Ex-Florida State DB Myron Rolle to begin Harvard medical residency

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He didn't play a single NFL game
 
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I bet he even had a higher step score than me lol. No papers at all...odd for an MGH match
 
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failedatlife said:
I bet he even had a higher step score than me lol. No papers at all...odd for an MGH match
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The dude was a Rhode scholar. I'm sure harvard would give him a pass on the publishing papers.
 
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MGH neurosurgery... sure, but "he didn't play a single NFL game" lol this hot take is definitely good enough to lead the daytime ESPN crap targeted to unemployed 20-something males

edit:
seriously though, the whole career summary that is listed doesn't say anything about neurosurgery. maybe it's old? he must have done something to show interest besides collect academic, athletic, and humanitarian accomplishments by the dozen
 
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Step 1?
I thought that was the only thing that mattered.
 
I remember watching him play when he was at FSU! Unreal. Some people are just so incredibly talented.
 
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Can't help but wonder how much of his place on the rank list was with consideration to publicity.
 
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I read an article on him several years back. His decision to pursue medicine coupled with the required time, appeared to be at odds with pursuing an NFL career. The NFL "leaders" wanted an athlete intent on focusing all his time training for the sport without the distractions of a prospective medical career. It appeared he was forced to choose and he chose medicine. I guess you can't serve two very demanding masters.
 
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Cyal said:
I read an article on him several years back. His decision to pursue medicine coupled with the required time, appeared to be at odds with pursuing an NFL career. The NFL "leaders" wanted an athlete intent on focusing all his time training for the sport without the distractions of a prospective medical career. It appeared he was forced to choose and he chose medicine. I guess you can't serve two very demanding masters.
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Counterpoint: Zach Zenner.

(though I'm not sure how much longer South Dakota is going to let him defer his initial acceptance since he appears to be coming back to the Lions this year)
 
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Along with being a Rhodes scholar, he was an all-american in college. I guess MGH gives you a pass on research when your resume everywhere else is ridiculous. I'm sure he was able to get stellar recs from whomever he wanted at FSU where everyone would have known him.

QualityProcess said:
MGH neurosurgery... sure, but "he didn't play a single NFL game" lol this hot take is definitely good enough to lead the daytime ESPN crap targeted to unemployed 20-something males

edit:
seriously though, the whole career summary that is listed doesn't say anything about neurosurgery. maybe it's old? he must have done something to show interest besides collect academic, athletic, and humanitarian accomplishments by the dozen
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Even while he was playing football at FSU, he was saying that he wanted to go into neurosurgery, so I'm sure he did some kind of work to show interest.
 
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He did several neurosurgery away rotations and everyone that worked with him was incredibly impressed by his performance.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
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nevermind. just found out. jokes
 
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WingedOx said:
I'll have you know I was 3rd my beer league team in points this season.
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Are you any good at "Hollywoo stars, what do they know? Do they know stuff? Let's find out!"?
 
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He was such a beast on FSU. Great to read about him now.
 
ChordaEpiphany said:
It seems like a lot of people are questioning whether or not this was a "real" admit or one based in publicity, cool life story, or just "hey how cool would it be to work with this ex-NFL player?" Honestly, all signs point to the latter, but I'm going to tell you why that doesn't matter.

The point of that last paragraph was to say that yes, this was likely an admit based on life story rather than the PD at MGH thinking that the guy will be the most badass neurosurgeon this side of the Mayo Clinic. Without the publicity and connections, he probably doesn't stand out on paper, and he probably doesn't get quite as much done, but he still did it, and he still has those connections, and he will likely continue to use his status as a pseudo celebrity to do great things. Like it or not, this guy can move a finger and still get done more than you or I because he knows the right people. He'll bring great publicity to the program, even if he doesn't end up being a game changing researcher, and he'll bring even more connections, strengthening the Harvard brand.
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So you're saying the reason it doesn't matter that he got the spot due to non-academic reasons is because he managed to get the spot because of non-academic reasons?

The point of the discussion is that someone who appears not to be academically qualified landed a spot at one of the most coveted academic positions in medicine. Personally, without the dude's full ERAS it's hard to say just how qualified he is for the spot, so I'm purposefully avoiding that line of discussion. I don't really have the capacity, knowledge, or authority to judge his qualifications as a whole.

However, the fact that he got into an extremely academic and research driven program, in an extremely academic and research driven specialty -- without research experience -- is very telling, and IMO does not reflect well on the program because it demonstrates an unequal application of standards and expectations. Admittedly, the program doesn't "owe" it to anyone to be fair, but this phenomenon does beg the question that since he was still admitted, what does he bring to the table?

Your argument is that he has connections and brings publicity to the Harvard brand, but how is that applicable to someone's potential as a neurosurgeon? How does that give him further potential as a field-leading researcher? How much role should it play? I'm sure some people have an ethical issue with using popularity to choose who gets to cut people's brains open.

You also raise the point that as an athlete, he has good hand-eye coordination. I could raise the counterpoint that gamers also have good hand-eye coordination, and double down in saying that gamers dexterity is even more applicable in a field that demands delicate and deliberate micro-movements. Yet, if I apply to a surgical residency, I won't be putting the fact that I can whoop anyone in Super Smash Bros. on my ERAS.

In any case, I wish him the best. I choose to believe that, for someone to get into a NSG spot at MGH, he must have earned it. Especially coming from FSUCOM. I interviewed there and spoke with a 4th year applying Urology who felt that the lack of name recognition for the school was hurting his chances in the residency match because he wasn't getting any interviews. Highly doubt that was the sole reason, but I digress.
 
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sovereign0 said:
So you're saying the reason it doesn't matter that he got the spot due to non-academic reasons is because he managed to get the spot because of non-academic reasons?

The point of the discussion is that someone who appears not to be academically qualified landed a spot at one of the most coveted academic positions in medicine. Personally, without the dude's full ERAS it's hard to say just how qualified he is for the spot, so I'm purposefully avoiding that line of discussion. I don't really have the capacity, knowledge, or authority to judge his qualifications as a whole.

However, the fact that he got into an extremely academic and research driven program, in an extremely academic and research driven specialty -- without research experience -- is very telling, and IMO does not reflect well on the program because it demonstrates an unequal application of standards and expectations. Admittedly, the program doesn't "owe" it to anyone to be fair, but this phenomenon does beg the question that since he was still admitted, what does he bring to the table?

Your argument is that he has connections and brings publicity to the Harvard brand, but how is that applicable to someone's potential as a neurosurgeon? How does that give him further potential as a field-leading researcher? How much role should it play? I'm sure some people have an ethical issue with using popularity to choose who gets to cut people's brains open.

You also raise the point that as an athlete, he has good hand-eye coordination. I could raise the counterpoint that gamers also have good hand-eye coordination, and double down in saying that gamers dexterity is even more applicable in a field that demands delicate and deliberate micro-movements. Yet, if I apply to a surgical residency, I won't be putting the fact that I can whoop anyone in Super Smash Bros. on my ERAS.

In any case, I wish him the best. I choose to believe that, for someone to get into a NSG spot at MGH, he must have earned it. Especially coming from FSUCOM. I interviewed there and spoke with a 4th year applying Urology who felt that the lack of name recognition for the school was hurting his chances in the residency match because he wasn't getting any interviews. Highly doubt that was the sole reason, but I digress.
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Harvard has a reputation of "collecting" people, like that one professor in Harry Potter.

One way his celebrity status can help neurosurgery is by raising funds for research. NIH is dying at the moment, and a lot of research is done on non-government dollars. He could raise millions for DIPG or PD or moya moya.

I can understand it does sting for the MD PhD applicant that MGH neurosurgery attracts, who has racked up multiple pubs on top of being an academic beast.
 
sovereign0 said:
So you're saying the reason it doesn't matter that he got the spot due to non-academic reasons is because he managed to get the spot because of non-academic reasons?

The point of the discussion is that someone who appears not to be academically qualified landed a spot at one of the most coveted academic positions in medicine. Personally, without the dude's full ERAS it's hard to say just how qualified he is for the spot, so I'm purposefully avoiding that line of discussion. I don't really have the capacity, knowledge, or authority to judge his qualifications as a whole.

However, the fact that he got into an extremely academic and research driven program, in an extremely academic and research driven specialty -- without research experience -- is very telling, and IMO does not reflect well on the program because it demonstrates an unequal application of standards and expectations. Admittedly, the program doesn't "owe" it to anyone to be fair, but this phenomenon does beg the question that since he was still admitted, what does he bring to the table?

Your argument is that he has connections and brings publicity to the Harvard brand, but how is that applicable to someone's potential as a neurosurgeon? How does that give him further potential as a field-leading researcher? How much role should it play? I'm sure some people have an ethical issue with using popularity to choose who gets to cut people's brains open.

You also raise the point that as an athlete, he has good hand-eye coordination. I could raise the counterpoint that gamers also have good hand-eye coordination, and double down in saying that gamers dexterity is even more applicable in a field that demands delicate and deliberate micro-movements. Yet, if I apply to a surgical residency, I won't be putting the fact that I can whoop anyone in Super Smash Bros. on my ERAS.

In any case, I wish him the best. I choose to believe that, for someone to get into a NSG spot at MGH, he must have earned it. Especially coming from FSUCOM. I interviewed there and spoke with a 4th year applying Urology who felt that the lack of name recognition for the school was hurting his chances in the residency match because he wasn't getting any interviews. Highly doubt that was the sole reason, but I digress.
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Square up. 1 v 1 Fox only, no items
 
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It's surprising the amount of hand wringing going on in this thread. The dude graduated magna cum in 2.5 years while being a football star, did a Rhodes scholarship , and opened up a few non profits. Oh, and played professional football. I don't know his scores , and frankly neither does anyone in this thread. The dude is exceptional in many ways and seems like the exact kind of candidate these schools would want.
 
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libertyyne said:
It's surprising the amount of hand wringing going on in this thread. The dude graduated magna cum in 2.5 years while being a football star, did a Rhodes scholarship , and opened up a few non profits. Oh, and played professional football. I don't know his scores , and frankly neither does anyone in this thread. The dude is exceptional in many ways and seems like the exact kind of candidate these schools would want.
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I don't think anyone is making the argument that he isn't exceptional.

I think the discussion to be had is that the one aspect in which he is glaringly deficient just so happens to be the aspect which is most highly emphasized not only in the field of Neurosurgery, but is especially a focus of the particular program he got in to. I mean seriously, NSG is what, the field where applicants have the second most research experience out of any field? Second to Rad Onc? On top of that, it's Harvard... It's definitely a curious situation.
 
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ChordaEpiphany said:
Clearly he'll contribute, but what if it's not through research or even ANY direct action of his, but rather through being a cultural icon and role model for future generations?
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Convincing enough, though balancing this with the ethical issues of qualification could still be argued by someone with an axe to grind. I could easily see THAT discussion devolving into a URM/AA thread.
 
This is the kind of applicant that all of us pretend we're going to be (but secretly know we'll be woefully under qualified comparatively) when we're premeds.
 
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Also, major props for him joining FSU COM. I'm sure he could've gone to a top med school but he chose to go where he played football.
 
Astra said:
Also, major props for him joining FSU COM. I'm sure he could've gone to a top med school but he chose to go where he played football.
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That or he had deffered status while playing NFL.
 
libertyyne said:
Got accepted to the school and asked not to matriculate since he wanted to go play football?
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What does that have to do with what I posted? I was referring to college football. He played for FSU
 
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Astra said:
What does that have to do with what I posted? I was referring to college football. He played for FSU
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I was referring to the fact that his home school may have been open to him getting accepted and then going off to play football for multiple years without having to retake MCAT and such.
 
libertyyne said:
I was referring to the fact that his home school may have been open to him getting accepted and then going off to play football for multiple years without having to retake MCAT and such.
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ah. fair point
 
samsunimomo said:
To be frank, it sounds like a backhanded defense.
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I think it was just steeped in realism. No one is (or should be) claiming that his extraordinary accomplishments outside of research and the classroom weren't a factor in him matching.
 
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You gave some back-handed compliments while indicating, without any evidence, that he is probably not academically qualified to be a neurosurgery resident at MGH. From the evidence we have, he was impressive enough on his away rotations to match at MGH.
Honestly, you sound insecure. I'm sure Rolle does many things better than you.

ChordaEpiphany said:
Objectively, there's no reason to sugarcoat it and pretend he's also more amazing academically than most med students in the running for NSG at MGH.
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