Diversity/Challenge Secondary Help

[FriendlyBee]

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TIA to anyone offering any insight!

I have this experience that I think might fit well for secondary prompts asking about diversity or adversities/challenges. As a WOC I've received a lot of comments discouraging me from pursuing medicine or "encouraging" me to pursue nursing instead (many people of my ethnicity are nurses). I want to frame this experience as significant because it taught me to be proud of myself and made me appreciate the importance of community (being supported and being able to give support).

How can I frame it in a way that does not devalue or put down nursing? Is this experience significant enough to talk about for diversity/adversity secondary prompts?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What are the specific prompts you are answering?

Also your question can better be asked, "Why Medicine?" Did you answer this in your PS?

 

[FriendlyBee]

What are the specific prompts you are answering?

Also your question can better be asked, "Why Medicine?" Did you answer this in your PS?

Hello Mr.Smile! Thanks for your questions.

I'm hoping to apply this writing to questions such as:
"What obstacles have you experienced and how have you overcome them?"
"Describe a non-academic challenge you have faced and explain how you overcame it."
"Describe any unique personal characteristics or obstacles you may have overcome that will influence your contribution to a diverse healthcare system."

In summary, I answered "Why Medicine?" in my personal statement by focusing on experiences that taught me the power of being inquisitive and knowledge-seeking.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Being dissuaded from pursuing medicine to me is a symptom of a lack of support (the real obstacle) as you have described it. You could chalk it up to being a WOC as well as not having family or friends who are doctors. So is it just a lack of mentors? I'm ambivalent about it as an obstacle that can stand on its own in an essay. You may get similar negative feedback in your future when it comes to choosing a specialty or taking an opportunity.

If it were a question of having to work full-time to support your education, that is a clearer obstacle to discuss. I also need a clearer connection to your endgame: "appreciate the importance of community (being supported and being able to give support)" as a strategy to overcoming your challenge.

 

[FriendlyBee]

@Mr.Smile12

I would say I had mentors who looked like me, but outside this circle of support I received a lot of discouraging remarks due to my gender and ethnicity. A lot of my pre-med friends from my community also changed career paths (likely due to similar circumstances), which left me without peers to navigate the pre-med path on.

The discouraging remarks were not due to me having bad grades, having to work full-time, etc. It was more so just people making surface-level judgments. I do see what you mean about it not seeming like a clear obstacle.

The connection with the endgame is that I was able to find mentors who helped encourage me, which helped me realize that I do not need to face obstacles alone. I also felt motivated to succeed so I could mentor others like me.

 

[LizzyM]

While some folks might bristle at the term "microaggressions" I think that you have experienced them in your interactions with people who did not think that someone like you should be pursuing a career in medicine and might be better suited for a career more in keeping with your gender and ethnicity. That is certainly a challenge and could also work to showcase that people like yourself are not often seen in medical school and that the class (and society) would benefit from what you bring to the table.

 

[FriendlyBee]

Thanks everyone for your replies! Definitely gave me a lot of insight and I will do my best to express myself well in this essay.