more I learned about the medical system, though, the more I realized that not all families are so fortunate. Since then, my desire has been to help improve the level of care offered to all families and individuals.

I have always valued the hard work of nurses and doctors who take hands-on responsibility for care. However, the more I interacted with the health care industry, the more I developed a growing appreciation for those who often work behind the scenes – the health service managers, clinic supervisors, and consultants who keep day-to-day health care operations running smoothly. When I entered college, I felt that my place in the field was among their ranks, working to expand access to quality care throughout my community. That’s why I completed the Bachelor of Science in Community Health, and it’s why I’m now applying for admission to Methodist University’s Master in Health Administration program.

Through my research of MHA programs, Methodist University quickly became an obvious choice. As a health administration professional currently working in the field, entering an online program that will allow me to study at my own pace without sacrificing the quality of my education is a top priority. That’s why the excellent reputation of Methodist’s online program and outstanding faculty stood out to me. I’m excited to apply to a program with a low student-to-faculty ratio and built-in support services to support me along the way.

Specifically, the MHA program at MU is unmatched. Its focus on preparing students with the strategies, tools, and techniques to lead teams, make important decisions, understand organizational effectiveness, and change processes to improve performance tells me that this program will truly prepare me to advance as a leader in my field. After reviewing the course list, I’m most interested in expanding my learning with two courses: HCA 5680: Global Health and HCA 5600: Health Care Policy Issues. Both will prepare me to support efforts to increase access to quality health care in all communities.

After several years working as an administrator in medical facilities, I’ve learned a great deal about how my work can support health services for patients. Completing MU’s MHA program will help me pursue my future career goals, including management positions. My hope is to graduate from MU with a solid understanding of health care administration and the skills I need to advance. Additionally, I look forward to completing the required capstone experience to solidify and showcase my skills for future employers.

Health care in our society relies on talented health administration professionals who can ensure access to care for each and every patient. I want to dedicate myself to becoming one of those professionals, and I believe my next step is to complete Methodist University’s Master in Health Administration program.”

Final Tips for Writing an MHA Personal Statement

You may find these tips helpful in writing your MHA personal statement:

• Ask a friend or family member to review your statement and provide feedback.
• Read your personal statement out loud to look for errors.
• Ask a colleague or close friend to list your top strengths and qualities from their perspective. Then, make sure your essay demonstrates these qualities.
• Avoid repetition. If you find yourself using the same words or phrases repeatedly, search for synonyms and other ways to express your thoughts.

Taking the time to learn how to craft your MHA personal statement or statement of purpose shows that you’re serious about preparing for advancement in health administration. Graduating from a top online program can make all the difference when it’s time to apply for leadership positions. Learn more about Methodist University’s online MHA program , which offers working professionals the opportunity to study at their pace with flexible online coursework taught by field experts. Request more information about this program or apply today .”Interested in other health care degrees? Explore all the online health care programs we offer at Methodist University.

• Ellis, M. (2022, June 2). How to Write a Powerful Personal Statement . Grammarly. Retrieved on October 21, 2022, from “ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/personal-statement/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw48OaBhDWARIsAMd966BK6sa3AFL2z6fBzcz2bOBtut8HUbTQD5_NRj1UJq6bAReWC057wBwaAtdlEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds .”
• McCombes, S. (2019, Feb. 12). How to Write Your Personal Statement | Strategies & Examples . Scribbr. Retrieved on October 21, 2022, from “ https://www.scribbr.com/graduate-school/personal-statement/ .”

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Health Sciences Personal Statement Examples

Public health is a purposeful, challenging and rewarding career and I experienced it whenIstarted working as a community vaccinator in the health department (Preventive Services). So, I’m writing this letter to apply to Debrecen’s university bachelor's programme in public health...

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The power of a personal mission statement, and other lessons from a recent graduate

By Joel Burt-Miller, MPH ’23

June 3, 2024 — I am about to begin an exciting new chapter of my career as one of 10 new residents in the U.S. pursuing dual training in family medicine and psychiatry. Reflecting on how I got to this point, I have learned some important lessons. I’ve laid them out here in the hopes they might resonate with others seeking to define their paths.

Define your life’s mission

My introduction to the field of public health came as a freshman at Brandeis University, in a course on inequities in health care and health outcomes. It ignited a flame in me and led me to define a clear mission for my life: I would advocate for the inequitably resourced, both locally and globally. I would serve and heal both individuals and communities. I would focus not just on treating disease, but on supporting a holistically healthy life.

My journey from that point took many twists and turns, but throughout, I held tight to that mission statement. It helped me evaluate each opportunity with clarity and purpose.

Be open to new interests

When I entered medical school at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, I planned to go into primary care. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which also exposed an ongoing mental health crisis. I became invested in finding a solution. I designed a research study based on the South African philosophy of Ubuntu that used small groups, called Ubuntu groups , to effectively address the social isolation and burnout experienced within my learning community while promoting a sense of belonging. That project sparked my interest in psychiatry. Yet, I remained committed to preventive medicine as well.

Was it possible to accommodate my interest in both fields of medicine? Through a quick Google search, sure enough, I found five residency programs combining family medicine and psychiatry.

Seek mentors (even when it’s daunting!)

The existence of these programs was promising — but I wanted to know more. With piqued curiosity, I entered the same search terms, “family medicine and psychiatry,” on LinkedIn. To my delight, someone popped up: Rohit Abraham. His bio described him as a ‘Combined Psychiatry & Family Medicine Resident at Boston Medical Center.’

I decided to take a leap of faith. Though I’d never met Rohit, I sent him a message. I hoped he would be kind enough to respond but was also prepared for a reality where he would not. A few hours later, he replied, and we scheduled a time to speak over Zoom.

In our conversation, I gained much more than knowledge of his career path in medicine. Though I didn’t know it at the time, I gained a lifelong mentor.

Don’t be afraid to take detours

In our initial conversation, Rohit explained why he saw his combined residency as an ideal pathway: He was training to provide comprehensive primary care that would let him address both the physical and the mental health needs of urban underserved populations, with an intersectional focus on substance use disorders.

Reviewing his bio on LinkedIn, I noticed that during medical school, Rohit had pursued an MPH in health policy at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health as a Zuckerman Fellow. When I asked him about the program, he explained that he wanted to address health disparities at both the clinical and policy levels. He expected the dual MD and MPH degrees would help him do that. His goal sounded so much like my own life’s mission. I was inspired.

In just one conversation, my new mentor had opened the door to a possibility I had not dreamed of before.

I applied to the Zuckerman Fellowship program and gained acceptance, prompting me to take a year away from medical school to pursue an MPH.

The degree program exposed me to many new experiences. In my practicum, I worked with MassHealth to disseminate state funding to local communities to expand mental health services. A Harvard case study also introduced me to Boston Medical Center’s model of care, which aims to provide consistently excellent and accessible health services to all in need, regardless of status or ability to pay.

With each new experience, I was able to better articulate how I could achieve my life’s mission.

Keep looking for new lessons

I returned to medical school for my final year shortly after receiving my MPH. And just a few months ago, I learned that I matched at my first-choice residency program at Boston Medical Center — following in Rohit’s footsteps.

As I reflect on my path, I can see how much it helped me to define my life’s mission clearly — and then to keep myself open to considering different ways to achieve it. I can also see how important it was to take a few leaps of faith along the way, including reaching out to a stranger I hoped might be able to give me some guidance.

I’m thrilled to launch into this new stage of my career. I know I’ll learn many new life lessons along the way, so long as I keep myself open to the power of possibilities.

Joel F. Burt-Miller is a resident in the combined family medicine and psychiatry program at Boston Medical Center. He holds an MPH in health policy from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, an MD from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, an MS in biomedical sciences from Duke University, and was a 2022-2023 Zuckerman Fellow at Harvard.

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Huron, South Dakota, June 14, 2024 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is awarding $50 million to 141 awardees in 40 states and Puerto Rico, through the Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot Program (FLSP Program), reaching 177 unique agricultural operations and over 11,000 workers. The awards will help improve the resiliency of the U.S. food supply chain by addressing agriculture labor challenges and instability, strengthen protections for farmworkers, and expand legal pathways for labor migration. This program delivers on a commitment made as part of the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection and furthers the Administration’s commitment to a regional approach to migration in the hemisphere.

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USDA Awards $50 Million to Support Farmworkers and Agricultural Employers

“These awards will largely support small and mid-sized farms to ensure they can hire and retain the workers they need to be competitive in the market, while also lifting up rural communities across the country,” said Steve Dick, USDA Farm Service Agency State Executive Director for South Dakota. “Farmworkers make an incredibly important contribution to food and agriculture and ensure we have food on our tables every day. Improving working conditions and quality of life for farmworkers, both U.S. based workers and those that come to our country to work, is one key step in building a stronger, more resilient food supply chain. The Farm Labor Stabilization and Protection Pilot Program demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to supporting employers and farmworkers alike.”

USDA announced the FLSP Program in September 2023, in coordination with other federal agencies, to help address workforce needs in agriculture; promote a safe and healthy work environment, as well as ethical recruitment for farmworkers; and support lawful migration pathways for workers, including expansion of labor pathways for workers from Northern Central America, through the H-2A visa program. FLSP was designed with significant input from immigration, labor, and agricultural stakeholders – informed by the experiences of farmworkers and farmers themselves.

The FLSP Program grants will support a range of required and elective supplemental commitments to expand benefits and protections for all employees. Examples of awardee commitments include:

• Establishing robust pay-related benefits that have the potential to raise earnings for thousands of workers, as well as provide them more time with their families or taking care of their health through policies such as personal and paid sick time off, and mid-season vacation leave;
• Markedly improving working and living conditions by strengthening employer-employee engagement, such as establishing Collaborative Working Groups with robust farmworker representation and partnerships with external organizations that have longstanding experience collaborating with farmworkers;
• Providing additional worker-friendly benefits, such as advancement and management training opportunities, driver’s license training, no-cost English classes for employees, and additional recreation spaces in housing facilities;
• Supporting Know-Your-Rights-and-Resources training sessions for all workers to ensure they understand their legal rights as workers in the United States;
• Participation in Worker-driven Social Responsibility programs – a proven model for improving workplace environments – such as the Fair Food Program;
• Disclosing recruitment practices and advancing ethical, safe recruitment practices that are essential to protecting workers from illegal fees, undue debt, exploitation, and even human trafficking;
• 60 percent of employer awardees that plan to utilize the H-2A visa program committed to recruiting workers from Northern Central America.

View the complete list of awardees

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov .

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.