Do I need to include all of the work experience I have done in a personal statement for medicine?

Although it may be tempting if you've got a lot of work experience under your belt for medicine, however just listing what you have done is unlikey to impress of get the attention of the person reading your personal statement. It is possible for lots of people to get experience shadowing a doctor or working in a healthcare setting, yet what is much more important is what you have gained from the experience. It may be a good idea to look at the GMC's website, see what is expected of you as a doctor (such as empathy, communication skills, an ability to adapt and willingness to learn and update your practice). You can then create a table, and think of different examples of where you have shown all of these characteristics - they don't even have to be related to healthcare! For example, explaing how you delt with a difficult customer in a customer service job and how you adapted your communication to help them (it doesn't have to be negative, maybe they had difficulty hearing you, or were lost or confused). These are the skills and qualities they are looking for. They want to see if you are caring, compassionate and have a genuine wish to help people! 

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Answered by Alec M. Personal Statements tutor

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