Use the guidelines issued by the institution to which you are applying so that you fully understand the facility's submission requirements. Note format recommendations, word count limits, deadline dates and writing suggestions to make certain you create a snapshot of who you are and why you're the best candidate for a psychiatric residency.
Contact former teachers, good friends and impartial relatives. Ask them to identify--on paper--personal characteristics they've observed in you over time. Make a list of the people who have influenced you to explore the field of psychiatry, particularly those who have mentored and guided you. Plan to include excerpts from these statements to explain why others believe you belong in the residency program.
Include a mix of non-medical and psychiatric credentials in your personal statement to show the committee the depth of your character and breadth of your interests. Describe volunteer work, peer counseling experiences, offices held while in school, scouting, orchestra and other interests.
Be forthright about glitches in your personal or academic history that could be misconstrued if read outside of the context in which they took place. Don't lie, but do explain, for example, the missed semester as a personal decision made when a parent became ill or a C in history class resulting from the part-time job you took so you could pay for your books.
Address your personal statement specifically to the principles evaluating submissions rather than authoring a one-size-fits-all statement that, while time saving, may be perceived as rubber-stamped language rather than a sincere desire to sell yourself.
Gather all of the material you've collected and write a long, detailed, comprehensive statement. Find a good balance between psychiatric and mainstream language when you write the text. Distribute the first draft to people you trust. Ask them to review the text as if they were on the selection committee.
Make final spelling, syntax and editing changes. Eliminate clichés. Stick to the suggested word count, if provided. Put your personal statement into the mail early to avoid missing deadlines and keep backup copies on your desktop for safekeeping. Whether you choose to write and send one personal statement or 100, apply all of the tips in this article and you'll have done a great job of putting yourself on the road to a career in psychiatry.