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Hi all,
As an older female applicant (at least this is why I suspect I get asked these...) I routinely find that I get asked questions that I find uncomfortable, and in many cases are actually not legal. For example, I've been asked in the past what my plans for children are, if I'm married, or how I will handle medicine as a woman whose "biological clock must be ticking."
I am wondering if anyone can suggest the appropriate response to these questions. While I feel it may be my right to either politely decline to answer or even report such questions to the university, I also worry that doing so will negatively impact me.
How should I handle this?
Thanks!
I remember reading in a thread about ageism in residency interviews that some of these types of questions can actually be legal, but if they reject you, they have to be able to prove that they rejected you for some reason other than your age or family plans. Unfortunately, that can be as simple as saying you weren't a good "fit" for the program, as intangible as that is.
I would say something along the lines of, "I am not sure of my family plans right now. My primary focus is to become a physician..." and lead the conversation away from the topic. You might also choose to address it head on and say something like, "When the time comes for me to start a family, I plan to seek out mentors who are women that have successfully juggled a growing family and a career in medicine and learn from their experiences. However, I don't know when that time will be."
As an older female applicant (at least this is why I suspect I get asked these...) I routinely find that I get asked questions that I find uncomfortable, and in many cases are actually not legal. For example, I've been asked in the past what my plans for children are, if I'm married, or how I will handle medicine as a woman whose "biological clock must be ticking."
Another excellent answer Monkeyfeet --
Illegal or not, women are sometimes gonna get this question. Capable deflection or assured handling is, IMO, a better strategy than calling "no fair!" to admissions -- even though it is no fair... It's also no fair that we have to make those choices. Buy what can you really do about the biology of it?... Cue Jeremy Irons from Lion King "Life's not fair..."
how is a biological clock ticking comment offensive to you
you're a guy
when im an overworked resident i sure dont want to be picking up even more patients because some female resident got pregnant and left the rest of us in the lurch
i mean sure ive heard of some surgery residents being in the OR until they were practically having contractions but how many women are actually like that
how is a biological clock ticking comment offensive to you
you're a guy
when im an overworked resident i sure dont want to be picking up even more patients because some female resident got pregnant and left the rest of us in the lurch
i mean sure ive heard of some surgery residents being in the OR until they were practically having contractions but how many women are actually like that
I was asked a borderline "illegal" question along the lines of how I intend to balance my schedule (the fact that I've been in a 7 year relationship came up) if I were to get married/have a family in med school or residency, etc. There was another one along the lines of if English was my first language/how I would rate my own skills (they were under the impression I wasn't born in this country).Hi all,
As an older female applicant (at least this is why I suspect I get asked these...) I routinely find that I get asked questions that I find uncomfortable, and in many cases are actually not legal. For example, I've been asked in the past what my plans for children are, if I'm married, or how I will handle medicine as a woman whose "biological clock must be ticking."
I am wondering if anyone can suggest the appropriate response to these questions. While I feel it may be my right to either politely decline to answer or even report such questions to the university, I also worry that doing so will negatively impact me.
How should I handle this?
Thanks!
I interviewed at five schools and had two interviews where illegal questions were asked. One was "what other schools are you applying to?"--I didn't mind answering that one so much and did so truthfully, but I decided that that school was a little unprofessional, although that is the most common "illegal" interview question. I answered truthfully because that's just what I do, but in hindsight, I think the best thing to do is to simply say that you would only attend an interview at that school if you were interested in matriculation there.
The other question (a little more interesting and certainly more illegal) was whether I had any "surprising" genetics, say for [a particular condition that runs in my family, for this example we'll call it Huntington's Disease although it is not]. This physician was a geneticist at and a dean and should've known better, but I did not file a grievance. I believe it stemmed from her looking in depth into my family history, which I think is probably okay, but I wish that she did not ask me that question because it threw me off and spoiled an otherwise good impression of that school.
It is absolutely unethical to ask an applicant if they have the genetics for Huntington's Disease or any other genetic vulnerability that a parent might have, even if there is only a 50% chance of having the condition if I have the particular genetics. I do know my status and I am heterozygous, but I did not want to make the interview about me defending my genetic fitness to become a physician. I am of the opinion that physicians have a duty to test themselves for certain vulnerabilities to disease since it could potentially affect patient care and disclose it if prompted (especially if asked by the military or residency boards), but a disorder with incomplete penetrance (I only have somewhere around a 5% chance of having this problem and would get treated if it ever came up) should not be grounds for an interview question.
Here is what you say to shut them up about your personal life:Hi all,
As an older female applicant (at least this is why I suspect I get asked these...) I routinely find that I get asked questions that I find uncomfortable, and in many cases are actually not legal. For example, I've been asked in the past what my plans for children are, if I'm married, or how I will handle medicine as a woman whose "biological clock must be ticking."
I am wondering if anyone can suggest the appropriate response to these questions. While I feel it may be my right to either politely decline to answer or even report such questions to the university, I also worry that doing so will negatively impact me.
How should I handle this?
Thanks!
Here is what you say to shut them up about your personal life:
I can't have kids.
I said that - they moves onto the next (non-personal) question real fast.
Irony - 4 months later, my OBGYN tells me I probably can't have kids :/
Yes. It's not even false anymore. I could totally get a OBGYN note too :/That took guts, did you get in to that school?