Personal Statement Research Articles

A Comparison of Machine-Graded (ChatGPT) and Human-Graded Essay Scores in Veterinary Admissions.

Admissions committees have historically emphasized cognitive measures, but a paradigm shift toward holistic reviews now places greater importance on non-cognitive skills. These holistic reviews may include personal statements, experiences, references, interviews, multiple mini-interviews, and situational judgment tests, often requiring substantial faculty resources. Leveraging advances in artificial intelligence, particularly in natural language processing, this study was conducted to assess the agreement of essay scores graded by both humans and machines (OpenAI's ChatGPT). Correlations were calculated among these scores and cognitive and non-cognitive measures in the admissions process. Human-derived scores from 778 applicants in 2021 and 552 in 2022 had item-specific inter-rater reliabilities ranging from 0.07 to 0.41, while machine-derived inter-replicate reliabilities ranged from 0.41 to 0.61. Pairwise correlations between human- and machine-derived essay scores and other admissions criteria revealed moderate correlations between the two scoring methods (0.41) and fair correlations between the essays and the multiple mini-interview (0.20 and 0.22 for human and machine scores, respectively). Despite having very low correlations, machine-graded scores exhibited slightly stronger correlations with cognitive measures (0.10 to 0.15) compared to human-graded scores (0.01 to 0.02). Importantly, machine scores demonstrated higher precision, approximately two to three times greater than human scores in both years. This study emphasizes the importance of careful item design, rubric development, and prompt formulation when using machine-based essay grading. It also underscores the importance of employing replicates and robust statistical analyses to ensure equitable applicant ranking when integrating machine grading into the admissions process.

A Linguistic Analysis of United States Navy Orthopaedic Surgery Applicant Personal Statements.

Despite the importance of linguistic analysis, no systematic research has been explored in the form of linguistic analysis on personal statements for military orthopedic surgery residency programs. This study was conducted to analyze U.S. Navy (USN) orthopedic surgery applicants' personal statements using an automated textual analysis program to assess personal statements for linguistic styles. A retrospective analysis of USN orthopedic applicant personal statements from application years 2016 to 2019 was performed utilizing the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software. LIWC analyzed the text for summary variables: analytical thinking, clout, authenticity, and emotional tone. We compared this analysis with Step 1 and Step 2 scores and determined whether an applicant matched. A total of 94 personal statements (60,230 words) were analyzed using LIWC. The average word count was 640.7, with an average of 23 words per sentence. The average-matched applicant USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 scores were 240 and 250, respectively. When examining summary traits utilizing multiple logistic regression analysis, only analytical thinking demonstrated a statistically significant difference in matched versus unmatched applicants with a P = .011 (OR = 1.10). As the USMLE Step 1 exam transitions from a scoring system to Pass/Fail grading, programs will look at other characteristics to determine who would likely succeed in residency. From a linguistic analysis standpoint, matched applicants' personal statements demonstrated higher analytical thinking, clout, affiliation, power, and risk focus than unmatched applicants. Unmatched applicants demonstrated higher authenticity than matched applicants.

How long should my personal statement be dermatology residency?

How long should my personal statement be dermatology residency?

Forecasting Futures: Predicting University Admissions with Machine Learning

The process of university admissions is inherently complex, often relying on various factors such as academic records, standardized test scores, extracurricular activities, recommendation letters, and personal statements. In recent years, machine learning (ML) techniques have shown promising results in predicting admission outcomes, aiding both prospective students and admissions committees in decision-making processes. Keywords: University admission, Machine learning, Predictive modelling, Classification, Regression, Data pre-processing.

Impact of a Mentorship Program to Prepare Medical Students for the Military Residency Match.

Mentorship programs have well-documented benefits to both mentees and mentors. Military medical students face unique challenges in medical school given their service-specific requirements and separate military match process. We therefore aimed to determine whether military medical students' participation in a mentorship program impacts their confidence in applying to obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) residency. First, a needs assessment survey regarding the use of a mentorship program was sent to medical students, residents, fellows, and attendings. A structured mentorship program was then developed for military medical students applying to OB/GYN residency based on the survey results. Mentors were randomly paired with mentees and asked to appraise curriculum vitaes, review personal statements, and perform mock interviews. Following completion of these activities, participants were sent a post-intervention questionnaire. This project was exempt by our institution's Institutional Review Board. Our program had 56 participants, with 29 individuals completing our post-intervention survey (response rate 51.8%). After participating in the program, 92.3% of mentors stated they plan to continue a relationship with their mentee. All the mentee respondents stated they would participate in this program again. Before participating in the program, 16.7% of mentees felt "prepared" or "extremely prepared" for the match, compared to 87.6% post-intervention. Most mentee respondents (75%) reported that this program made them a more competitive applicant. Following the mentorship program, 66.7% of participants successfully matched into OB/GYN residency. This reproducible, well-received intervention can be implemented to facilitate mentoring connections regardless of geographic location. As the OB/GYN specialty develops its own application process, civilian medical schools should consider adopting similar programs to aid their students in navigating the match process.

Using Generative AI to Write Those Personal Statements?

Using Generative AI to Write Those Personal Statements?

Race matters more than racial identity disclosure when evaluating applicant diversity statements

AbstractThe present research investigated whether a target applicant's race and disclosure of their race in a personal diversity statement influenced White evaluators' perceptions of the applicant's egalitarian motivations and their likelihood of contributing to organizational diversity and inclusion outcomes. In Study 1 (N = 206), participants evaluated a diversity statement that was ostensibly written by a White or Black applicant who either referenced or did not reference his race within the statement. Participants judged Black applicants as more internally motivated to be egalitarian and White applicants as more externally motivated, regardless of whether they disclosed their race in the statement. Participants also judged Black applicants as more likely to contribute to diversity and inclusion outcomes than White applicants. Study 2 (N = 257) aimed to replicate Study 1 and tested a strengthened race disclosure condition. We again saw little evidence of race disclosure impacting evaluations of applicants: Black applicants were judged as more internally motivated, less externally motivated, and more likely to contribute to diversity and inclusion compared to White applicants. Study 3 (N = 297) aimed to further replicate and expand on these results by testing a disclosure manipulation wherein the applicant discussed the personal importance/centrality of his race. Once again, applicant race (and not disclosure) demonstrated consistent effects on applicant evaluations. Our results highlight flaws in the personal diversity statement evaluation process, such that factors beyond statement content (i.e., applicant race) influenced perceptions and outcomes of the applicants. Practical implications and solutions for applicant evaluation processes are discussed.

Getting started writing a personal diversity statement.

In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.

Health workers motivators to uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine at Iganga Hospital Eastern Uganda, and Mengo Hospital Kampala Uganda; A qualitative study

Uganda continues extensive mobilization and administration of the COVID 19 vaccine to its people albeit some vaccine hesitancy with in the population. Amongst the health workers however, approximately 70% had received their first dose while 40% had received their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by September 2021 respectively. These figures represent a recognizable acceptance rate among health workers. Exploring motivators to vaccine uptake among health workers is vital for the government’s general population vaccine rollout plan. We conducted 12 focus group discussions and 20 in-depth interviews with health workers (vaccinated and unvaccinated) to understand motivators to vaccine acceptance in their own perspective in central and eastern Uganda. Reported motivators to vaccine acceptance included; risk susceptibility/protection, fear of death and/or cost of treatment and experiences of COVID 1 related grief. Other were trust in the vaccine, call to government policy and vaccine success stories elsewhere, real or perceived benefits of vaccination and peer influence. We recommend intensified dissemination of health worker tailor made tools/guides for information, education and communication about the COVID 19 vaccine. The tools need to emphasize the elicited themes/motivators. We also recommend use of peers who have taken up the vaccine and survived COVID-19 or got a mild form of the disease to elicit positive peer influence about the vaccine amongst health workers. The information dissemination and peer narratives could be done through the health worker’s social media platforms, union or association websites, personal statements, editorials or other media.

ChatGPT Editing Effects on Emergency Medicine Residency Personal Statements

ChatGPT Editing Effects on Emergency Medicine Residency Personal Statements

Kazakhstan’s Foreign Policy: Adjusting the Priorities

Kazakhstan’s foreign policy has been characterized by continuity for a long time. The country has been balancing between Russia, the West and China. In the context of the transformation of world politics and economy, as well as aggravation of relations between the West and Russia, the adjusting foreign policy priorities and its specific content are getting especially important for Kazakhstan. The realization of a special military operation by Russia has greatly impacted Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. Kazakhstan is under strong political pressure from the West. It requires Kazakhstan to change its foreign policy course and join anti-Russian policy. The study is aimed to identify new trends in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy, both in the relations with Russia and the West as well as countries of Central Asia. For this purpose, the statements of the first persons of the state, reflecting the priorities, were analyzed. A special attention was also paid to Kazakhstan’s policy towards Russia, which remains a key partner. In the conclusion, the author identified the key priorities: an intensification of relations with the West, a search for new approaches to cooperation with Central Asian countries and preservation of balancing between Russia and the West.

Improve Anesthesiology Education and the Specialty by sharing the Personal Statements of Residency Applicants

Improve Anesthesiology Education and the Specialty by sharing the Personal Statements of Residency Applicants

Graduate Admissions in Psychology Before and After the Pandemic: GRExit Comes to Psychology

Background Admission to graduate school in psychology is competitive. It is essential for both undergraduate students who seek graduate training and their professors to understand the key factors that contribute to successful applications for graduate study. Objective We aimed to see how the global COVID-19 pandemic affected graduate admissions decisions by comparing the results from nationwide surveys distributed in 2014 and 2022. Method A Qualtrics script asked respondents to rate the importance of 16 factors in admission to graduate school in psychology by reporting a percentage value for each factor, adding up to 100% across all factors. Results The importance of factors that had figured prominently in the initial sample (e.g., research experience, undergraduate GPA, recommendation letters, and personal statement) increased or remained stable in the recent sample, but all versions of the Graduate Record Exam decreased in importance. Conclusions Students who aspire to graduate study in psychology should engage in research and disseminate the results in papers and presentations. Teaching Implications Professors involved in training undergraduate psychology students need to provide opportunities for their students to engage in research, and to find outlets for the students to disseminate their findings such as undergraduate journals and regional conferences.

The spirit of freedom in the works of Mashkhur-Jusip Kopeyuly

Relevance. The works of Mashkhur-Zhusip Kopeyuly always differ in science in terms of their national content, style, and breadth of knowledge. Over time, the poet's legacy is being studied in detail, and its significance and relevance is growing. Purpose. The purpose of the study was to analyze the patriotic poems of Mashhur-Zhusip Kopeyuly and their impact on the modern youth of the sovereign country of Kazakhstan. In addition, to analyze the poet's personal statements, his poetic thoughts and philosophical views. Methodology. The research employs a qualitative approach, involving a comprehensive analysis of Mashkhur-Zhusip Kopeyuly's literary works. The study delves into the historical context, thematic elements, and symbolic representations within the poet's writings, drawing insights from literary criticism and historical accounts. Results. The article covers topical issues such as the national spirit, heroism and identity of the country, freedom and liberty, and their impact on the Kazakh spirituality, which are the basis of the poet's works. The historical events of the early 20th century, the violence of colonial policy and their consequences were widely reflected in the poet's legacy. In addition, the poet's own personal expressions, poetic thoughts and philosophical views were scientifically described and analyzed in detail. The poet's basic humanistic views on education and science, tradition and culture are depicted in the research. Conclusions. The study concludes that Mashkhur-Zhusip Kopeyuly's literary legacy holds enduring relevance in fostering a sense of patriotism and national pride among the youth of modern Kazakhstan. His works remain a testament to the indomitable spirit of the Kazakh people and their unwavering pursuit of independence and self-determination. The research underscores the need for further in-depth analysis and broader dissemination of the poet's works to inspire future generations and promote a deeper understanding of Kazakhstan's rich cultural heritage.

Can Artificial Intelligence Fool Residency Selection Committees? Analysis of Personal Statements by Real Applicants and Generative AI, a Randomized, Single-Blind Multicenter Study.

The potential capabilities of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools have been relatively unexplored, particularly in the realm of creating personalized statements for medical students applying to residencies. This study aimed to investigate the ability of generative AI, specifically ChatGPT and Google BARD, to generate personal statements and assess whether faculty on residency selection committees could (1) evaluate differences between real and AI statements and (2) determine differences based on 13 defined and specific metrics of a personal statement. Fifteen real personal statements were used to generate 15 unique and distinct personal statements from ChatGPT and BARD each, resulting in a total of 45 statements. Statements were then randomized, blinded, and presented to a group of faculty reviewers on residency selection committees. Reviewers assessed the statements by 14 metrics including if the personal statement was AI-generated or real. Comparison of all metrics was performed. Faculty correctly identified 88% (79/90) real statements, 90% (81/90) BARD, and 44% (40/90) ChatGPT statements. Accuracy of identifying real and BARD statements was 89%, but this dropped to 74% when including ChatGPT. In addition, the accuracy did not increase as faculty members reviewed more personal statements (area under the curve [AUC] 0.498, p = 0.966). BARD performed poorer than both real and ChatGPT across all metrics (p < 0.001). Comparing real with ChatGPT, there was no difference in most metrics, except for Personal Interests, Reasons for Choosing Residency, Career Goals, Compelling Nature and Originality, and all favoring the real personal statements (p = 0.001, p = 0.002, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p < 0.001, respectively). Faculty members accurately identified real and BARD statements, but ChatGPT deceived them 56% of the time. Although AI can craft convincing statements that are sometimes indistinguishable from real ones, replicating the humanistic experience, personal nuances, and individualistic elements found in real personal statements is difficult. Residency selection committees might want to prioritize these particular metrics while assessing personal statements, given the growing capabilities of AI in this arena. Residency selection committees may want to prioritize certain metrics unique to the human element such as personal interests, reasons for choosing residency, career goals, compelling nature, and originality when evaluating personal statements.

Orthopaedic Personal Statement Thematic Review: Does Topic Matter?

In the process of applying into medical residency, the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) requires critical documents including a personal statement. Utility of personal statements are questioned based on suspected congruity of the content within personal statements among those who apply into orthopaedic surgery. The goal of this study was to identify and categorize the thematic elements found within the 2021 to 2022 personal statements of orthopaedic surgery applicants at a single institution and assess a correlation to interview invitation. Deidentified personal statements among 2021 to 2022 ERAS applicants were reviewed by the research staff and categorized into one of the proposed themes. Three hundred ninty-four applications passed initial screening filters, and 49 applicants were granted an interview. Proposed themes that were collected included: family of physician, working with hands, history of injury/disease, prior professional setting, immigration/travel, athlete/sports, reapplication, previous clinical experience, and other. χ2 test was used to analyze categorical themes and additional univariate group-to-group comparisons. Multivariate principal component analysis was performed to determine which themes were associated with interview invitation. There was a significant difference in theme selection for an applicant's personal statement (χ2 = 209.5, p < 0.001), but no statistical difference was observed between each individual categorical themes and interview selection. Univariate group-to-group comparison demonstrated greater interview rates between immigration/travel compared with reapplicant and family of physician compared with working with hands. Multivariate principal component analysis demonstrated immigration/travel as the theme with a positive correlation toward an interview invitation. Despite a significant focus of the application process into orthopaedic surgery residencies, our single-institution study did observe specific themes that were more prevalent. There was an increased interview rate between applicant's themes for immigration/travel and family of physician when comparing groups. Immigration/travel was also identified as the only significant theme associated with interview invitation which may be due to the recent emphasis on promoting diversity within orthopaedic surgery.

A Descriptive Study of ESG Investing: A Way Towards Sustainability

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations have emerged as critical factors in the investment decision-making of companies and individuals. ESG factors assess the impact of environmental, social, and governance aspects of a company. This paper explores the importance of ESG factors for sustainability, the growing trend toward ESG investing, and the challenges and opportunities associated with ESG integration. The study uses a qualitative research design, using secondary sources such as academic articles, company reports, media reports, and statements of persons of importance. The findings reveal that ESG considerations are crucial for sustainable development, the companies that prioritize ESG factors tend to perform better in the long term, have a lesser cost of capital, better retention rate, and lower litigation risks.

Bridge to M4 (B2M4): An innovative residency application preparation curriculum.

The medical residency application process is daunting, time-consuming, and variable, making mentorship in preparation for this process important. In light of changes to the residency application process due to the COVID-19 pandemic, medical students identified a need to create a formal residency application preparation curriculum. The curriculum focused on reflection, while also furthering professional development and preparing for the nuances of the residency application cycle through structured advising. Bridge to M4 (B2M4) included reflective activities to help guide curriculum vitae (CV) refinement, personal and professional values clarification, residency program exploration, elevator pitch formation, personal statement development, mentor identification, guidance on requesting letters of recommendation, and virtual residency interview preparation. The B2M4 elective first took place in June 2020 with 36 rising fourth year students enrolled. Perceived effectiveness of the curriculum was assessed by having student cohorts evaluate the importance of the CV, personal statement, general preparation, and residency program selection before and after the course. Student feedback was reviewed with content analysis, which highlighted the usefulness of a structured residency preparation course that was rooted in reflection and incorporated faculty mentorship and feedback. This student-driven, innovative curricular design provided students the opportunity to prepare for the residency application process through reflective activities including values clarification, strengths identification, and goal setting. B2M4 demonstrates a process that can be used not only during the Residency Match process, but also throughout graduate medical education and future career decisions.

Detecting Artificial Intelligence-Generated Personal Statements in Professional Physical Therapist Education Program Applications: A Lexical Analysis.

The objective of this study was to compare the lexical sophistication of personal statements submitted by professional physical therapist education program applicants with those generated by OpenAI's Chat Generative Pretrained Transformer (ChatGPT). Personal statements from 152 applicants and 20 generated by ChatGPT were collected, all in response to a standardized prompt. These statements were coded numerically, then analyzed with recurrence quantification analyses (RQAs). RQA indices including recurrence, determinism, max line, mean line, and entropy were compared with t-tests. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to examine discriminative validity of RQA indices to distinguish between ChatGPT and human-generated personal statements. ChatGPT-generated personal statements exhibited higher recurrence, determinism, mean line, and entropy values than did human-generated personal statements. The strongest discriminator was a 13.04% determinism rate, which differentiated ChatGPT from human-generated writing samples with 70% sensitivity and 91.4% specificity (positive likelihood ratio = 8.14). Personal statements with determinism rates exceeding 13% were 8 times more likely to have been ChatGPT than human generated. Although RQA can distinguish artificial intelligence (AI)-generated text from human-generated text, it is not absolute. Thus, AI introduces additional challenges to the authenticity and utility of personal statements. Admissions committees along with organizations providing guidelines in professional physical therapist education program admissions should reevaluate the role of personal statements in applications. As AI-driven chatbots like ChatGPT complicate the evaluation of personal statements, RQA emerges as a potential tool for admissions committees to detect AI-generated statements.

Personal Statement Requirements and Application Fees for Graduate School in Clinical and Counseling Psychology: What’s It Gonna Take?

Personal Statement Requirements and Application Fees for Graduate School in Clinical and Counseling Psychology: What’s It Gonna Take?