ERAS Personal Statement Example - Emergency Medicine (April 2025)
- Josh
- Apr 28
- 8 min read
The following ERAS personal statement example is for the emergency medicine residency application of Captain Marvel, aka Carol Danvers. 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 some other residency personal statement examples I wrote:
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ERAS Personal Statement Example - Emergency Medicine
So far, I have captained sports teams to national championships, persevered through adversity and injuries, jumped out of planes soaring miles above the earth, and, as an EMT, even saved lives. The truth is that I have always been a thrill seeker. I have also always sought to challenge myself to achieve at the highest level of whatever I do. Thus, after three fulfilling years as an EMT, I chose to become a physician because I wanted to practice at the pinnacle of medicine. And given my background, my sights are firmly set on emergency medicine.
I love the constant stimulation and the high-pressure, high-reward situations encountered in the ED. At my best in that environment, I enjoy seizing opportunities to care for people during some of the scariest moments of their lives. Mr. M was one of these people, a 47-year-old male who presented to the urgent care clinic during my family medicine core. I was walking through the lobby as he was checking in, and his complaints of shortness of breath, chest pain, and dizziness caught my attention. I want straight to my attending with concerns about a possible emergent situation. He agreed we should see the patient right then and there. My subsequent interview and examination revealed that the man was overweight, a smoker, and had just flown with his family across the country two days previous. Now, he was tachycardic and experiencing some pain on breath intake, symptoms he had attributed to anxiety secondary to lack of sleep.
I suggested we run an EKG, chest x-ray, troponins, CBC, CMP, and D-dimer; my attending agreed. Our patient's O2 saturation was 88% on room air, and he required two liters of nasal canula to get to 92%. The EKG revealed evidence of sinus tachycardia; the chest x-ray was normal and there were no signs of ischemic changes. The CMC, CMP, and troponins were also unrevealing, but the D-dimer was significantly elevated (4.5). We ruled out unstable angina, acute coronary syndrome, and other types of pulmonary pathology. However, since our facility was not equipped to perform a CTA of the chest to assess for pulmonary embolus, I called a squad to transfer the patient to the ED. While the patient and squad were in transit, I then called ahead to give a formal presentation to the ED physician on duty so she could prepare for arrival.
The next morning, I was very gratified when the patient's wife called to thank me for likely saving her husband's life. He had indeed been suffering a PE, but he’d quickly been placed on anti-coagulants and would be discharged within one to two days.
Helping my patient receive the necessary care in a dangerous situation reminded me of how lucky and fulfilled I feel in the emergency medicine arena. Truly, playing a role on a practiced team that ensures patients continue their lives with their loved ones is a privilege. Another privilege I enjoy is thrill seeking, and I have done it all my life. I am a master of three martial arts, an amateur MMA title holder, and I have led teams to championships in multiple sports at every level of competition. I have also conducted, published, and presented independent research related to emergency medicine. Finally, I am currently working towards acquiring my pilot's license and I expect to have it before beginning residency.
All these achievements pale in comparison to the rush I felt when my patient's wife told me her husband was going to be okay.
I love emergency medicine. To me, there is nothing more rewarding. Thus, when I picture my residency years, I anticipate contributing to a busy environment alongside dedicated colleagues who strive to always be the best they can be. After residency, I will continue my work in the ED so as to indulge my passion while improving upon my abilities. Resilient, adaptable, and great under pressure, I am a devoted teammate and leader. If given the opportunity to join your team, I will do everything in my power to grow into an out-of-this-world asset for my institution and my patients.
Discussion
Personal Statement Length
Captain Marvel’s personal statement is 686 words, so it’s in that sweet spot between 600 and 800 words, which is my optimal length recommendation.
Tone
Carol is all business. Her tone captures her intensity.
Wasting no time, she launches into her extreme lifestyle, background, and job. It’s obvious from the first sentence that she is a perfect match for emergency medicine. Can you imagine her in any other specialty?
The First Sentence
Many people will tell you that you MUST grab a reader’s attention with your first sentence. This is unhelpful advice. Why?
Most applicants who try to wow their reader with an incredible, unforgettable, dynamic, or AMAZING first sentence come off as trying too hard. This will annoy the reader, which is the exact opposite of what you want.
Carol’s first sentence is sort of an attention grabber, but it doesn’t go overboard. I could’ve written this instead:
"The wind howls as the plane’s door slides open. I pull down my goggles, smile knowingly, and look out into the blue. A single cloud drifts along below us. The earth is 14,000 feet straight down, but this is where I feel most at home. I take a breath, bask for a moment in the adrenaline rush, and then dive headfirst out into the great expanse."
Even if you don’t think this is too much, I guarantee that a good percentage of your readers will. “Here’s yet another applicant trying to impress me with an amazing first sentence,” they’ll say to themselves as they roll their eyes. Then they’ll read on with the notion that you’re annoying because you think you’re fabulous and you take yourself too seriously.
The other reason I recommend not overthinking and dumping all of your energy into your first sentence is simple:
When you sit down to write your personal statement, setting such a high bar for your first sentence can stop your momentum before it even gets going.
I’ve spoken with hundreds of applicants who’ve literally wasted weeks perfecting their first sentence -- so much so that they don’t even have a full first draft despite spending hours and hours at their computer.
And their first sentence, the one they’ve poured their heart and soul into, is so dramatic and trying SOOOO hard to grab attention that a lot of their readers will hate it!
My advice about your first sentence for your ERAS personal statement is to aim for interesting and genuine, not AMAZING.
Structure
Carol uses my Cheeseburger Method, which is detailed in my residency personals statement writing guide. There are three parts to the outline:
PART 1: The Introduction, or Top Bun: Introduce yourself and answer two important questions: 1) Why are you a doctor? 2) Why your chosen specialty?
Carol skips the first question entirely and goes straight into why she’s going into emergency medicine. This is totally fine since it’s more important to talk about why you love your specialty.
For most applicants, discussing why they entered medicine in the first place is just a good, medicine-related way to introduce themselves. However, it isn’t necessary since programs are more interested in why you’re choosing their specific residency path.
PART 2: The Middle, or The Meat: Tell a patient story that illustrates your passion for your specialty and shows off the skills/character traits that will make you excel in residency.
***Sidenote: Though Carol is applying to emergency medicine, she tells a patient story from her family medicine rotation. It works well because she’s showing off a lot of the characteristics she has that will make her an exceptional EM resident. I could have shown her being phenomenal during an EM rotation, but I chose to use this story instead to prove the point that if you’re a great fit for your chosen specialty, it will be obvious regardless of the setting.
However, far more often than not, it is best to choose a patient story from a rotation in your specialty.***
Utilizing this patient story, Carol shows herself as:
1. Observant, proactive, and quick to action - She recognizes a patient in an emergency while strolling through the lobby. Then she immediately went to her attending.
2. Thorough and detail-oriented - She extracted and recorded all the pertinent information during her interview and exam.
3. Organized, professional, and methodical - This is implied by the TONE of her writing. She describes her findings in much the way she would present a patient to an attending or during rounds.
***Sidenote: An easy way to show off that you’re detail-oriented and methodical is to share very specific details in your patient story. Notice how Carol does this by including exact numbers. The D-dimer wasn’t just elevated, it was 4.5.***
4. A conscientious team player - She took the initiative to call ahead to the ED physician on duty in order to deliver a formal presentation.
PART 3: The Conclusion, or Bottom Bun: Sum everything up for your reader, let them know what you’ll contribute to their program, and touch on any plans you might have for the future.
***Sidenote: This is the one place where it’s okay to tell and not show.
“Resilient, adaptable, and great under pressure, I am a devoted teammate and leader. If given the opportunity to join your team, I will do everything in my power to grow into an out-of-this-world asset for my institution and my patients,” Carol declares.
In this case, telling is effective because she has already shown these traits throughout her personal statement.***
I always encourage applicants to include a callback to their introduction in their bottom bun.
Carol’s bottom bun is her final three paragraphs. Highlighted below in green is part of the beginning paragraph of her conclusion.
Remember the introduction of her personal statement when she listed that she’d captained sports teams, jumped out of planes, etc.? This brings the narrative full circle by elaborating on and adding to that list, and then reminding the reader of airplanes by talking about her plans to acquire a pilot’s license.
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:
Skydiving doctor: www.personalstatment.com via ChatGPT and Canva
Comic book doctor answering questions at a chalkboard: www.personalstatment.com via ChatGPT and Canva
Cheeseburger: Abby Curtin
