PS and HIPAA

[rajad10]

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I was wondering of you all used real names in your PS. I feel like saying "my patient" sounds so more more distanced than saying "Mr. XXXX" and adds a real impersonal tone. Do you think people reading the PS would think mentioning names is a violation of HIPAA and look down upon it? What did you all do?

 

[medstylee]

I was wondering of you all used real names in your PS. I feel like saying "my patient" sounds so more more distanced than saying "Mr. XXXX" and adds a real impersonal tone. Do you think people reading the PS would think mentioning names is a violation of HIPAA and look down upon it? What did you all do?

just refer to the patient as "mrs. b." or "mr. k." or something like that. no need to use the patient's real name.

 

[kevin_md2010]

I was wondering of you all used real names in your PS. I feel like saying "my patient" sounds so more more distanced than saying "Mr. XXXX" and adds a real impersonal tone. Do you think people reading the PS would think mentioning names is a violation of HIPAA and look down upon it? What did you all do?

In my PS I mentioned a couple patients that affected me. I only used first names though, and no one seemed to have a problem with it (i.e. advisors, adcoms)

 

[strawberryfield]

Yeah I would use first names, it sounds even more personal and most are too random to be identifying. If it's a unique name, then consider the Mrs. J thing above, or make up a name! The adcom will never know the difference. It's the experience and your interpretation of it that matters... 😳

 

[rajad10]

ill probably go with Mr. O. thanks for the help guys

 

[45408]

I'd use the first name.

 

[Ultra7]

I think Mr. O is better. Unless the patient is a child, I think it is much more professional and appropriate to refer to and address patients as Mr or Mrs or Ms and NOT by their first names.

 

[8744]

Use names Like "Mr. Cutcherkockoff" or "Mrs. Rottenkrotch" for that realistic feel.

 

[strawberryfield]

I think Mr. O is better. Unless the patient is a child, I think it is much more professional and appropriate to refer to and address patients as Mr or Mrs or Ms and NOT by their first names.

Maybe it's not professional, but I call a lot of long-time/familiar patients by their first names, and so do the doctors I work for. The patients almost always insist on it when you are seeing them on a daily/weekly basis. You get close after a while and formality seems to go out the window for a lot of them.

 

[Ultra7]

I think as a physician (or nurse, or other healthcare professional who has worked with a patient a long time), it is certainly not unprofessional to call a patient by their first name, especially if they request it. However, for a medical student or pre-medical student to do it just seems like it could be inappropriate. Of course, there are certain situations when it would still be appropriate even as a medical student, but in a personal statement I wouldn't risk it.

 

[LizzyM]

a friend of mine was on an adcom. One of the applicants listed a facility my friend was familiar with as a place where he had done some volunteer work. When she got to the applicant's personal statement, he described his motivation for medicine as including the experience of volunteering at the facility to help a boy named Daniel who was profoundly disabled. She knew immediately that Daniel was her son (and in a cruel twist of fate, she was just back to work after his unexpected death). She asked to have the application evaluated by someone who could be unbiased.

I had the experience of reading a PS that described a physician who had impressed the applicant with compassion, wit, adapatability to varying situations, etc. The site was a student health clinic and the applicant mentiond the physician by name. I put two and two together: the physician was my sibling!

If you are saying something nice about a doctor, use the doc's name. If you are talking about a patient, it might be better to use a pseudonym and put it in quotes. (Daniel is a pseudonym in the example above).

 

[Tony326]

Maybe it's not professional, but I call a lot of long-time/familiar patients by their first names, and so do the doctors I work for. The patients almost always insist on it when you are seeing them on a daily/weekly basis. You get close after a while and formality seems to go out the window for a lot of them.

I would probably do the same thing if I had a long-term relationship with a patient. But, for adcoms and interviews, if there's a chance of coming across as disrespectful then I would play it safe. Especially if your statement doesn't go in depth into your relationship with 'Mr. O'.

Of course, I'm usually the type to play it safe in any matter.

 

[Duchess742]

Use names Like "Mr. Cutcherkockoff" or "Mrs. Rottenkrotch" for that realistic feel.

i know that in scientific papers i've read abt patients w/ neurological disorders, they always refer to the patient by using his/her initials ("DO" or whatev). in my ps, i'm talking abt a patient i met who's my age, so i'm gonna use her first name b/c it feels weird to do anything else. i don't know.

 

[8744]

i know that in scientific papers i've read abt patients w/ neurological disorders, they always refer to the patient by using his/her initials ("DO" or whatev). in my ps, i'm talking abt a patient i met who's my age, so i'm gonna use her first name b/c it feels weird to do anything else. i don't know.

If you go to my blog, you will notice that I use patient names but that they are innocuous ones like "Smith," "Green," "Jones," or "Papagianoxanthopoulous." I also change the presenting complaint and diagnosis slightly so nobody slaps their head and says, "Hey that's Grandma!."

No sense skylining yourself. I never call any patient by their first name. They call me by my first name some of the time but I always say "Mr. Smith" or "Mrs. Brown."

 

[vtucci]

I used really short first names in my statement like Jon and Ana (they were not the patients' names). There is a 5300 character limit for the AMCAS.

 

[rajad10]

I used really short first names in my statement like Jon and Ana (they were not the patients' names). There is a 5300 character limit for the AMCAS.

oooo...smart

 

[Sundarban1]

err. Does it really matter what name you use?

 

[45408]

I had the experience of reading a PS that described a physician who had impressed the applicant with compassion, wit, adapatability to varying situations, etc. The site was a student health clinic and the applicant mentiond the physician by name. I put two and two together: the physician was my sibling!

Cue up the music, ladies and gentlemen. It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all..... 😀

So, did the physician sibling remember this applicant? I suppose that'd be a quick way to verify whether or not someone was lying on the app!

 

[LizzyM]

Cue up the music, ladies and gentlemen. It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all..... 😀

So, did the physician sibling remember this applicant? I suppose that'd be a quick way to verify whether or not someone was lying on the app!

The applicant had been a patient. My sib doesn't remember every patient who needs sutures. However, the description of the interaction described my sib to a T and I had no reason to believe that the applicant was lying.

I did ask my sib if I should recuse myself given my bias, admit this applicant immediately as an excellent judge of character, or invite the applicant for an interview and examine the scar to see if Dr. ___ was technically proficient as well as compassionate.

 

[LUBDUBB]

I think Mr. O is better. Unless the patient is a child, I think it is much more professional and appropriate to refer to and address patients as Mr or Mrs or Ms and NOT by their first names.

I'd have to agree with this one. I also agree with the general opinion that the names should be made anonymous. You certainly dont want to be seen as someone who doesnt understand privacy in a healthcare setting. I had the same issue in my PS, unfortunately, referring to the patient as Mr. R makes the essay less personal and takes away from the emotional effect. Oh well, better to err on the side of caution.

 

[LizzyM]

While we're on the subject of privacy, please be respectful of your family's privacy as well. This means being circumspect when you discuss in the PS the reason for your parents' divorce, your father's love child, your mother's incontinence, your brother's HIV status, or your sister's psychiatric illness. If you can't keep your family's secrets, how will you keep patients' secrets?