Should I tell them what I really think?

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GH253

GH253

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My opinion of the medical community is not generally favorable. There are some aspects of medicine that I strongly believe in, but there are also certain things going on that I have major, major problems with. The single thing that I deplore most is widely accepted as the standard of care, and although the practice is limited to a particular speciality, the rest of the medical community's tolerance of it really brings down my opinion of the whole establishment, and I believe it is a symptom of greater ideological problems in medicine. If I become a physician, it's given that I will be the type who tends to go against the grain, and will probably be outspoken about my opinions.

My question is: will I sabotage myself if I admit to these beliefs during the application process, i.e. on my statement and during the interview?
 
Last edited:
GH253 said:
My opinion of the medical community is not generally favorable. There many aspects of medicine that I strongly believe in, such as its basic scientific foundations, but there are also certain things going on that I have major, major problems with, and some of the things that I deplore most are widely accepted as the standard of care. If I become a physician, it's given that I will be the type who tends to go against the grain, and I will probably be outspoken about my opinions.

My question is: will I sabotage myself if I admit to these beliefs during the application process, i.e. on my statement and during the interview?
Click to expand...

What are some of your beliefs?
 
GH253 said:
My opinion of the medical community is not generally favorable. There are some aspects of medicine that I strongly believe in, but there are also certain things going on that I have major, major problems with. The single thing that I deplore most is widely accepted as the standard of care, and although the practice is limited to a particular speciality, the rest of the medical community's tolerance of it really brings down my opinion of the whole establishment, and I believe it is a symptom of greater ideological problems in medicine. If I become a physician, it's given that I will be the type who tends to go against the grain, and will probably be outspoken about my opinions.

My question is: will I sabotage myself if I admit to these beliefs during the application process, i.e. on my statement and during the interview?
Click to expand...

Yeah, what exactly are you trying to imply? That you hate most doctors? Because, yeah I think that would kind of sabotage your application, since the people interviewing you are probably part of the same establishment you hate.

If you say "I hate most doctors" in the interview, then I think you're reasonably screwed. But if you say "I'm not afraid to stand up for what I believe in, and I think there are certain things in health-care today that I would stand against", then they'll want to know what you stand against. In that case, don't answer "most doctors".
 
GH253 said:
My opinion of the medical community is not generally favorable. There are some aspects of medicine that I strongly believe in, but there are also certain things going on that I have major, major problems with. The single thing that I deplore most is widely accepted as the standard of care, and although the practice is limited to a particular speciality, the rest of the medical community's tolerance of it really brings down my opinion of the whole establishment, and I believe it is a symptom of greater ideological problems in medicine. If I become a physician, it's given that I will be the type who tends to go against the grain, and will probably be outspoken about my opinions.

My question is: will I sabotage myself if I admit to these beliefs during the application process, i.e. on my statement and during the interview?
Click to expand...

What is this single thing?
 
The standard of care is too high?
 
drug seeking
sexuality
racism
abortion
sex ed
em as fp
malpractice
gyn is for girls
surgery is for boys
fibro is in your head
can't cure crazy, just drug 'em up
urm'ing
np=md
do-md
pacu fluids/drugs
fasting prior to surgery
abuse screening
kicking parents out of kids' exams
 
What is it? I'm so curious.😕
 
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoK7MqQVU14[/YOUTUBE]

Is it going to be like one of these interviews?
 
adeline said:
drug seeking
sexuality
racism
abortion
sex ed
em as fp
malpractice
gyn is for girls
surgery is for boys
fibro is in your head
can't cure crazy, just drug 'em up
urm'ing
np=md
do-md
pacu fluids/drugs
fasting prior to surgery
abuse screening
kicking parents out of kids' exams
Click to expand...

.... :smack:.....
 
TopSecret said:
Is it going to be like one of these interviews?
Click to expand...

Well that shows honesty, character, and diversity.

:laugh:

That just met the mission statement of half of the schools to which I have applied. 👍
 
Bleargh, I love that Jean Luc Picard avatar.

Random and yet sophisticated.

👍
 
bamtuba said:
Bleargh, I love that Jean Luc Picard avatar.

Random and yet sophisticated.

👍
Click to expand...

i got tired of posting it to threads when i have the facepalm reaction... so i just put it in my avatar. but clearly you agree, being a person of at least some degree of excellence, that picard is the man.
 
adeline said:
drug seeking
sexuality
racism
abortion
sex ed
em as fp
malpractice
gyn is for girls
surgery is for boys
fibro is in your head
can't cure crazy, just drug 'em up
urm'ing
np=md
do-md
pacu fluids/drugs
fasting prior to surgery
abuse screening
kicking parents out of kids' exams
Click to expand...

I hate this one in particular... They should just let patients vomit?
 
DrYoda said:
What is this single thing?
Click to expand...

The diagnostic system used in psychiatry, as well as most everything else that goes on in that speciality.

And no, I'm not a Scientologist.
 
GH253 said:
The diagnostic system used in psychiatry, as well as most everything else that goes on in that speciality.

And no, I'm not a Scientologist.
Click to expand...

You know, I'm really interested in going into Psych myself, and I also have huge problems with the way it's practiced. But I'm a pre-med and you're just a pre-med. No adcom is going to want to hear your opinion on the matter, and you're only going to dig yourself a hole if you start bitching about something you really don't know all that much about.

Your thoughts are certainly valid, and I'm sure a lot of people would agree with you, but it's just really not your place to say anything about it...yet. Once you have experience in the field, sure. You could suggest how you'd like to contribute to changing medicine, but the key is to make it positive, not negative.

So yes, you'll sabotage yourself if you mention it. Not necessarily because people will disagree with you, but because it's coming to come across as arrogant.
 
I think that if you back yourself up well and have a clear and coherent argument, it's fine. I took a psychopathology course once and we had to read some articles and talk about nosology, history, and issues with. If you want, I can post some references. One of them is really funny and the other is not so much...
 
lol "i took a college course once so that makes it ok"
 
musafirah said:
lol "i took a college course once so that makes it ok"
Click to expand...

ok.. I just realized what a nerd post that was, but the point is, if you have a reason to argue against a particular system and can actually draw up an intelligent argument then why not? For the DSM-IV, I think it's okay - a lot of psychiatrists hate it and know it's flawed, and I don't think you would offend non-psychiatrists/people that don't know about it anyways.
 
MarinaS said:
ok.. I just realized what a nerd post that was, but the point is, if you have a reason to argue against a particular system and can actually draw up an intelligent argument then why not? For the DSM-IV, I think it's okay - a lot of psychiatrists hate it and know it's flawed, and I don't think you would offend non-psychiatrists/people that don't know about it anyways.
Click to expand...

i suppose its only worth mentioning if it shows your passion to contribute in a positive way. i want to do the same thing...
but at the same time there's a time and place, and its better to wait til you're ESTABLISHED to get into all these things. to get there we have to play the game 🙁
 
musafirah said:
i suppose its only worth mentioning if it shows your passion to contribute in a positive way. i want to do the same thing...
but at the same time there's a time and place, and its better to wait til you're ESTABLISHED to get into all these things. to get there we have to play the game 🙁
Click to expand...

I think that if he is, say, passionate about fixing this system and it comes up then I think, definitely bring it up! It shows initiative, I think.
Obviously, no "Oh, BTW, just wanted to make a point..."
 
MarinaS said:
ok.. I just realized what a nerd post that was, but the point is, if you have a reason to argue against a particular system and can actually draw up an intelligent argument then why not? For the DSM-IV, I think it's okay - a lot of psychiatrists hate it and know it's flawed, and I don't think you would offend non-psychiatrists/people that don't know about it anyways.
Click to expand...

A lot of what's in the DSM-IV is arbitrary.
 
Your interviewer is not going to ask you "So what do you think about psychiatry? A legitimate field, or a load of ****?" If the topic happens to come up during your interview, I see nothing wrong with being honest (but tactful) about your opinion, but I have a hard time imagining the conversation going there in the first place, unless you volunteer that you plan to go into psychiatry.
 
DeadliestSnatch said:
You know, I'm really interested in going into Psych myself, and I also have huge problems with the way it's practiced. But I'm a pre-med and you're just a pre-med. No adcom is going to want to hear your opinion on the matter, and you're only going to dig yourself a hole if you start bitching about something you really don't know all that much about.

Your thoughts are certainly valid, and I'm sure a lot of people would agree with you, but it's just really not your place to say anything about it...yet. Once you have experience in the field, sure. You could suggest how you'd like to contribute to changing medicine, but the key is to make it positive, not negative.

So yes, you'll sabotage yourself if you mention it. Not necessarily because people will disagree with you, but because it's coming to come across as arrogant.
Click to expand...

^That!

The fact is that the DSM-IV-TR is a flawed document, like most anything that tries to explain a complex and only partially-understood system (e.g., the human body). Everyone is aware of its imperfections; however, being just a pre-med, it comes across as pretty arrogant for you to sort of damn an entire specialty because they use a diagnostic manual that has some flaws. If I were your interviewer at that point, I'd probably ask you to explain those flaws and how they could be fixed and watch as you dig your way to the other side of the world. The fact is that the DSM undergoes ongoing revision to help physicians better understand mental illness. It is not expected to be perfect but it is a general guidebook for psychiatric disorders and does offer a lot of good information. From what I've heard, the DSM-V actually has some good fixes in it and should be a positive revision/rewrite compared w/ the DSM-IV-TR.
 
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