Including herbal/eco-friendly extra-curricular on application

[kcola]

Hi, i have a weird question,
Should one add that they have been involved in making herbal "remedies"/teas on an off-the-grid commune in college? I went during one summer and started working with the ladies who produce teas and other herbal supplements and it contributed to my want to pursue something "holistic" but not "quack." I don't necessarily believe in some of the stuff they were producing (though I'm a huge drinker of tea) and i don't want to conflate DO (where I will be applying in the future) with herbalism/chiropody/acupuncture/etc or anything else not considered "real medicine" by the community at large. It was during a time when I was BIG into environmentalism and sustainability. I wanted to also use it in a secondary. Thanks!

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[kcola]

Oh I should also say I was doing many other things on the farm, like gardening, building, etc.

 

[Kalu123]

Hi, i have a weird question,
Should one add that they have been involved in making herbal "remedies"/teas on an off-the-grid commune in college? I went during one summer and started working with the ladies who produce teas and other herbal supplements and it contributed to my want to pursue something "holistic" but not "quack." I don't necessarily believe in some of the stuff they were producing (though I'm a huge drinker of tea) and i don't want to conflate DO (where I will be applying in the future) with herbalism/chiropody/acupuncture/etc or anything else not considered "real medicine" by the community at large. It was during a time when I was BIG into environmentalism and sustainability. I wanted to also use it in a secondary. Thanks!

I had a similar issue when applying, although it didn't involve a specific activity on my app. I'm interested in pursuing integrative medicine, which does incorporate some "alternative" treatments that have research behind them. I wasn't sure if I should include this interest in any of my essays, so I went on a school-by-school basis. I looked to see if each school had an integrative medicine club (online search), and if they did, I would mention it. Maybe you can do the same? I'd suggest maybe leaving it out of your primary app and possibly mentioning it only on secondaries for schools you think might respond positively to it.

Did they make any supplements/teas that actually have any (real) medical benefit that has been studied? If you think all of it was bs, don't mention it at all.

 

[Kalu123]

...if you do include this, don't use the term "commune". I would just call it working on a farm or use some other wording. And maybe associate it with exploring your medical interests/ curiosity about medicine and its history.

 

[kcola]

yeah I figure I'd just use it on a secondary perhaps, some of the stuff was legit (i think?), others, not so much, like echinacea.