family situation in personal statement

[jg2021]

one of the main inspirations for me going into medicine was a situation i went through fairly early in life (9 or 10 years old). my grandmother, whom i was extremely close to, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and i went to rounds of chemo, dr appts, stayed by her side in the ICU when things went downhill, etc. after my grandmother passed, we found out her oncologist was involved in medicare fraud and falsely diagnosing patients with cancer, pumping them with chemo, etc. for monetary purposes. he is now spending life in prison. it was obviously a very significant event in my life, as well as my moms diagnosis with breast cancer, in which i played the same caregiver type role. since a lot of time has passed since these events, i don't think they would trigger a very emotional response from my behalf in interviews, so i thought this may be something worth including. thoughts?
edit: we are unsure of my grandmother's actual diagnosis, as he was convicted a decent amount of time after she passed and she never got a second opinion due to the dr's urgency, so i cannot note on this if asked
Michigan Oncologist Wrongfully Diagnosed Patients for Profit i found a forum talking about the exact situation, for background

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[DrFortiusNatando]

This is a truly tragic situation and there was a lot of publicity when this happened - there were more than a few oncology physicians doing this and similar things.

You certainly can write about it if it is what inspired you to go into medicine. This is a common essay topic though (myself, my sibling my parent, my grandparent, was sick, got injured, etc), so you will have to find a way to make it interesting for the reader. Make sure to have some trusted people to read it and comment on it to make sure your PS is not too formulaic and that it exudes a sense of who you are.

 

[Dr. Anonymouss]

I think it can be a tricky PS to talk about, but if done correctly can be very moving and beneficial for your application. It is a judgement call on how you feel about it after you write it. If I had to personally read an essay about that experience I think it would show me how you experienced medicine and have an intrinsic calling to it due to your circumstances. After you finish it feel free to send it to me if youd like. Best of luck. (bottom line, I don't initially see a problem with it)

 

[Isoval]

You can get away with almost anything in your personal statement as long as you frame it correctly.

Don't take this as an opportunity to bash the medical profession, to bash that ex-physician, or to complain about the events that happened. Use it to show that you want to be the positive change in the medical community, that you want to be the one to prevent things like this from ever happening again. Explain how this experience has been formative to your drive to medicine and supplement that with things you've done to get to where you are.

 

[lalalallala]

Talk about it in relation to YOU. How have your experiences shaped you wanting to be a doctor? What have you done that has shown that you are ready for this path?

This were your experiences so you don't need to shy away from them - but you do need to make the personal statement about YOU. Not a summary of what happened to your grandmother and mom - it always has to be in the perspective of how you came to be on this path

 

[LizzyM]

Wanting to help people through medicine can certainly grow out of the experience of caring for loved ones with cancer, as you did beginning at an early age. Have you had experiences that would take you from caring for and about loved ones to caring for "strangers"? It is natural to care for loved ones but it is a different ballgame to care for those whom you don't know. Show the adcom that you've taken your experience to the next level with volunteerism or employment that put you face-to-face with patients who are not your family or friends.

I'd leave out the physician fraud part of the story. It really adds nothing to your message of wanting to care for people who are sick and to bring them back to full health or to care for them with dignity when there is nothing more to be done.