Good/bad idea for secondary essay topic?

[MikeJY]

Hey SDN, quick question.

One thing I've noticed throughout some of the secondary essays is that many of them are some variation of "Describe a personal, moral, or ethical dilemma you've faced and how you've grown from it."

I was thinking about writing about a friend who got raped, but wasn't sure if this would be a good idea. On the one hand, it fits the prompt quite well, but on the other hand, revealing such details may be controversial or even, God forbid, in contrast to a fundamental quality desired in all physicians: patient confidentiality.

Should I proceed with this idea, or should I discard it and start from scratch again?

Thanks.

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[marele86]

That's not a moral or ethical dilemma at all. Dilemmas are complicated situations where you would have to take a side, with valid arguments for both sides.

It might be a possible answer for a "what was your greatest personal challenge" question, but since they say 'dilemma', don't go there.

 

[MikeJY]

Well, for me I thought it could fit the mold for dilemma, because on one hand I could have told my friend's parents and done other things to make my friend seek treatment, but on the other it wasn't really too much of my business to do something like that since it might not necessarily be what the person wanted.

Or maybe if rape is an inappropriate topic, what if I touched more on the suicidal aspect of the problems my friend had following the incident?

Thanks!

 

[armybound]

There's no confidentiality issue if you don't name her by her real name.

 

[marele86]

Well, for me I thought it could fit the mold for dilemma, because on one hand I could have told my friend's parents and done other things to make my friend seek treatment, but on the other it wasn't really too much of my business to do something like that since it might not necessarily be what the person wanted.

Or maybe if rape is an inappropriate topic, what if I touched more on the suicidal aspect of the problems my friend had following the incident?

Thanks!

Oh - okay, got it. Well, I'll do a 180 on my first answer, then - you're right, that particular situation you were in was a dilemma. If you write about it thoughtfully (and it sounds like you would) I think it would be a great answer.