ethical dillemma

[dmblue]

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I'm finishing up my last application, and I have to describe an ethical dilemma that is not academic. I really haven't had any ethical dilemmas other than this one time when I turned someone in for cheating. Unfortunately, this is in regard to academic dishonesty, and therefore, doesn't satisfy the question. Does anyone have any ideas of how i can answer this? I feel bad saying that I haven't really experienced an ethical dilemma, since it says that they will have a hard time believing you.

This is Pittsburgh's app btw.

 

[biophysicianai]

I'm certain that you've experienced some kinds of ethical dilemma; it's just a matter of remembering them.


Have you ever seen someone shoplift?
Have you ever had a friend who was an absolute dog to women?
Have you ever turned down a begging homeless person who looked like they may have been genuine?
Here's one that happened to me the other day: have you ever had a waitress who was eons past retirement age, old enough that you felt guilty asking for what you needed?


These are only some ideas, and they're by no means the best out there.

Just think of situations that have made you uncomfortable. Many of them can be placed in ethical terms.

Good luck!

 

[dmblue]

I'm certain that you've experienced some kinds of ethical dilemma; it's just a matter of remembering them.


Have you ever seen someone shoplift? No
Have you ever had a friend who was an absolute dog to women? (no I don't pick friends like that LOL)
Have you ever turned down a begging homeless person who looked like they may have been genuine? probably, but nothing comes to mind
Here's one that happened to me the other day: have you ever had a waitress who was eons past retirement age, old enough that you felt guilty asking for what you needed?


These are only some ideas, and they're by no means the best out there.

Just think of situations that have made you uncomfortable. Many of them can be placed in ethical terms.

Good luck!

The best that I can think of at the moment is when my friend and I found a wallet with $300, a cell phone,and a meeting schedule book in the road. We had to decide between keeping the 300 or not. Nobody would have known if we had taken it. The only potential problem with this is that it was a long time ago (9th grade i think).

I could also fabricate a story based on something that is true in my life, but i don' think that is appropriate, especially for a question asking about ethics. For Duke, I made a bit of a joke about the question by saying that answering the question itself truthfully or not was my dilemma. It turned into a really good essay involving several brief stories about my past, but I don't know if can use it under the word count constraints. Additionally, this question asserts that they won't believe me if I claim to never have had a dilemma before.

 

[Schlockinz]

from your original post it doesn't seem like you have said whether or not it needs to be a story from your life. If I were you, I'd fab one.

 

[pazan]

The best that I can think of at the moment is when my friend and I found a wallet with $300, a cell phone,and a meeting schedule book in the road. We had to decide between keeping the 300 or not. Nobody would have known if we had taken it. The only potential problem with this is that it was a long time ago (9th grade i think).

I could also fabricate a story based on something that is true in my life, but i don' think that is appropriate, especially for a question asking about ethics. For Duke, I made a bit of a joke about the question by saying that answering the question itself truthfully or not was my dilemma. It turned into a really good essay involving several brief stories about my past, but I don't know if can use it under the word count constraints. Additionally, this question asserts that they won't believe me if I claim to never have had a dilemma before.

My impression at Pitt was that the ethical dilemma essay (and MD secondary in general) wasn't a big deal in the decision making process. It's not something to stress over... just write a coherent essay about helping a friend through a hard time and offering honest advice vs. just telling them what they want to hear; we've all been in those situations.

And, IMO, if you write about even thinking of keeping someone's wallet with $300 + credit cards when you have their cell phone and can easily contact them, you're not getting into that medical school.

 

[anemone2]

This is Pittsburgh's app btw.

I totally second Pazan's opinion on the wallet story!! I realize you were going for honesty, but I'd try for something that puts you in a better light - ever see a friend do something wrong and have to decide whether to report him and ruin the friendship?? Maybe that's a bit cliche, but something along those lines..

Also, not to freak you out, but wasn't Pitt's deadline for both apps Nov 1st?

 

[dmblue]

I totally second Pazan's opinion on the wallet story!! I realize you were going for honesty, but I'd try for something that puts you in a better light - ever see a friend do something wrong and have to decide whether to report him and ruin the friendship?? Maybe that's a bit cliche, but something along those lines..

Also, not to freak you out, but wasn't Pitt's deadline for both apps Nov 1st?

lol....I just made a pretty big mistake...I wrote the wrong deadline down. Oh well, I wasn't really all that interested in the school anyway. I wrote down December 15th for some reason.

In regard to the story, I never even considered taking anything from the wallet as an option; it was just an idea to write about.

 

[biophysicianai]

Well, this is irrelevant now, but I'm waiting for an SDS-PAGE to finish running and have nothing better to do than browse SDN.

Dmargul, check this out: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=300075

that would've helped, had it been timely enough