Do people on SDN lie?

[Promethean]

I retroactively lie...
....would probably be enough to pick me out from the thousands of premeds here, however, if one were clever, bored, and wanted to find me.

No one who is that clever is ever that bored. Boredom like that only comes from not having enough of your own to keep you busy.

Wanting to find you is the real issue. You'd have to give someone a reason to want to do that. And since most people have way too much to do as it is and since most of us are just not important enough that anyone would want to go to that trouble, I think your secrets are probably safe.

Except from my friend @Dr Van Helsing. He may actually be gunning for you. And if he is anything like his namesake, you may be in trouble.

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[Lucca]

No one who is that clever is ever that bored. Boredom like that only comes from not having enough of your own to keep you busy.

Wanting to find you is the real issue. You'd have to give someone a reason to want to do that. And since most people have way too much to do as it is and since most of us are just not important enough that anyone would want to go to that trouble, I think your secrets are probably safe.

Except from my friend @Dr Van Helsing. He may actually be gunning for you. And if he is anything like his namesake, you may be in trouble.

Then he will be the first to learn I am actually a cat.

 

[Mad Jack]

Giving a realistic but negative account for someone's prospect =/= being hostile. People don't take constructive criticism well. High or low stats alike.




Medicine needs people who "want to" volunteer and "want to" make sacrifices without expecting a lot in return. As a matter of fact, they'd prefer that you don't do it if it's not out of genuine desire. A lot of the effort in admission goes into figuring out who's doing the stuff as a cookie cutter and who's the real altruistic one.

If you don't feel like doing some work to improve the lives of others for free, then don't do it. But at the same time, don't expect to get into med school or earn the privilege and respect of being a member of a service profession.

I wouldn't say volunteer work is the best proxy for wanting to help people. There are plenty of jobs where you have to give a lot of yourself to help others while being paid to do so. I know people that work professionally with certain patient populations that are so heartbreaking that you've got to be compassionate to work with them, such as disabled children. Or what about the lawyer who does public defense work rather than taking a much higher paying position in private law because they feel they have a duty to defend those that cannot defend themselves. Are these people not altruists, perhaps to a degree far beyond that of the average volunteer? I mean, they've turned their compassion into their life's work. You can't do that without getting some compensation in return, as you need to put food on the table and such.

 

[And_so_what]

There are only 2 types of people: those who lie and those who don't pee in the shower. Which type are you OP?

 

[JimmyB123]

Yes people lie. I saw that Hopkins posted a facebook status that mentioned that several current applicants will email them saying something like they got a 40 on the MCAT (to try to get an interview) when they really got a 30. And these are applicants have easily verifiable stats.

Thad doesn't make sense though. Isn't your MCAT score right on your application? Lol wut

 

[Naffenea]

I've been a lurker and then a member for a while, and I'm starting to get the impression that a lot of people on this forum lie about their grades, EC's, work hours, and a bunch of other stuff. For example its not that uncommon when someone posts "I'm taking 20 credits, working 40 hours a week, volunteering 10 hours a week, getting published this semester, and studying for the MCAT and still have a fun social life".

And a lot of people are hostile and negative toward applicants with below a 30 MCAT or below a 3.5 GPA and state that they will receive no success during their application process. All GPA's are not created equal, all majors are not created equal, and all personal statements are not created equal. Also, this whole ideology of needing "volunteer work", I've seen many friends accepted recently without any sort of volunteer work. In other words what's with all the negativity and lying on this website?

No. Everyone on SDN is a shining pillar of what is best in humanity. No one lies here, especially in the Pre forums.

 

[DocFarnsworth]

Duh

 

[Levrone]

Actually, I know it's not common, but I have a couple of friends who got accepted to really good schools with very minimal volunteer work. I suppose that's not the same as zero volunteer work, and my friends were lucky, but I can see how people with little community service/volunteering experience can get into medical school.

how much is minimal?

 

[alpinism]

SDN sits on a throne of lies.

 

[Tirian]

"Everyone Lies"
-House M.D.

That's the First among "Maxims Necessary for Browsing SDN in search of Knowledge, Wisdom, and Guidance."

Footnote 1: "When in medical school, House was a moderator of the medical school group on Usenet, the precursor to SDN."

 

[Krabbeman]

http://gomerblog.com/2016/01/tudent-doctor-network/

 

[Lost In Transcription]

Patients lie, parents lie, even our students and faculty lie. We love them anyway.
As long as the lie doesn't hurt people, we forgive them. Even if it does, we do what is necessary to keep the harm from hurting people.

Sorry, I know this is old.
But I really hate this a lot, gyngyn. I can't get behind the idea of "if it doesn't hurt.."

Is this a common mindset in medicine? Patients...I get. Parents, too. But to allow it from the faculty and students? I feel like that is my biggest pet peeve.

 

[gyngyn]

Sorry, I know this is old.
But I really hate this a lot, gyngyn. I can't get behind the idea of "if it doesn't hurt.."

Is this a common mindset in medicine?

Humans lie. They do it for all kinds of reasons. They don't want to disappoint, they don't want us to think ill of them or fail to care for them.
We hold ourselves to a higher standard but if we only cared for truth-tellers, we would largely be failures as physicians.

 

[TheBiologist]

yes

 

[Krabbeman]

Humans lie. They do it for all kinds of reasons. They don't want to disappoint, they don't want us to think ill of them or fail to care for them.
We hold ourselves to a higher standard but if we only cared for truth-tellers, we would largely be failures as physicians.

Not to mention hypocrites!!

 

[gyngyn]

Not to mention hypocrites!!

Yes, and there are sociopaths and evil doers as well. Most people are not, though.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

Humans lie. They do it for all kinds of reasons. They don't want to disappoint, they don't want us to think ill of them or fail to care for them.
We hold ourselves to a higher standard but if we only cared for truth-tellers, we would largely be failures as physicians.

I suppose. But I feel that most lies are merely to cover up faults, deflect blame, or boost confidence/degrade others...and I can easily see how medicine breeds those kinds of lies.

 

[gyngyn]

I suppose. But I feel that most lies are merely to cover up faults, deflect blame, or boost confidence/degrade others...and I can easily see how medicine breeds those kinds of lies.

Don't get me wrong, we do everything possible to practice and model truthfulness as part of the integrity expected of each other in the profession. We can't hold others to this expectation, though. They are our patients and we do what we can for them in spite of their faults.

 

[Hospitalized]

At least I have the balls to admit I'm not in good standing. I'm one of the only people on these forums who posts with a 504 MCAT. I mean, that's better than 2/3 of the people who take the test, yet on here I'm the bottom 1%.

 

[Krabbeman]

Yes, and there are sociopaths and evil doers as well. Most people are not, though.

I meant if we care only for the honest, it makes us hypocrites

 

[gyngyn]

I meant if we care only for the honest, it makes us hypocrites

Sorry, I misunderstood.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

Don't get me wrong, we do everything possible to practice and model truthfulness as part of the integrity expected of each other in the profession. We can't hold others to this expectation, though. They are our patients and we do what we can for them in spite of their faults.

Ah yes. That makes more sense.

I get why patients lie. Whateva.

I just am astounded how many people lack accountability in professions like medicine, science, etc..

 

[gyngyn]

Ah yes. That makes more sense.

I get why patients lie. Whateva.

I just am astounded how many people lack accountability in professions like medicine, science, etc..

Believe me, you will be held accountable.
We all are.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

Believe me, you will be held accountable.
We all are.

And of course, sometimes for things that are out of a physician's control.

 

[gyngyn]

And of course, sometimes for things that are out of a physician's control.

I'm referring to standards of behavior, not frivolous suits!

 

[Lost In Transcription]

I'm referring to standards of behavior, not frivolous suits!

Haha I know!