ERAS Personal Statement Example - Internal Medicine (March 2025)
- Josh
- Mar 22
- 10 min read
The following ERAS personal statement example is for Batman’s internal medicine residency application. I made it up in its entirety and wrote it completely from scratch.
Below my example is a discussion about the personal statement’s elements and why I made many of the choices I made while writing it.
Also check out my family medicine residency personal statement example!
Need help with personal statement writing or any other aspect of your ERAS application? Feel free to check out all the services I offer. Reach out to me to request help today!
ERAS Personal Statement Example - Internal Medicine
The bats swirled around me. A thundering black tornado of wings and claws and squeals. Terrified, I was frozen in place, unable to drop to the ground or even cry out. My heart hammered behind my rib cage.
It could’ve been ten seconds or ten minutes – time passes strangely in the dark – but soon, my heart slowed and my breathing steadied. I rose up tall. The bats still screeched and flapped around me with all the violence of night creatures. Now though, I knew they were my friends. My family even.
In the dark, I smiled.
I was 13 when I tumbled into that hole, which turned out to be a swarming bat cave. What was my biggest fear at the time? You guessed it: BATS. Are you afraid of spiders? Imagine falling into a nest filled with black widows and tarantulas. That’s what this was for me. However, through that experience, I recognized I could live alongside my fear. It lost its power over me. I emerged a different person.
I also emerged from my cave with a broken ankle, and I became curious about medicine during my treatment for it in the hospital and later in the clinic. Thus, it’s no coincidence that I find myself drawn to internal medicine. I like working in both inpatient and outpatient settings, and I enjoy IM’s emphasis on detective work.
I am a natural problem solver who relishes putting in long hours of study and analysis. I am also a team player and leader. For example, in my downtime, I run the Wayne Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides support and resources to children’s homes in Gotham City. Since I am an orphan myself, my work there has been critical to my personal growth; I have learned that giving someone education, purpose, and agency can help them overcome almost anything.
I thought about that when I encountered a 14-year-old male during my internal medicine core rotation. The teenager had recently been in a motor vehicle accident, sustaining compound fractures to his fibula for which he underwent surgery. He had been readmitted for suspected infection; the surgery site was red and warm to the touch, and he had a fever of 101. Over the five days of his admission, we successfully treated him with antibiotics, and I had the privilege of updating and consulting with both the IM and surgical teams on the patient’s behalf.
During that time, I also managed to foster a strong connection with the patient. Soon, he shared with me about his feelings of depression, brought on by his injury. Before his accident, the boy had been a promising basketball player on his way to a full scholarship to the college of his choosing. Now he doubted he would ever walk without a limp again, let alone return to the court. First, I worked with psychiatry to ensure his mental health would be properly addressed. Then, wanting to help enrich the patient’s life further than that, I introduced him to a professional from the Wayne Foundation who specializes in adolescent therapy and empowerment. They still meet regularly.
I also gave my patient my card (it’s shaped like a bat of course) and told him he could reach out to me any time he liked.
Actually, one of the many things I do at the Wayne foundation is provide mentorship to young people. There’s Robin, a kid who lost both his parents in a freak acrobating accident, and Serena, who is quiet as a cat but extraordinarily clever. From them, I have learned that active listening is key in building trust. However, from Jack, whose scathing jokes are his way of avoiding revealing anything about the trauma of his murky background, I have discovered that not everyone wants help. That’s okay – I still do my best to support him while ensuring he knows I completely respect his choices. It will be the same with all the patients I will encounter in IM residency: I will do my utmost to give every patient the intuitive, all-encompassing care they deserve. I will also learn from each one and then carry those lessons with me as my career advances.
A part of me still resides in that bat cave from my childhood. I am fueled to stand tall in every situation, to embrace every difficult moment as a chance to improve. Accordingly, in residency, I am looking for wide exposure, a demanding curriculum, and steady mentors. I want to spend my upcoming years in an environment that challenges me to be at my best. Be assured: I will not be outworked. When I recognize a weakness in myself, I do not rest until I’ve converted it into a strength. My determination, along with my patient-first and team-focused mentality, are what I will bring to your program.
Respectfully,
Bruce Wayne
Discussion
Personal Statement Length
The optimal length for a personal statement is between 600 and 800 words, with shorter almost always being better. Batman uses 807 words and thus breaks the mold.
I could have shortened it (quite significantly actually), but I kept it long to prove an important point: There are no set-in-stone rules for personal statements.
***Sidenote: Here are 5 easy guidelines I urge you to follow.***
If you can tell your story best in 550 words, you should do that. I’ve seen students match with very short personal statements. Need 900 words? Great. I’ve seen that work too.
Some people will advise you that it MUST fit onto one page. Not true.
I recommend aiming for 600-800 words because it’s a wide range. To me, 600 words is right on the edge of being short but not looking too short. 800 words will extend to a second page, but, to me, it doesn’t look too overindulgent or too daunting to read.
Tone
I used a conversation tone because Batman is usually very serious. In fact, he’s so serious that people might not want to work with him.
Sure programs want to know you’ll do a great job, but remember that programs are also considering that they’ll have to hang out with you all the time for the next few years!
Thus, to make Batman more personable, I use incomplete sentences and contractions (could’ve, I’m, it’s). I abbreviate IM.
I do not recommend this for everyone.
However, if someone told you that your personal statement MUST be formal or you won’t match, they are FLAT OUT WRONG.
I’ve done this for years. I have been part of countless match successes for students who utilized informal writing in their personal statements.
Structure
Batman follows my Cheeseburger Method, which I go into detail about in my residency personal statement writing guide. It consists of three main elements:
Element 1 (The Introduction or Top Bun): Conventional advice will tell you that your intro should be just a single paragraph. Remember what I said about rules?
His introduction is a vivid image, which is a fun way to grab attention. The punchy writing suits the story’s pace and keeps the reader’s eyes moving down the page. However, the introduction is FIVE (albeit short) paragraphs.
Is this okay? Yep!
However, if you want to get fancy like this and wow your readers, you MUST get it right. You don’t want to look like you’re trying too hard.
And even if you do get it right, some people won’t like that you went so far out of your way to stand out. That’s fine – you’ll never please everybody.
Batman’s introduction sets the stage for the rest of his personal statement. He covers why he became a doctor and then touches on why is specifically pursuing internal medicine.
Element 2 (The Middle or The Meat): Batman goes deeper into why he’s suited for IM. After briefly sharing that he’s a natural problem solver, team player, and leader, he SHOWS it by discussing his non-profit work with teenagers.
Then he transitions from his non-profit work with teenagers into his patient story, which is about a teenager.
Transitions are difficult, but do you see how they’re effective at keeping the reader engaged?
Without explicitly stating it, in his patient story Batman shows himself as:
1. Detail-oriented - He is able to recall his patient’s age, physical symptoms, and even their temperature.
2. A good team player - Batman appreciates working with other departments within the hospital.
***Sidenote: “We successfully treated him with antibiotics,” he writes. Notice that Batman includes himself as a team member in this sentence. He could have said this instead: “The team treated him with antibiotics.” It’s subtle, but stating it that way implies that he doesn’t consider himself part of the team. This is weak writing, a common mistake that I see all the time. It’s a small thing but it does make a difference.***
3. Compassionate and a great listener - He takes the time to build a relationship with the patient.
4. A team player (again) who is proactive, resourceful, and willing to go the extra mile -- Batman collaborates with the psych department AND reaches out to a counselor from his nonprofit who will impact the patient’s life long after discharge.
5. All about relationships - In giving the patient his (bat-shaped) card, Batman shows how dedicated he is to maintaining relationships.
All of the above applies just fine to internal medicine. However, he could have featured a different patient story centered around detective work/details/analysis. A lot of IM candidates like to discuss how they helped uncover a rare diagnosis or participated in coordinating multi-faceted care for a complicated case that required a bunch of different departments. That would have worked too!
It’s crucial to pick a patient story that emphasizes the qualities about yourself that you want to convey to programs.
Element 3 (The Conclusion or Bottom Bun): Now Batman transitions back into his work with the Wayne Foundation. Talking about a few of the teenagers he works with shows (again) his dedication to relationships and leadership.
***Sidenote: Incidentally, this is the part I’d cut from first if I wanted to trim the word count. It’s interesting (and fun to bring up Robin, Catwoman, and Joker) but not necessary. When possible, you want to steer your personal statement more towards medical school and medicine.***
Next, Batman begins his final paragraph by calling back to the introduction, reminding us of his unfortunate fall into the bat cave. He brings everything full circle, which readers enjoy.
He goes on to emphasize his grittiness and resilience, and then he states how hard he works. “Be assured: I will not be outworked,” he says. Note the tiny hint of humility there. He doesn’t declare he will work harder than everyone else. Rather, he implies that others could work as hard as him, just not harder.
He is confident though. Confidence is great; arrogance is not great. I think he lands acceptably between the two. What do you think?
Finally, Batman concludes as if he’s writing a letter. Almost nobody ends their personal statement like this, but remember what I said about rules.
This signoff works because of how Batman presents as an applicant: intense, deliberate, and respectful of authority.
If I’m a program director, this is the kind of resident I want to hire! Does Batman come off as someone who will ever complain about his workload? Will he ever show up late? Do you think he’d settle for average test scores? Not a chance.
Two Bonus Tips:
These are nitty gritty writing tips, but as I mentioned in my aside about Batman including himself (we) as part of the team, they do make a subtle difference.
1. Take a look at the picture below of paragraphs 4 and 5.
In the span of two sentences, Batman uses three different words for “enjoy” – "like", "enjoy", and "relish".
This keeps the writing keeps moving along because, even if they’re barely aware of it, many of your readers will notice if you use the same word in a small area. This can knock their focus slightly away from your narrative. You want to avoid that whenever possible!
Conversely, you can repeat uncommon words close together as an advanced writing tool. Batman does it in his introduction when he uses “emerge” twice to transition between paragraphs 4 and 5. Take a look:
2. To conclude paragraph 6, Batman states: “I have learned that giving someone education, purpose, and agency can help them overcome almost anything.”
Saying “I have learned” implies humility. Batman is not trying to teach the reader some kind of universal truth. Instead, he focuses on having learned this lesson for himself.
He could have written this instead:
Giving someone education, purpose, and agency can help them overcome almost anything.
Do you see how that is talking at the reader? Here’s another example:
Internal medicine physicians need to be detail-oriented, analytical, collaborative, and compassionate.
Remember your audience –- a group of IM doctors with years and years of experience in the field.
But this sentence implies that you, a medical student just beginning your career, are trying to teach your that group of docs about what it takes to excel in internal medicine. Oops!
It’s too direct and general anyway, so I’d probably recommend cutting it. However, if you must include the thought somehow, here’s how I’d revise it:
Inspired by the IM physicians I worked alongside during rotations, I strive to be detail-oriented, analytical, collaborative, and compassionate.
After stating this so matter-of-factly, you better SHOW these things in the rest of your personal statement!
My full ERAS personal statement writing guide goes into great detail about my methods. And please feel free to check out all the services I offer. Reach out to me to request help today!
Image credits:
Realistic white coat with bat symbol: www.personalstatementman.com via ChatGPT
Comic book doc answering questions at podium: www.personalstatment.com via ChatGPT and Canva
Cheeseburger: Abby Curtin