Planned Parenthood EC?

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JewishPrincess2

JewishPrincess2

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Hello SDN!

Long time lurker, first time poster. I have been volunteering with Planned Parenthood for years, and absolutely love it. Women's health is an issue that is very near and dear to my heart. However I was recently told by my premed advisor that I should drop out of my volunteering gig, and neglect to put it on my application. When I questioned this, she seemed absolutely adamant that she knew better than I did "the conservative values of most admissions committee members." She also said that ever since that "disgusting video came out," that this attitude is even more prevalent. I have never seen, nor assisted in, an abortion. I am tears as it absolutely breaks my heart that I may have to drop out of something that is so meaningful to me. Does my advisor know what she is talking about? In particular I would like to get the input of @gyngyn and @DrMidlife

Thank you!
 
I call bull. Health officials know that Planned Parenthood does women's health. Unless they are running for office, even most conservative doctors understand that not having a baby is a serious medical issue and the planned parenthood serves a lot of un-or under insured.
I can see how working at a crisis pregnancy center that lies about health issues would be a concern, but I say ignore your advisor.
 
I mean for most med schools its probably fine but I could see how a loma linda adcom might frown upon it.
 
Yet another data point that most pre-med advisors have the brains of a flea!

PP is a fine EC and the only schools that might have issues with it are LUCOM and Loma Linda.

Find a new advisor.


JewishPrincess2 said:
Hello SDN!

Long time lurker, first time poster. I have been volunteering with Planned Parenthood for years, and absolutely love it. Women's health is an issue that is very near and dear to my heart. However I was recently told by my premed advisor that I should drop out of my volunteering gig, and neglect to put it on my application. When I questioned this, she seemed absolutely adamant that she knew better than I did "the conservative values of most admissions committee members." She also said that ever since that "disgusting video came out," that this attitude is even more prevalent. I have never seen, nor assisted in, an abortion. I am tears as it absolutely breaks my heart that I may have to drop out of something that is so meaningful to me. Does my advisor know what she is talking about? In particular I would like to get the input of @gyngyn and @DrMidlife

Thank you!
Click to expand...
 
Without NGO's like PP thousands of women would be without the most basic healthcare.
You can be proud of the work you do there and it deserves a place of honor on your application.
 
Absolutely include it. If a school rejects you based on that (very unlikely, unless you apply to the two extremely conservative schools mentioned previously), that's a school you don't want to attend anyway.

Most doctors I personally know are still supporters of PP. Many of them are doing that FB campaign of "I stand with PP." It's the laypeople following the mouth of the media and not knowing any better who are causing such an uproar.
 
I'd be happy to personally assist shutting down every PP office for their role in abortion and even I know that's not the prevalent opinion in the medical world.....leave it on your application
 
You will likely run into people that may not look favorably on that experience, but as @Ismet and @sb247 said, it is not the prevalent opinion in medicine generally and it can serve as a screen of sorts for schools that you may not want to attend anyway.
 
NotASerialKiller said:
If you post on SDN for years to come I hope you pick another username...
Click to expand...

ZedsDed said:
I dunno man, your username freaks me out just a tad more😉
Click to expand...

Do you guys remember the person that posted on here that had a username kind of like OPs that she used in her AAMC profile? She was wondering if it would affect her chances if admissions could see the username. That was a good thread.

To OP: It's fine for admission purposes. But I just hope you know that you're complicit in the murder of children and the subsequent sale of their organs.
 
sb247 said:
I'd be happy to personally assist shutting down every PP office for their role in abortion and even I know that's not the prevalent opinion in the medical world.....leave it on your application
Click to expand...

This post is really the best answer. Even if you run into adcom members or interviewers who oppose Planned Parenthood, the majority at least partially respect the work they do for women's health. There's more benefits to leaving it on your application than to taking it off.

That said, prepare to talk about the non-abortion work that Planned Parenthood does, and your specific contributions. I'd also be ready to answer vague questions about how physicians should balance their personal, professional, and political opinions (that goes for all interviewees, but you're especially opening yourself up to that line of questioning).
 
Coming from someone in your situation but from the "other" side (I volunteered at a CPC- a legit one), I would definitely keep it on your app, but be prepared to diplomatically answer questions about women's health, abortion, political and religious views in medicine, etc, addressing the issue from all sides. I may not agree with PP, but I respect anyone who believes in something and works for it - adcoms should too. If they reject you for something like that, then you probably wouldn't have wanted to attend there anyway.
 
Don't apply to Loma Linda or, if you already have, withdraw your application.
But, be aware, that more and more private hospitals (religious or secular) are refusing to perform elective abortions in their facilities.
gluck
 
I think you should be fine, OP. If asked about it you can talk about the benefits of screening, birth control, women's health, ect. I'd shy away from explicitly talking about the ethics of abortions, though I doubt you would.

On the flip side, I did some community service at a crisis pregnancy center several years ago as part of a class requirement. Is this ok to put on an app or can it be viewed the wrong way?
 
Pusheen said:
On the flip side, I did some community service at a crisis pregnancy center several years ago as part of a class requirement. Is this ok to put on an app or can it be viewed the wrong way?
Click to expand...
I've done similar work. I don't want to give details, but it taught me A LOT about what poverty actually is. I put it in my application and mentioned it in my PS
 
JewishPrincess2 said:
Hello SDN!

Long time lurker, first time poster. I have been volunteering with Planned Parenthood for years, and absolutely love it. Women's health is an issue that is very near and dear to my heart. However I was recently told by my premed advisor that I should drop out of my volunteering gig, and neglect to put it on my application. When I questioned this, she seemed absolutely adamant that she knew better than I did "the conservative values of most admissions committee members." She also said that ever since that "disgusting video came out," that this attitude is even more prevalent. I have never seen, nor assisted in, an abortion. I am tears as it absolutely breaks my heart that I may have to drop out of something that is so meaningful to me. Does my advisor know what she is talking about? In particular I would like to get the input of @gyngyn and @DrMidlife

Thank you!
Click to expand...

I would not drop this extracurricular. Many of us in medicine feel exactly the way that you do about family planning and women's health, and your strong involvement with planned parenthood, irrespective of your participation or lack thereof in a pregnancy termination, is extremely valuable. You're working with medical professionals to provide care for patients, and that in and of itself is almost certain to be an asset. I have not known "most admissions committees" to be conservative to the extent that they would completely ignore an otherwise excellent application because of involvement with an organization that provides medical care that they disagree with, so I would include it in your application.
 
JewishPrincess2 said:
Hello SDN!

Long time lurker, first time poster. I have been volunteering with Planned Parenthood for years, and absolutely love it. Women's health is an issue that is very near and dear to my heart. However I was recently told by my premed advisor that I should drop out of my volunteering gig, and neglect to put it on my application. When I questioned this, she seemed absolutely adamant that she knew better than I did "the conservative values of most admissions committee members." She also said that ever since that "disgusting video came out," that this attitude is even more prevalent. I have never seen, nor assisted in, an abortion. I am tears as it absolutely breaks my heart that I may have to drop out of something that is so meaningful to me. Does my advisor know what she is talking about? In particular I would like to get the input of @gyngyn and @DrMidlife

Thank you!
Click to expand...
You are doing what you love, proudly put it on your app. Your advisor should be your former advisor. Use SDN to help you if you don't have other resources.
 
JewishPrincess2 said:
Hello SDN!

Long time lurker, first time poster. I have been volunteering with Planned Parenthood for years, and absolutely love it. Women's health is an issue that is very near and dear to my heart. However I was recently told by my premed advisor that I should drop out of my volunteering gig, and neglect to put it on my application. When I questioned this, she seemed absolutely adamant that she knew better than I did "the conservative values of most admissions committee members." She also said that ever since that "disgusting video came out," that this attitude is even more prevalent. I have never seen, nor assisted in, an abortion. I am tears as it absolutely breaks my heart that I may have to drop out of something that is so meaningful to me. Does my advisor know what she is talking about? In particular I would like to get the input of @gyngyn and @DrMidlife

Thank you!
Click to expand...
What type of activities did you do? I am currently interested in volunteering at PP and I don't know what I should be looking for as far as EC for medical school. Did you work in the clinic itself or did you participate in events??
 
Be careful with any politically charged issues. Just focus on the women's health part of it and leave it at that. Besides, if an admissions person rejects you because of their own political biases, you're probably better off not being at that school anyway. Just my 2 cents


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
modernfam said:
What type of activities did you do? I am currently interested in volunteering at PP and I don't know what I should be looking for as far as EC for medical school. Did you work in the clinic itself or did you participate in events??
Click to expand...
PMing you about my experience
 
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