Acknowledging intersectionality, avoiding identity politics

[polymerization]

One of the things I've struggled with as I compile a huge mass of diary entries over the last decade is how to talk about intersectionality. I'm nontraditional and took enough of a winding road to medicine, I could probably write a book about it. I'm also biracial (and neither of them are ORM), openly homosexual; and I am both disabled myself and a champion of disability health/education policy at a high level. I grew up in what could only be described as abject poverty, experienced countless instances of overt and covert racism and discrimination, and spent most of my life in very poor communities and underresourced schools. Once I made it to college, I began to experience intermittent homelessness and learned to leverage social services to truly claw my way back to school after what was 10 years of life-changing healthcare experiences in a number of roles.

I have a lot of stories to tell. In my advocacy I find that I take on a particular tone when I write. I do sense a tension or urgency in my reflections. Not necessarily in a bad way, I've just fallen through so many different cracks within so many social "safety nets," that I do feel there is a basic skepticism of broader systems underlying the way I talk about it. Sometimes, maybe even exasperated and desperate to ensure some of these things never happen to anyone else ever again - and of course, excited to be a part of that as a physician.

Still, I've seen advice over the years that talk about the essays as a place where it's better to be "basic" but safe, than risk talking about charged topics for people. It's hard, because so many "taboo" topics are inherent to my identity, and part and parcel of my chosen path both as a clinician and patient advocate.


For those of you who edit or review applications, what do you think? Is it more valuable to risk being too honest, than to risk not going all-in and letting the chips fall where they may?

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[AJS59]

One of the things I've struggled with as I compile a huge mass of diary entries over the last decade is how to talk about intersectionality. I'm nontraditional and took enough of a winding road to medicine, I could probably write a book about it. I'm also biracial (and neither of them are ORM), openly homosexual; and I am both disabled myself and a champion of disability health/education policy at a high level. I grew up in what could only be described as abject poverty, experienced countless instances of overt and covert racism and discrimination, and spent most of my life in very poor communities and underresourced schools. Once I made it to college, I began to experience intermittent homelessness and learned to leverage social services to truly claw my way back to school after what was 10 years of life-changing healthcare experiences in a number of roles.

I have a lot of stories to tell. In my advocacy I find that I take on a particular tone when I write. I do sense a tension or urgency in my reflections. Not necessarily in a bad way, I've just fallen through so many different cracks within so many social "safety nets," that I do feel there is a basic skepticism of broader systems underlying the way I talk about it. Sometimes, maybe even exasperated and desperate to ensure some of these things never happen to anyone else ever again - and of course, excited to be a part of that as a physician.

Still, I've seen advice over the years that talk about the essays as a place where it's better to be "basic" but safe, than risk talking about charged topics for people. It's hard, because so many "taboo" topics are inherent to my identity, and part and parcel of my chosen path both as a clinician and patient advocate.


For those of you who edit or review applications, what do you think? Is it more valuable to risk being too honest, than to risk not going all-in and letting the chips fall where they may?

I'm not an admin but from my perspective honesty is useful, and none of your experiences are really something where it's a negative. I'd lean maybe a bit more heavily on the disability advocacy though since you have both sides to tell there

 

[Goro]

I'm not an admin but from my perspective honesty is useful, and none of your experiences are really something where it's a negative. I'd lean maybe a bit more heavily on the disability advocacy though since you have both sides to tell there

Agree 100%

OP, for the prompts you see on your apps, just answer truthfully and from the heart. You clearly have an advanatge in the Diversity or "what do you bring to the Class?" prompts, as well as propts for how you dealt with setbacks, or dealt with adversity.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I could probably give more specific advice under the Becoming a Student Doctor umbrella, which navigates many different challenges. In some cases, we navigate intersectional challenges (Treating Trans Patients free course).

One of the challenges with your situation is picking your battles. This isn't a confessional, and admissions evaluators only have so much bandwidth to process empathetically some of the systemic challenges you might describe. That drives some of the advice to discuss your issues in your application in a more basic way since you are limited in what you can describe and say.

While the application process is supposed to be confidential, many things you share can be easily remembered should you wind up enrolling at a program. Indeed, anyone in student services who listens in on admissions deliberations and may find out you placed an admissions deposit will want to anticipate what resources you will need. In other words, be mindful what you share, and make sure the spaces are truly safe.

 

[LindaAccepted]

It sounds to me like you have the makings of excellent examples for your essays and interviews. I also recommend honesty and writing from the heart with a few warnings:

1. Avoid criticizing doctors and the "medical establishment." The people reading yours essays are part of it.
2. It sounds like you have had a very rough time in the past, but you also don't want to come across as bitter or damaged. Portray yourself as strengthened by whatever difficulty you are describing.
3. Don't feel that every essay needs to cover everything. Think of each piece of writing as a piece in a jigsaw puzzle. The whole picture is the application. So each essay should reveal something else about your past, present, and desired future with minimum duplication.

 

[LizzyM]

Agree with all of the above. However, be humble and recognize that while you can help some people coming up behind you, you will be unable to assure that no child ever goes through what you went through. It is not humanly possible. Still, you can do your best for all you encounter.

I think that you will be a sweet potato pie in a room full of cookie cutter applicants. (I love sweet potato pie.)

 

[LeaveNoTrace]

Agree with all of the above. However, be humble and recognize that while you can help some people coming up behind you, you will be unable to assure that no child ever goes through what you went through. It is not humanly possible. Still, you can do your best for all you encounter.

I think that you will be a sweet potato pie in a room full of cookie cutter applicants. (I love sweet potato pie.)

Yeah.

While the race thing can be a can of worms and is best handled delicately (my own views as a black man), being honest is valuable and you are indeed a badass individual who brings a lot of diversity to your medical school. This would be true even if you had grown up as a gay white man in Appalachia, the son of a former coal miner and a nurse's aide. You overcame a lot and bring a unique perspective. How much or how little you would want to make your experience into a reflection on your current society and its ills is up to you; it is very much a personal choice.

One of the things that you may want to consider is how good your application is on paper. If you're top 20 pack fodder, the honesty will make you a better applicant and I'd disclose a bit more fully. If you're in the middle of the pack, take a middle of the road approach. If your stats are marginal, there is a chance that disclosure of issues that tend to be ongoing will lead adcoms to wonder if you're going to make it through. I'd like to ask @Goro and @LizzyM for advice here - Goro has to reject more marginal applicants at his DO school, while almost everyone applying to LizzyM's Stanford-tier school can make it through.

 

[Goro]

If someone has marginal stats, they're definitely not going to get an interview at LizzyM's school, that's for sure.

For interview purposes, we want people who can communicate, can think, can give off passion for Medicine and dealing with people.

The best advice I can give one is to be honest and speak from the heart.