Abortion in PS?

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You probably want to end up at a school that will support your career goals. Your application for residency will be better if you go to a school with active MSFC chapter and that will allow you to do relevant away rotations during fourth year. So you sort of want to self select away from schools that have a hard bias against abortion.

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Every school is going to have a slightly different set up. Generally there well be a set of rotations you have to compete during third year that takes up most or all of third year. My school had no true electives during third year, some places may have one. Then fourth year there is a different set of rotations you have to finish but there will also be a bunch of elective rotations. You will have a list of electives offered by your school but there is also a system to apply for away rotations at other schools and you can do some really cool not quite clinical stuff too like developing curriculum or medically relevant activism (advocacy is the buzzword).

There are absolutely medical schools that offer obgyn rotations at hospitals that do no abortion and contraception education is highly variable. MSFC has away rotations to help offer experience to students at these schools. The MSFC conferences are great to attend as a first and second year to help make contacts and get exposure too.

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You should write about whatever you feel more compelled by. It will come across in your writing as being more powerful and gripping for the reader.. seems like the answer to that is your abortion advocacy.
 
Just curious, but have you ever been in on an abortion? Like have you ever seen one performed? Just make sure you come across as keeping an open mind about your future practice. I've seen many providers and doctors put themselves on the "no elective abortions" list after being in on a couple. It can be really sad and emotional in the room, and that takes a toll on people.
 
It's fine to be passionate about women health. But saying you want to be an abortion provider is a bit hasty and seems sort of ignorant.

There's a lot about medicine you learn in medical school and you don't know now. Doesn't mean you're ignorant, but you have to live certain things to understand them. Saying you want to do XYZ procedure is hasty.
 
I recommend keeping things a bit more general instead of saying "I want to be an abortions provider". As mentioned earlier, you should keep an open mind! Just emphasize your passion on women's health, including abortion services, in underserved states.
 
If I were reading your application, I would have no issue with it even if I felt differently about abortion. But if I were you, there is no way in hell I'd mention it. I would talk about being involved with women's health services with an emphasis on access and education and how that is a passion of mine. I would leave it at that. You can obviously feel free to do what you'd like, but I think it's a risk not worth taking and leaving it out would make a smoother, less abrupt personal statement.

Obviously @gyngyn has forgotten more about this process than I'll ever know, but just my opinion on the issue.
 
I feel like the default opinion in medical school is definitely pro-choice. That said, I would advise thinking about how you frame things and what language you use. Instead of being an "abortion provider," you can be a "provider of reproductive health services." This would be both a more positive spin and factually accurate, since I'm assuming that abortions wouldn't the sole service you'd provide as a doctor. Likewise, you didn't help run a needle exchange. You "participated in a harm reduction program for a high-risk urban population." The reader would definitely understand what you mean, but I think it would still pay off to use language that highlights the incontrovertible benefits of the work you did.
 
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Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Not sure why medical schools wouldn't want to hear that you want to provide a crucial health service in an underserved area, especially if you have the experiences to back it up.
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Do you really have no idea why some adcom members may not want to hear that? Regardless of what you believe in, a considerable number of people believe that abortion is murder, and thus, they do not view it as a crucial health service. Now, considering the liberal tendencies of academia/ med schools, I'm sure most adcom members would not mind OP exalting abortion, but to say that you are not sure why some might disagree is strange to me.
 
BlessUp said:
Do you really have no idea why some adcom members may not want to hear that? Regardless of what you believe in, a considerable number of people believe that abortion is murder, and thus, they do not view it as a crucial health service. Now, considering the liberal tendencies of academia/ med schools, I'm sure most adcom members would not mind OP exalting abortion, but to say that you are not sure why some might disagree is strange to me.
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I'm quite confident that all of us are aware of the viewpoint you have brought up. That is why OP made this thread.
No one has exalted anything.
 
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BlessUp said:
Do you really have no idea why some adcom members may not want to hear that? Regardless of what you believe in, a considerable number of people believe that abortion is murder, and thus, they do not view it as a crucial health service. Now, considering the liberal tendencies of academia/ med schools, I'm sure most adcom members would not mind OP exalting abortion, but to say that you are not sure why some might disagree is strange to me.
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Get over yourself. No one is exhalting abortion. Unless you are applying to a religious school, saying you want to help with providing safe and legal abortions is not that controversial. It is a needed service that many areas don't have adequate access to, and any reasonable person will be able to separate a difference in beliefs from a discussion on medical care.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Get over yourself. No one is exhalting abortion. Unless you are applying to a religious school, saying you want to help with providing safe and legal abortions is not that controversial. It is a needed service that many areas don't have adequate access to, and any reasonable person will be able to separate a difference in beliefs from a discussion on medical care.
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Exalted was a poor word choice on my part. I apologize for that.
I just thought that your original post conveyed that all adcom members view abortion as a crucial health service, and that it is not a controversial issue. If an adcom member truly believes that abortion is murder, which of course some do, he/she may have trouble separating their beliefs from reviewing the application even if he/she is a 'reasonable person'. It is actually a very controversial topic that I personally would avoid writing too much about in a PS.
 
BlessUp said:
Exalted was a poor word choice on my part. I apologize for that.
I just thought that your original post conveyed that all adcom members view abortion as a crucial health service, and that it is not a controversial issue. If an adcom member truly believes that abortion is murder, which of course some do, he/she may have trouble separating their beliefs from reviewing the application even if he/she is a 'reasonable person'. It is actually a very controversial topic that I personally would avoid writing too much about in a PS.
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I think even if a single adcom member takes an issue with the topic, decisions to interview and accept applicants are made by the committee as a whole. Unless the school is religious, I don't think discussing the topic would be a problem
 
BlessUp said:
Exalted was a poor word choice on my part. I apologize for that.
I just thought that your original post conveyed that all adcom members view abortion as a crucial health service, and that it is not a controversial issue. If an adcom member truly believes that abortion is murder, which of course some do, he/she may have trouble separating their beliefs from reviewing the application even if he/she is a 'reasonable person'. It is actually a very controversial topic that I personally would avoid writing too much about in a PS.
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It's a controversial topic for sure. However, within the context of medicine, it is a critical health service whether you agree with it or not. The fact is that it is legal and women will get them whether we provide adequate access to them or not--they will just do so in an illegal way or simply abandon the baby after birth.

As I said, outside of religious schools, I don't think most adcoms will have trouble separating personal beliefs from the issue.
 
Yeah, you are probably right. I still disagree with the wording of your original post:
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Not sure why medical schools wouldn't want to hear that you want to provide a crucial health service in an underserved area, especially if you have the experiences to back it up.
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The way this is written conveys that abortion is any old 'crucial health service', and that you are not sure why any adcom member might be put off by it.
Also, I don't think I was being unprofessional nor do I think I need to get over myself. I am debating civilly.
 
BlessUp said:
Yeah, you are probably right. I still disagree with the wording of your original post:

The way this is written conveys that abortion is any old 'crucial health service', and that you are not sure why any adcom member might be put off by it.
Also, I don't think I was being unprofessional nor do I think I need to get over myself. I am debating civilly.
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The OP's question is about framing his volunteer activities. A debate over world view adds nothing to that topic.
 
gyngyn said:
I'm quite confident that all of us are aware of the viewpoint you have brought up. That is why OP made this thread.
No one has exalted anything. Remember to keep it professional.
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Gotta say I'm not sure that anything in their response necessitated a warning to be professional.

Their response was reasonable and on topic
 
sb247 said:
Gotta say I'm not sure that anything in their response necessitated a warning to be professional.

Their response was reasonable and on topic
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Unfortunately, the odds of derailment and transfer to the Sociopolitical Forum are a predictable outcome, though.
The admonition is meant for all. I'll change that. Thanks.

To all: Remember to keep it professional and narrowly on the topic of helping OP with framing EC's.
 
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gyngyn said:
Unfortunately, the odds of derailment and transfer to the Sociopolitical Forum are a predictable outcome, though.
The admonition is meant for all. I'll change that. Thanks.
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I think a general reminder is quite reasonable given the absolute likelihood that you are correct about the eventual location of this thread. Frankly, I'm shocked it's stayed so tame...

Thanks for clarifying
 
BlessUp said:
Yeah, you are probably right. I still disagree with the wording of your original post:

The way this is written conveys that abortion is any old 'crucial health service', and that you are not sure why any adcom member might be put off by it.
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Fair enough. Hopefully I've clarified my view.

Also, I don't think I was being unprofessional nor do I think I need to get over myself. I am debating civilly.
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Your first response to me was a little aggressive and hyperbolic. But it's all good.
 
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