Just Another Diversity Essay Thread...

[boundlesscorpuscle]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hello lovely people of SDN. I am sorry to subject you to another query about the diversity essay, but alas, here I am.

I'm really struggling with this one, despite taking @Goro 's advice of determining what's "cool" about me. I feel that many of my interests and endeavors have been pretty standard in the pre-med experience.

However, I have an idea bouncing around my brain that might work (although I am fully prepared for everyone to shoot me down). I feel that I have often looked for ways to put myself into new situations and learn about people that are different from myself:
-In high school I took two years of World Religions which required me to attend services at Catholic churches, Jewish synagogues, Muslim mosques and the local Hindu temple.
-In college, I have minored in psychology and done psychology research working with alcoholics.
-I took a cultutral anthropology course where I learned about the history and culture of the Quechua people and took a two-week service learning trip to Peru.
-In my medical anthropology research course, we read and discussed how social, cultural, and economic differences affect the medical care people receive, and I spent a lot of time in the ER talking with patients and observing physician-patient interactions.
-I have also had a chance to work with the homeless population giving free blood pressure screenings.

My point being that I feel my educational and extracurricular background has equipped me to interact with people from a variety of different backgrounds, which is essential to be a good physician. However, I'm not sure how unique this actually is.

Additionally, I already included all of these topics in my primary application, and it seems inappropriate to just rehash my resume. I also don't know if I can necessarily discuss all of these things within the 250-500 character word limit that most schools have.

I'd appreciate your thoughts and assistance with this! Thanks!

 

[Goro]

You're not cool because you took a course on something. Think harder. Introspection is required in clinicians.

You're supposed to observe doctor-patient interactions! It's a requirement in this process.

 

[curbsideconsult]

Based on your stats, you could probably just write "I'm in the top 1% of medical school applicants. If that's not diverse, I don't know what is" and you'd be fine.

In all seriousness, think about your childhood. I know you don't consider yourself disadvantaged or minority but is there anything unique in your upbringing you could talk about? Did you live on a commune? What drove you to study these world religions? There must have been some impetus. If you really can't think of anything, I like your exploration of different religions. As a third year on rotations, I'm seeing more and more how much people's religions really affect how you treat them.

 

[boundlesscorpuscle]

You're not cool because you took a course on something. Think harder. Introspection is required in clinicians.

You're supposed to observe doctor-patient interactions! It's a requirement in this process.

Fair enough, and honestly what I was expecting to hear. Do you think any of my other experiences (interacting with people from other religions, working with alcoholics and the homeless, volunteering in Peru) have any merit? Or should I keep digging?

 

[boundlesscorpuscle]

Based on your stats, you could probably just write "I'm in the top 1% of medical school applicants. If that's not diverse, I don't know what is" and you'd be fine.

In all seriousness, think about your childhood. I know you don't consider yourself disadvantaged or minority but is there anything unique in your upbringing you could talk about? Did you live on a commune? What drove you to study these world religions? There must have been some impetus. If you really can't think of anything, I like your exploration of different religions. As a third year on rotations, I'm seeing more and more how much people's religions really affect how you treat them.

Thanks for your response!

Regarding my childhood, the only things I might be able to categorize as 'diverse' are:
-I moved around a lot as a kid (nine different residences since I was six)
-I was born in Ohio, and I spent most of my early summer vacations visiting my grandparents in rural Ohio; this gives me a little bit of perspective on what it's like to live in a rural community
-My high school program consisted of predominantly affluent students (we're talking yacht ownership), which was interesting to navigate as someone from the middle class

Regarding my interest in religion:
-Both of my parents were raised Catholic and renounced their faith in adulthood; they were adamant about letting me pursue whatever religion I wanted (or did not want)
-I think part of it was wanting to learn more about my own spirituality and where I 'fit'

Thoughts?

 

[Goro]

Fair enough, and honestly what I was expecting to hear. Do you think any of my other experiences (interacting with people from other religions, working with alcoholics and the homeless, volunteering in Peru) have any merit? Or should I keep digging?

No. Get away from coursework. Can I say bring diversity to a med school because I took Anatomy and Cell Bio courses?

What have you learned from LIFE that is now a part of you???

 

[curbsideconsult]

Thanks for your response!

Regarding my childhood, the only things I might be able to categorize as 'diverse' are:
-I moved around a lot as a kid (nine different residences since I was six)
-I was born in Ohio, and I spent most of my early summer vacations visiting my grandparents in rural Ohio; this gives me a little bit of perspective on what it's like to live in a rural community
-My high school program consisted of predominantly affluent students (we're talking yacht ownership), which was interesting to navigate as someone from the middle class

Regarding my interest in religion:
-Both of my parents were raised Catholic and renounced their faith in adulthood; they were adamant about letting me pursue whatever religion I wanted (or did not want)
-I think part of it was wanting to learn more about my own spirituality and where I 'fit'

Thoughts?

Disclaimer: I love learning about different religions. People's belief systems as their guiding force in life intrigues me quite a bit. With that said...

Your interest in religion would be a fun read. The former stuff not-so-much (though I have read some well-written secondaries about rural life). Exploring your parents' backgrounds on the Catholic faith and then your subsequent search for what religion/spirituality means to you would be interesting. Obviously, religion can be a touchy subject, but it's fine if it's written well and neutrally. I think this topic safely fits with @Goro 's advice (unless I'm wrong).

 

[dr_kateb]

Isn’t the diversity essay about how you are different and not how you’ve been around different people?

 

[curbsideconsult]

Isn’t the diversity essay about how you are different and not how you’ve been around different people?

The problem is that OP is not "diverse" in the traditional sense so s/he must be creative. Unfortunately, most people have a very narrow view of "diversity" so if you don't fit into the limited number of diversity boxes, then you have to think outside the box.

 

[boundlesscorpuscle]

Disclaimer: I love learning about different religions. People's belief systems as their guiding force in life intrigues me quite a bit. With that said...

Your interest in religion would be a fun read. The former stuff not-so-much (though I have read some well-written secondaries about rural life). Exploring your parents' backgrounds on the Catholic faith and then your subsequent search for what religion/spirituality means to you would be interesting. Obviously, religion can be a touchy subject, but it's fine if it's written well and neutrally. I think this topic safely fits with @Goro 's advice (unless I'm wrong).

Thanks a lot for your input, @curbsideconsult ! I might consider writing on this topic.


How about hobbies? I briefly mentioned some of them on the primary, but would that be appropriate for a secondary essay on diversity?

 

[curbsideconsult]

Thanks a lot for your input, @curbsideconsult ! I might consider writing on this topic.


How about hobbies? I briefly mentioned some of them on the primary, but would that be appropriate for a secondary essay on diversity?

Depends on the hobby and how you spin it.

The diversity essay fulfills two main purposes, in my opinion: 1) med schools want to brag about the different ethnicities, varying SES, etc. they have and 2) med schools want interesting, well-rounded future doctors that patients can relate to (and, thus, open up to which leads to less liability). Keep these things in mind when you're writing your essay. Imagine yourself an adcom and think about what you would want to read if you were selecting med students for your school.

 

[boundlesscorpuscle]

For example, some of my hobbies include scuba diving and playing guitar and viola; I think these are somewhat interesting to talk about but I have no idea how to relate them back to my contribution to the class.

 

[Goro]

For example, some of my hobbies include scuba diving and playing guitar and viola; I think these are somewhat interesting to talk about but I have no idea how to relate them back to my contribution to the class.

Scuba diving is interesting. A lot of responsibility involved; a sister in law died from a diving accident. I think that this is spinnable.

 

[boundlesscorpuscle]

Scuba diving is interesting. A lot of responsibility involved; a sister in law died from a diving accident. I think that this is spinnable.

Hi @Goro , sorry to come back to this again. In discussing SCUBA diving as part of the diversity essay, these are some of the points I thought about hitting, mainly emphasizing transferable skills:

- Responsibility, as mentioned
- Being able to remain calm and think rationally under pressure (pun intended), such as when you've been startled by a critter or lost sight of your buddy
- Paying attention to details
- Effective non-verbal communication
- Organization skills
- Ability to learn and effectively follow procedures

I've never done any particularly dangerous diving (I'm not tech or wreck certified, though I'd really like to get my wreck license), but SCUBA is an inherently risky sport and requires a healthy dose of humility and awareness. Much like being a physician, I would say.

Do you think I'm on the right track?

 

[Goro]

Yes

 

[boundlesscorpuscle]

Yes

Thanks for all of your guidance!

 

[boundlesscorpuscle]

Hi there everyone, would any of you be willing to take a look at my diversity essay? I decided to write a first draft about SCUBA. Much appreciated!

 

[TheRealCookieMonster]

It's funny how the answer to our thread questions is often right in our profile pic.

 

[curbsideconsult]

Hi there everyone, would any of you be willing to take a look at my diversity essay? I decided to write a first draft about SCUBA. Much appreciated!

Sure thing. Just PM me and paste the essay in the body of the text.

 

[907914]

hi, sorry to jump on this thread, but I have a question about writing about experience in psych for the diversity essay. I understand this is not 'unique' to say, but I really believe my experiences in psych give me a different perspective on healthcare in general. better to talk about experience volunteering and getting close to those of low SES? Is this an ok topic to write about?

Make a new thread > Necro

Feel free to exercise your right to start threads. There will be a larger audience.