Does major injury help in admissions?

[MorganMuscles]

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I almost died in the fall of 03, suffered a severe Traumatic Brain Injury and was in a coma for a little over a month and was in the hospital for another 2 months. Does this help me in applying to a medical school. As seeing the experience through a patients eyes and as a motivating factor in my reason for choosing med school?

 

[the organator]

What has this world come to when people start trying to take advantage of a serious injury to get into med school?

Will it help? Who knows. Did you demonstrate courage or perserverance in overcoming the obstacles it caused for you? I'd bet an injury in itself won't do anything for you.

 

[MorganMuscles]

Did you demonstrate courage or perserverance in overcoming the obstacles it caused for you?

Im not trying to take advantage of anything, i was a victim of an assault and i am simply asking if it will help my admission process. I would say it took hard work and perseverance to learn how to walk, talk, eat, drink, swallow, balance and read again, but i might be biased being that its me that im talking about.

 

[efex101]

No, I do not think that it will help or hurt. Sure it gives you a different perspective than most pre-meds have but I do not think that it will help....

 

[MorganMuscles]

Ok i was just wondering, thank you for your input.

 

[Ypo.]

Im not trying to take advantage of anything, i was a victim of an assault and i am simply asking if it will help my admission process. I would say it took hard work and perseverance to learn how to walk, talk, eat, drink, swallow, balance and read again, but i might be biased being that its me that im talking about.

I think you could definitely write an interesting personal statement, as well as tie your experiences into your interview answers.

Will it help? That depends on what you learned from that experience and how you convey that to the adcom. I for one really think that they are impressed by people who overcome hardships. Just focus on yourself and which of your attributes to 'market' to the adcom. I'm sure you will make for an interesting interview. When they ask "why do you want to be a doctor?" -you could draw on some of your experiences recovering from the attack to answer.

 

[WatchingWaiting]

I almost died in the fall of 03, suffered a severe Traumatic Brain Injury and was in a coma for a little over a month and was in the hospital for another 2 months. Does this help me in applying to a medical school. As seeing the experience through a patients eyes and as a motivating factor in my reason for choosing med school?

Sure it can help. As mentioned, you can probably spend a paragraph of your personal statement discussing how your interactions with the medical system shaped your desire to be a physician. Keep it coherent with the rest of your activities, of course. You basically have an interesting anecdote/personal story which, assuming you have the other activities-- clinical involvement, extracurricular activities-- will only help your candidacy.

 

[MorganMuscles]

I think you could definitely write an interesting personal statement, as well as tie your experiences into your interview answers.

Will it help? That depends on what you learned from that experience and how you convey that to the adcom. I for one really think that they are impressed by people who overcome hardships. Just focus on yourself and which of your attributes to 'market' to the adcom. I'm sure you will make for an interesting interview. When they ask "why do you want to be a doctor?" -you could draw on some of your experiences recovering from the attack to answer.

I definately can work it into my "why do you want to be a doctor?" statement. I would not be alive if it wasn't for a good trauma staff and a very good neurosurgeon, let alone even thinking of going to medical school, when i was rushed into the ER. Actually my heart had stopped several times on the way to the hospital, so i was dead for a short period of time. The story was all over national news and local news for a few weeks when it happened. Here is a link to the article in the NY times: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/14/college/coll14RUTG.html?ex=1143950400&en=da9c0b70aa261508&ei=5034

 

[Benign_foodtube]

I told all my interviewers that I had my penis severed in a tragic weed-whacker accident, and it seems it worked. It's not like theyr'e gunna check, afterall.

Just kiddin. Look, my dude, just be as honest as you can in yer personal statement. It certainly sounds like it was such an important event in yer life that it bears strongly on who you are, so sure, freekin write about it. You know what helps a personal statement? Honesty written in a provocative (NOT embellished) way. What will f#ck you is makin **** up or leaving critical stuff out because you wanna surprise your interviewers later. If it's important to you, if you CAN better understand the patient perspective because of this accident, then write about it, and show not tell. If you're just trying to work it in there like swimwear as an angle, then that's just silly and disrespectful to yourself.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Hey buddy, that's just awful..i actually think i heard about it. Hope you recovered ok and can put it behind you. I definitely think you can speak from a role many people can not and that gives you a different perspective of your desire to wanting to become a physician. Use it in your PS to show how you got thru the experience and how it made you grow and then relate it to your desire to become a phgysician..what you learned and why it changed you. I know many people who a tleast got into college (presumably) becaus eof their experiences with a serious illness or injury...but you have to be able to do something positively with it. All the best. 👍

 

[MorganMuscles]

Thanks alot for the replies, especially foodtube and psycho doc.

It definately was an experience that profoundly changed my life and my appreciation for doctors and is the reason i wish to become a doctor in the future. It is definately going to be something i write into my personal statement.

 

[DieselPetrolGrl]

I almost died in the fall of 03, suffered a severe Traumatic Brain Injury and was in a coma for a little over a month and was in the hospital for another 2 months. Does this help me in applying to a medical school. As seeing the experience through a patients eyes and as a motivating factor in my reason for choosing med school?

i am sorry this happened to you...and ur thread makes me worry if within the next two weeks the US will have a major epidemic of pre-meds trying to injur themselves for medical school. hahaha!

 

[MorganMuscles]

i am sorry this happened to you...and ur thread makes me worry if within the next two weeks the US will have a major epidemic of pre-meds trying to injur themselves for medical school. hahaha!

Lets hope not.

The experience, even though it gave me a new found appreciation for physicians, i would never want to experience it again. Mostly for the pain and grief my freinds and family went through while i was in the coma and no one knew if i would come out of it, but also for the pain and frustration of essentially being an adult with the abilities of an infant. It is not something anyone would want to experience in their life.

 

[dopaminophile]

So what happened? Those dudes wanted to come to your party and when you denied them they had a bat with them? Did anybody get convicted of anything? How's the other dude that was hit? Rough story, we all know how this shiz happens.

cheers,

dope

 

[45408]

No, I do not think that it will help or hurt. Sure it gives you a different perspective than most pre-meds have but I do not think that it will help....

I second this.

 

[FMGP8P]

Hey MorganMuscles

I suffered a traumatic brain injury years ago from a motorcycle accident (although I was in a coma only for 3 days). Ever since experiencing the effect it had on my mental state, I have been fascinated with the brain and nervous system and this lead me to pursue a degree in neuroscience. Anyways, I was wondering if your accident has directed you in any specific direction besides becoming a physician (i.e, did you become interested in cardiology after your heart stopped?). I think that having a specific direction after your accident may make your application stronger.

 

[MorganMuscles]

Hey MorganMuscles

I suffered a traumatic brain injury years ago from a motorcycle accident (although I was in a coma only for 3 days). Ever since experiencing the effect it had on my mental state, I have been fascinated with the brain and nervous system and this lead me to pursue a degree in neuroscience. Anyways, I was wondering if your accident has directed you in any specific direction besides becoming a physician (i.e, did you become interested in cardiology after your heart stopped?). I think that having a specific direction after your accident may make your application stronger.

I am interested in neurology and anesthesiology. The work that my neurosurgeon performed on me saved my life, and i would like to some day do that for another person. Not really interested in cardiology, even though my heart stopped beating all it took was a defibulator to get it beating again. Also while i was in the coma i was given very high doses of nimbex, versed, dipravan and fentanyl for the majority of the time i was in that state.

 

[MorganMuscles]

So what happened? Those dudes wanted to come to your party and when you denied them they had a bat with them? Did anybody get convicted of anything? How's the other dude that was hit? Rough story, we all know how this shiz happens.

They wanted to come in and we denied them at the door, so they went back and got about 40 people and some bats then came back to our house and started trying to kill people. Most of the guys got off with probation, aside of the two brothers who got 5 years in state prison and 6 months in jail. My friend John is back at school with me and he's working on getting back to life as we both knew it before this incident.

 

[bluejellybelly]

hello there

I think if you missed some exams or didn;t do very well during the lapse of your injury, that provides a nice explanation with some sheer honesty. 😉

 

[MorganMuscles]

hello there

I think if you missed some exams or didn;t do very well during the lapse of your injury, that provides a nice explanation with some sheer honesty. 😉

I was in a coma for over a month, and in the hospital in total for 3 months. My semester ended right when i got hit, i lost that entire year of college.

 

[dopaminophile]

Glad to hear you both came through it well. I think that it would be a good topic for your PS as you're able speak eloquently and specifically about how it motivates you to practice medicine. Don't try to pull sympathy points of course, just try to speak on how the incident shaped you and figure out how to highlight who you are.

all the best

-dope-

 

[MorganMuscles]

Glad to hear you both came through it well. I think that it would be a good topic for your PS as you're able speak eloquently and specifically about how it motivates you to practice medicine. Don't try to pull sympathy points of course, just try to speak on how the incident shaped you and figure out how to highlight who you are.

Honestly, i think i would be afraid that my PS would come off like a sympathy ploy to get admission than actually explain my situation. So that is the only reason i have been hesitant to use this as a part of my PS. But i have to decided to use it and be careful while explaining my situation. Thanks for the help with this subject...

 

[Premedtomed]

Im not trying to take advantage of anything, i was a victim of an assault and i am simply asking if it will help my admission process. I would say it took hard work and perseverance to learn how to walk, talk, eat, drink, swallow, balance and read again, but i might be biased being that its me that im talking about.

First of all hopefully you are doing fine now. You have gone through a traumatic
experience.
State what you learnt from it - amazing job health care workers do to better appreciation of medical science( it saved your life!)

Take care and stay away from the crazy ppl. in New Jersey 🙂

 

[Premedtomed]

So what happened? Those dudes wanted to come to your party and when you denied them they had a bat with them? Did anybody get convicted of anything? How's the other dude that was hit? Rough story, we all know how this shiz happens.

cheers,

dope

I am in a fraternity too but these dimwits took it too far with their stupidity

 

[masterMood]

Its a dog-eat-dog world out there. People wll tell you to not exploit your injury but I say do it. Being practical, you need to present yourself in the brightest light, and no one is going to know or care 10 years from now.

So yes, use it dammit.

 

[efex101]

Actually if you do not talk about it on your PS much, there will be ample opportunity to do so with the "tell me about a difficult situation that you had to overcome question" that most medical schools have on their secondaries in some fashion or form.

 

[MorganMuscles]

I plan opn using it in my PS, just careful of how i present the information in the statement.

 

[beep]

i would use it in your ps, like everyone's said, but make sure you make it clear that despite your brain injury you are up for the mental & physical work of school (with or without accommodations, if you have any disabilities now...)

 

[MorganMuscles]

i would use it in your ps, like everyone's said, but make sure you make it clear that despite your brain injury you are up for the mental & physical work of school (with or without accommodations, if you have any disabilities now...)

Yeah, i was planning on doing that. I still have another year left of undergrad so i will be able to improve several things. Which will be a good sign, that i can improve after the adversity i have worked through.

 

[KatieOConnor]

I think that such an incident would definitely "help" if spun correctly. During interviews, I am asked what contact I've had with doctors, hospitals, etc, and I usually briefly mention a childhood illness.

I spoke to someone who used to read residency essays (not the same thing, but this example might help) and she said that sometimes people take the unfortunate events of their past too far and the people reading the essays feel manipulated.

It sounds as though you don't want people to feel sorry for you, and that this event has triggered a genuine interest in medicine that you can convey in your personal statement.

It's amazing how far you've come from learning to walk, eat, and swallow! Good luck!

 

[fpr85]

I too was a victim of assault but it wasn't as severe as what happened to you -- I was punched in the face numerous times with brass knuckles (or rings, but they definitely had something in their hands) and got my front tooth knocked out. I don't plan on mentioning this when I apply in a few years unless it's mentioned due to my grades, I entered somewhat of a depression and stopped caring, all I could think about was getting revenge. Still haven't caught them, but it all happened so fast I don't really remember what the guys looked like. I'm attending a community college and this happened my freshman year so hopefully those courses won't transfer.

 

[MorganMuscles]

It definately is the reason for my desire to become a physician. My neurosurgeon saved my life, its that simple, and i want to one day be able to do that for someone else.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I was in a coma for over a month, and in the hospital in total for 3 months. My semester ended right when i got hit, i lost that entire year of college.

that totally totally sucks!! and you can never have it back.

twice (two different years) I missed a month of school but somehow managed to make up all the work, so i didn't miss anything despite the deans' advice for me to take incompletes and make it up another time. Both times it was shortly before finals when i returned to school.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Honestly, i think i would be afraid that my PS would come off like a sympathy ploy to get admission than actually explain my situation. So that is the only reason i have been hesitant to use this as a part of my PS. But i have to decided to use it and be careful while explaining my situation. Thanks for the help with this subject...

there are defintely ways to write it to make it come off strong and not as a sympathy thing...it can be totally awesome.

 

[MorganMuscles]

I am sure that i won't come off as a prospective student trying to get sympathy. I don't feel sorry for myself, so their is no reason for me to try and make others feel sorry for me. I plan to use that in my PS as an experience in the medical feild (ER, OR, SICU, ICU, Rehab) through the patients eyes and as the reason for my drive to become a physician.

 

[Sundarban1]

I am sure that i won't come off as a prospective student trying to get sympathy. I don't feel sorry for myself, so their is no reason for me to try and make others feel sorry for me. I plan to use that in my PS as an experience in the medical feild (ER, OR, SICU, ICU, Rehab) through the patients eyes and as the reason for my drive to become a physician.

If you need ideas of how to write about your experience without sounding cliche or as a "victim" I suggest looking at "101 Essays that will get you into medical school" by Barron's, I got a copy at B&N. It includes personal statments from students who were accecpted to medical school, but more importantly it has examples from every possible background, including tramatic personal experiences. It was very helpful to me, as I also was motivated from a similar expereince, but wanted to present in a fresh way.

Good luck

 

[MorganMuscles]

If you need ideas of how to write about your experience without sounding cliche or as a "victim" I suggest looking at "101 Essays that will get you into medical school" by Barron's, I got a copy at B&N. It includes personal statments from students who were accecpted to medical school, but more importantly it has examples from every possible background, including tramatic personal experiences. It was very helpful to me, as I also was motivated from a similar expereince, but wanted to present in a fresh way.

Yeah, im going to pick up a copy of that.

 

[Ypo.]

I definately can work it into my "why do you want to be a doctor?" statement. I would not be alive if it wasn't for a good trauma staff and a very good neurosurgeon, let alone even thinking of going to medical school, when i was rushed into the ER. Actually my heart had stopped several times on the way to the hospital, so i was dead for a short period of time. The story was all over national news and local news for a few weeks when it happened. Here is a link to the article in the NY times: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/14/college/coll14RUTG.html?ex=1143950400&en=da9c0b70aa261508&ei=5034

Wow. Thanks for sharing. You are a very lucky person. I hate violence 👎 , especially from those who are fortunate enough to attend college.

 

[tofurious]

MorganMuscles, people who work in the hospital (and therefore medical school) are inspired daily by people like you. I applaud you for wanting to puruse a career in medicine after that experience. However, medical schools and hospitals do not grant every patient admission into medical school. Thus, you must convey how your experience can 1) make you want to be a doctor, versus other types of people involved in your case such as EMT, law enforcement, social worker, rehab specialist, nurse, patient advocate, etc who helped you along the way, 2) make you a better doctor (since a life threatening illness is not a pre-requisite of med school), and 3) potentially hinder your training and career (would you as a patient accept a neurosurgeon who has had traumatic brain injury?). A difficult question for you during interview would be, how do you think someone who has not gone through what you did could become a good doctor (since many have), and how would your experience add anything extra since most physicians have not been through a life threatening condition as you have.

Good luck with your health and your career!