Doctor making joke about patient on PS

[spenguin]

Hey,
So just wanted a quick opinion. In my personal statement, I mention a situation where doctors made jokes about a patient (very briefly) and tied it into a larger story. I got my dad to read my personal statement and he thought I should take it out. Not because that part of the essay was weak but because he thought it would look bad to mention it.
I really like how I've tied it into the essay, so ideally I'd like to keep it in.
If you have an opinion either way, let me know

EDIT: Decided to take that part out. Thanks

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[Storph]

Looks bad to disparage the field in any way in your personal statement. It is better to leave out anything that may be misconstrued.

 

[spenguin]

Looks bad to disparage the field in any way in your personal statement. It is better to leave out anything that may be misconstrued.

It wasn't in a disparaging way. it was right before a surgery so i mention it might have a way to distance themselves from the patient. i more focused on the fact that it bothered/hurt me because I was empathizing with the patient

 

[AlteredScale]

It wasn't in a disparaging way. it was right before a surgery so i mention it might have a way to distance themselves from the patient. i more focused on the fact that it bothered/hurt me because I was empathizing with the patient

Evidence of empathy can be show in a variety of ways. I cannot suggest the example that you are using in your PS.

 

[xBODOMx]

.

 

[Birdstrike]

Hey,
So just wanted a quick opinion. In my personal statement, I mention a situation where doctors made jokes about a patient (very briefly) and tied it into a larger story. I got my dad to read my personal statement and he thought I should take it out. Not because that part of the essay was weak but because he thought it would look bad to mention it.
I really like how I've tied it into the essay, so ideally I'd like to keep it in.
If you have an opinion either way, let me know

You have to let someone actually read your personal statement before asking their advice on what to remove or keep in. A general description is not adequate.

 

[Roscoe11]

Hey,
So just wanted a quick opinion. In my personal statement, I mention a situation where doctors made jokes about a patient (very briefly) and tied it into a larger story. I got my dad to read my personal statement and he thought I should take it out. Not because that part of the essay was weak but because he thought it would look bad to mention it.
I really like how I've tied it into the essay, so ideally I'd like to keep it in.
If you have an opinion either way, let me know

Follow your father's advice. He is older and wiser.

I don't think putting someone else in a negative light, especially someone in the field that you are trying to enter is a good idea. At this point the people you are pitching you application to have more in common with the physician you are speaking negatively about than with you. I feel like its kind of a "I can joke about/make fun of my sibling/family member but don't you dare make fun of them because then we will have problems."

At the same time tho, @Birdstrike is correct. One cannot make full judgement from a description, but my gut feeling is to follow your father's advice, and also the advice of @AlteredScale. There are many other ways you can show empathy.

 

[spenguin]

Thanks you guys, I'm just going to take it out since there could be a negative reaction from the people reading it and that's not worth it.
If you @Roscoe11 or @Birdstrike want to read it, I can PM it to you. I didn't think it was a good idea to post it on a forum

 

[j4pac]

Here is my favorite SDN "Patient Joke" thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/medical-jokes.191431/

 

[Goro]

Delete it.

Hey,
So just wanted a quick opinion. In my personal statement, I mention a situation where doctors made jokes about a patient (very briefly) and tied it into a larger story. I got my dad to read my personal statement and he thought I should take it out. Not because that part of the essay was weak but because he thought it would look bad to mention it.
I really like how I've tied it into the essay, so ideally I'd like to keep it in.
If you have an opinion either way, let me know

 

[Layla92]

Bashing on other professions/ people/ physicians in a personal statement is a really bad idea! You never know who's going to be reading your statement....

 

[kderekb]

Did you guys hear the one about the student that didn't get into medical school because he tried to tell a joke in his personal statement?

 

[Simpson]

Did you guys hear the one about the student that didn't get into medical school because he tried to tell a joke in his personal statement?

LOL , yea I did. I heard he used to come by the SDN.

 

[StudyLater]

harden up. You'll be hearing a lot more jokes and non-empathetic remarks about patients later on.

Agreed. This doesn't mean you have to go along with it or even like it, but this happens in some of the ORs/clinical settings I've been in thus far. It's highly doubtful the docs/nurses mean anything by their joking anyway; they're just shooting the **** to help the time pass. I can tell you they would never say anything seriously disparaging directly to the patient, unless it was a very exceptional situation.

All that said, simplifying jokes to pure evil remarks made in ignorance is (old-time Hollywood) cliche and actually shows ignorance on the part of the observer. Things are usually more complicated than that. These are just people. They can't be saints all the time. That said, the job they do is a great one, and they are actively working to save the patient. Personally, I think that is a better testament to their character than a single remark made in jest, which was more than likely not meant to offend anyone.