Duke: Ethical Situation

[Dr. Chiquita]

Hey, guys! I am finally finally submitting the rest of my supps today. But I still have one of Duke's left to do, the question about the ethical situation you encountered and how you dealt with it. What did you guys talk about? Can you give me some ideas? I am at a complete loss on that question. Surprisingly, I didn't have much problem on that stem-cell stuff though.

Anyways, any help would be appreciated. Thanks so much in advance.

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[Damnit Jim!]

Hey, guys! I am finally finally submitting the rest of my supps today. But I still have one of Duke's left to do, the question about the ethical situation you encountered and how you dealt with it. What did you guys talk about? Can you give me some ideas? I am at a complete loss on that question. Surprisingly, I didn't have much problem on that stem-cell stuff though.

Anyways, any help would be appreciated. Thanks so much in advance.

I was at a loss on this one too. But all it asks for is a situation that you've encountered. If you've had any healthcare volunteer experiences, you've probably come across at least one ethical situation. When I thought back to my volunteer experiences, I realized that they happened everyday. For example, If you've volunteered in an ER, you must have come across the situation where a cop and perpetrator are both brought in. Or maybe just a perp or drunk driver is brought in and you see a different standard in care quality. Maybe a victim of a crime. If you've volunteered in other settings, you've probably encountered patient confidentiality/autonomy issues, truth telling, etc. Some are weak, but there are a lot of things out there if you think hard enough.

 

[Dr. Chiquita]

Thanks for those ideas. I might be able to come up with something along those lines.

Any other ideas?

 

[lorelei]

I ended up writing about a situation I encountered in a job, where my supervisors wanted me to do something and I thought it was not a good idea.

 

[Thundrstorm]

It doesn't have to be medical ethics; try to think about all of the different aspects of your life. For example, I'm sure every student could write about a witnessed instance of cheating.

 

[NubianPrincess]

...which is why they want you to exclude academic honesty situations

 

[VFrank]

I was thinking about writing on a situation in high school when I broke up with a boyfriend and he started cutting himself and threatening suicide, so I panicked and got back together with him. I spent two months in a dangerous relationship deciding how to end it while making sure he'd be safe. I was 15, so it was definitely something I wasn't prepared for. Is this too personal? I mean, I like it because it touches on my concern for others ... any thoughts?

 

[Damnit Jim!]

I was thinking about writing on a situation in high school when I broke up with a boyfriend and he started cutting himself and threatening suicide, so I panicked and got back together with him. I spent two months in a dangerous relationship deciding how to end it while making sure he'd be safe. I was 15, so it was definitely something I wasn't prepared for. Is this too personal? I mean, I like it because it touches on my concern for others ... any thoughts?

My opinion is that relationships or break ups are too risky and hard to do well. I think for some people, drawing a connection between concern for others and concern for an ex during a bad break is a bit of a stretch. There are also people who will question the age/maturity factor. I would play it safe and go with something that happened in a professional setting like work, volunteering, hospital, etc.

 

[bidster]

My opinion is that relationships or break ups are too risky and hard to do well. I think for some people, drawing a connection between concern for others and concern for an ex during a bad break is a bit of a stretch. There are also people who will question the age/maturity factor. I would play it safe and go with something that happened in a professional setting like work, volunteering, hospital, etc.

Uh oh....I talked about a friend of mine who had an eating disorder--basically I talked about whether being a good friend was to be a good confidant or seek outside help for her even if it meant exposing her. Too relationship-y?

 

[constructor]

y'all are just too plain... i wrote about this time this girl was trying to get me wasted cuz she thought it would put me off and i took the hit to my liver because i wanted her to have a great time. what words come to mind here? compassionate? philantropist? self-sacrifice?

 

[Psycho Doctor]

what words come to mind here? compassionate? philantropist? self-sacrifice?

stupid?

ps: i know you were joking...

 

[Thundrstorm]

...which is why they want you to exclude academic honesty situations

oh.

 

[EllieElle]

I was thinking about writing on a situation in high school when I broke up with a boyfriend and he started cutting himself and threatening suicide, so I panicked and got back together with him. I spent two months in a dangerous relationship deciding how to end it while making sure he'd be safe. I was 15, so it was definitely something I wasn't prepared for. Is this too personal? I mean, I like it because it touches on my concern for others ... any thoughts?

As long as you are comfortable talking about the situation in an interview, I think it's OK to put something that personal. Not all of your life has been medical or school experiences, right? I wrote about something really similar, in fact-- I'm sure a lot of other people have done the same

 

[casey at bat]

i think the important thing is showing your character and not necessarily whether you did the right thing, or rather did what was ethical. i think the whole point is to 'understand' the applicant and their intentions rather than agree/disagree at how you went about your situation....everything in what people write is relative to that person alone, and making others understand 'why?' is key...

case

 

[Damnit Jim!]

Uh oh....I talked about a friend of mine who had an eating disorder--basically I talked about whether being a good friend was to be a good confidant or seek outside help for her even if it meant exposing her. Too relationship-y?

That actually sounds like a pretty good one. I agree with what another poster said that they're looking for reflection, thoughtfulness, etc. and trying to screen out immaturity and pathology. I just thought that the OP might run into problems if they used a bad break up that occurred at age 15 as their situation.