The Importance of Defining Your Own Mission, Vision, and Values
Updated October 4, 2020
Chances are, if you’ve considered medical school, you’ve seen your fair share of medical school websites or perused through the Medical School Admissions Requirement (MSAR) tool offered by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Despite what you may initially be led to believe, every medical school is unique. Sure, there are overlapping concepts amongst them: the curriculum, the requirements, and mission, vision, and values (MVV) for starters. But it is a fallacy to believe that these concepts are exactly the same across each school. Let’s take the MVV for example.
What are the Mission, Vision, and Values Statements?
Mission Statement:
A specific description of how the organization intends to achieve its vision for the future. It can also define how an organization intends to differ from others.
Vision Statement:
An overarching statement that lays out the aspirations of the organization.
Values Statement:
A code of ethics that defines what characteristics the organization believes in and values.
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Main Point: In other words, the vision lays out where you want to be in the future, the mission lays out how you intend to get there, and the values lay out the characteristics you hold near and dear to your heart as you proceed on your journey towards that future.
The Similarity Amongst Medical Schools’ MVM Statements:
If you’ve found yourself wondering why the MVM statements seem similar across the board for medical schools, then hopefully it is clear now. For the most part, every school would want to churn out smart, well-rounded physician leaders with the goal of leading the transformation of health care. But the subtle differences can be critical to making a school list that suits your personal objectives and values.
Defining Your Own Mission, Vision, and Values
Throughout the rest of your journey towards medicine, you will find yourself facing several opportunities for reflection. If there is one thing I have come to learn from this whole ordeal, it is that the strength of your reflection speaks to your maturity and your convictions. The more you understand about your identity, your values, and your ambitions, the stronger you will be able to convince others of your candidacy. With this in mind, I’d like to pose an exercise for the reader:
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Keeping in mind what we discussed about the MVM statements above, take some time and develop your own mission, vision, and values statement. Where do you see yourself in the future, how do you intend to get there, and what values have you come to realize are an integral part of your journey?
The Power of Your Mission, Vision, and Values
As you pen your own MVM statements (which I would highly recommend, as the self-reflective nature of writing is incredibly clarifying, and this is something you will most likely revisit and revise), my hope is that you come to realize you have power. The pre-medical path can often strip us of our sense of individuality. Remember, you are a complex and unique individual. Do not be afraid to be honest about what you want out of your education, about who you hope to be, about who you are. There is a clear difference between those who distort their experiences in an attempt to fir the mold of an organization’s values, and people who genuinely speak to their values and how they will inform their medical education.
Best of luck, future applicants!
Ayush Kumar
Hometown: Elk Grove, CA
Medical School: UCSF School of Medicine
Year: M1