Better not to mention clinic name in moral dilemma question?

[blackcadillacs]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I'm writing about a moral dilemma I had at a clinic... keeping it vague here, but basically I was instructed to do something I personally found morally questionable

Even if I don't mention the clinic name, it will still be very obvious which one it is by looking at my primary app. Would writing about this experience be putting the clinic at jeopardy at all? Like if this is a situation an adcom didn't feel was right (which could be possible, I think), could they do anything about it in terms of action against the clinic...?

sorry if this sounds really paranoid, I just don't want to get anyone in trouble somehow as the clinic is really great aside from this one isolated incident (which might not even be morally wrong, I just felt like it was at the time)

 

[LifeTake2]

Don't specifically name them in your story and you are fine. It has nothing to do with causing trouble, and just with professionalism.

Nobody reading your PS is going to 'do' anything to some random clinic that a pre-med states was morally in the wrong.

 

[Bangersandmash]

If you don't name the clinic, what can they do? If they took them to court it would be circumstantial at best. And morally wrong to one person isn't morally wrong to another. If it was just a matter of values/opinions and you stood for what you believed in, it would make a good PS without getting anyone in trouble.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Don't name it and it won't be a problem. Even if you did name it, it would have to be fairly vile to get an adcom to do something about it. They were not witnesses. What exactly happened, so that perhaps we can help you decide if it was actually unethical rather than just a moral dilemma for you.

 

[lobo.solo]

Don't name it and it won't be a problem. Even if you did name it, it would have to be fairly vile to get an adcom to do something about it. They were not witnesses. What exactly happened, so that perhaps we can help you decide if it was actually unethical rather than just a moral dilemma for you.

+1. Tell us the story.

 

[Nymphicus]

Maybe you can write about the dilemma of whether to write about it in your secondary or not.

It's a dilemma inside of a dilemma!


(sorry that's not really helpful at all)

 

[LizzyM]

I'm writing about a moral dilemma I had at a clinic... keeping it vague here, but basically I was instructed to do something I personally found morally questionable

Even if I don't mention the clinic name, it will still be very obvious which one it is by looking at my primary app. Would writing about this experience be putting the clinic at jeopardy at all? Like if this is a situation an adcom didn't feel was right (which could be possible, I think), could they do anything about it in terms of action against the clinic...?

sorry if this sounds really paranoid, I just don't want to get anyone in trouble somehow as the clinic is really great aside from this one isolated incident (which might not even be morally wrong, I just felt like it was at the time)

Find another dilemma. Telling tales out of school is never an attractive feature in potential student/ colleague. Not to say that you should let an ethical issue slide but there is a time and a place for calling out bad behavior and your application is not that place. It also raises the possibility of destroying the reputation and good name of an institution. Even if the adcom were not to do anything about what you report (highly unlikely that it would) you have still bad-mouthed an organization and that does have consequences in how an organization is perceived, even subconsciously.

 

[IlDestriero]

Sometimes your advice doesn't make a great deal of sense to me. The OP has an application essay which asks them to write about a moral dilemma that they experienced and presumably how they dealt with it. They have what they perceive to be a significant moral dilemma which is even related to medicine, and you say find another dilemma. Give me a break.
That's the perfect dilemma for a medical school admission essay, and could make an excellent followup in the interview.
Unless it involves covering up a felony, hello Penn State, I think it's not only fine, but great topic for the essay. I would recommend looking onto the subject matter and finding out what, if any, guidelines, standards, etc apply to that situation though. It's fine to have a moral dilemma, only to find out it's not really one at all. It was to you at the time. And, it's even more interesting when it's an actual legitimate dilemma. Nobody will judge you harshly, unless it's something truly outrageous. (see example above)
And if you're making lasting judgments based on the uncorroborated comments in a pre med's essay, well, that sounds like your dilemma.
I love the dilemma within a dilemma idea btw, very unique, but probably very difficult to pull off.

 

[blackcadillacs]

okay I definitely made it sound way more dramatic than it really was, but basically was told to lie to a patient about their weight (patient's caretaker was told the actual weight); the staff needs the weight for monitoring purposes, but weight is a trigger for the patient and they tend to freak out when told the actual number. So the solution was to knock pounds off the real number when telling the patient about their vitals.

also, just a clarification that I'm not pointing fingers at the institution or their staff in any way; there was a reason behind it, and I see the staff's point of view. My essay is primarily me weighing the positives versus the negatives of the situation, and reflecting on how I think I might handle something similar in the future

Maybe you can write about the dilemma of whether to write about it in your secondary or not.

It's a dilemma inside of a dilemma!

hahah secondary inception~

 

[LizzyM]

Got it. That does not give the institution a black eye. I was thinking more along the lines of being asked to do something that amounted to insurance fraud....