1. If you are not a full-time student during this application cycle, in particular at any time between September 2021 and May 2022, please detail your current and planned activities below. (250-500 words)
2. At the core of our profession are attributes sometimes called the three C’s; Competence (clinical excellence), Caring (a genuine desire to help others or “other centeredness”) and Character (personal integrity and honesty). In order to grow in these areas, the best practitioners are able to reflect upon who they are as individuals (self-assessment) and allow these insights to shape how they develop as physicians. The relationships we develop with patients and colleagues are among the most rewarding aspects of being a physician and provide the theatre in which the 3 C’s are both learned and practiced. We therefore have 3 prompts designed to help you explore these important topics. The first, below, deals with self-assessment (no essay required), followed in the next section by two essay prompts.
Read the following description of introversion and extraversion from the
Myers-Briggs foundation website. Most people, while seeing themselves to one degree or another in each description, are inclined towards either being introverted or extroverted.
Both groups make wonderful physicians, but each personality type has some inherent strengths and weaknesses which need to be appreciated as individuals develop into practicing physicians. Indicate using the checklists below to what extent you see yourself as more of an extravert or an introvert.
Extraversion (E)
I like getting my energy from active involvement in events and having a lot of different activities. I’m excited when I’m around people and I like to energize other people. I like moving into action and making things happen. I generally feel at home in the world. I often understand a problem better when I can talk out loud about it and hear what others have to say.
The following statements generally apply to me:
I am seen as "outgoing" or as a "people person."
I feel comfortable in groups and like working in them.
I have a wide range of friends and know lots of people.
I sometimes jump too quickly into an activity and don’t allow enough time to think it over.
Before I start a project, I sometimes forget to stop and get clear on what I want to do and why.
Introversion (I)
I like getting my energy from dealing with the ideas, pictures, memories, and reactions that are inside my head, in my inner world. I often prefer doing things alone or with one or two people I feel comfortable with. I take time to reflect so that I have a clear idea of what I’ll be doing when I decide to act. Ideas are almost solid things for me. Sometimes I like the idea of something better than the real thing.
The following statements generally apply to me:
I am seen as "reflective" or "reserved."
I feel comfortable being alone and like things I can do on my own.
I prefer to know just a few people well.
I sometimes spend too much time reflecting and don’t move into action quickly enough.
I sometimes forget to check with the outside world to see if my ideas really fit the experience.
3. The medical profession is frequently described as being both a science and an art. One could summarize this by saying that patients must “be well cared for” (science) but they must also “feel well cared for” (art). We work to teach our students not only the scientific principles of medicine, but also the core values of medicine, often called “professionalism”. Toward this end we keep patients at the center of our education and often reflect on their stories with our students.
- The exciting advances in our understanding of the biological basis for disease have led to the emergence of a host of targeted therapies and amazing technologies improving the duration and quality of our patients’ lives. The better a physician knows his/her patient, the better decisions they will make together as they approach important healthcare related questions. This so-called shared decision-making model is one key feature of patient centered care. Practicing the art of medicine in this way yields a physician patient relationship (PPR) that is both therapeutic and mutually enriching. However, many of these same technologies have the unintended consequence of separating us from our patients, both literally and figuratively. In addition, the industrialization of medicine and use of electronic health records have led to a decrease in the time physicians spend with their patients further eroding the strength of the PPR.
At the UFCOM, we have many strategies to equip our students to preserve their own humanity and that of their patients. One of the most important is the ability to make connections with and get to know their patients. Frequently such connections are the first time students taste the joy of medical practice. A second grows from cultivating a grateful heart by attending to the many blessings in our lives rather than focusing on what is wrong. There is now a strong scientific basis for the importance of gratitude (https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_changes_you_and_your_brain) but the ancients knew this from experience. For example, when mounting a legal defense for a friend, Cicero observed, “while I wish to be adorned with every virtue, yet there is nothing which I can esteem more highly than the being and appearing grateful. For this one virtue is not only the greatest, but is also the parent of all the other virtues.” A third is dedicated time to reflect individually and with colleagues upon one’s developing understanding of the profession.
Here are two such reflective essays from UFCOM students during their third year internal medicine clerkship which you should read carefully. One student sees each connection to a patient as like the individual brush strokes of an artist and the other sees gratitude in a patient with an incurable illness and is moved to gratitude in her own life. Reflect on both essays and then choose one and describe how the student grew from the experience. Then explain what you learned as a result of your reflection and how the lesson(s) will influence your future patient physician relationships.
4. The profession of medicine has always had an explicit contract with society about our expertise and competence but it also includes an important affirmation. Namely, that we will subordinate self-interest to patient interest when the needs of our patients require us to do so. This does not mean we do not take care of ourselves and one another, but it does mean we willingly take on risks to ourselves that many others would not. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought this commitment to light as many medical professionals are laboring on the front lines caring for the sick despite the potential dangers. When we consider medical practice and hence, medical education, one could ask what sorts of virtues or character traits equip young medical professionals for such a noble calling. Many come to mind including courage, compassion, intellectual honesty and integrity. But recently attention has been given to the ability to stay with a task or course even when one is tired, discouraged and the work is daunting and laborious. Terms such as “resilience”, “endurance”, “perseverance”, “determination” or “grit” describe this character trait. Dr. Angela Duckworth has explored this in detail in her book “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” (
Angela Duckworth).
However, great concern has been raised by the 2018 book, The Coddling of the American Mind (
The Coddling of the American Mind). In it, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, argue that modern trends in parenting, higher education and society are undermining development of these traits making them rarer and hence all the more important as we choose the future physicians for our society.
Below are a series of quotes related to this subject. Please read them, reflect on them and tell us about the places in your own life you have shown grit and perseverance.
5.
Optional: If you think there is any additional information that would help the admissions committee in its review of your application, including any disruptions in your academic/volunteer/work/personal life related to COVID-19, please use the space below. (750)
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