Purpose of the "Clinical Experience" secondary question

[mcatjelly]

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[sovereign0]

I think your answer is fine. She was a patient, you had direct contact, and it sounds like it was meaningful.

About to submit a secondary but am hesitant because I'm no longer sure if my answer to "What is your most meaningful clinical experience to date, involving direct patient contact?" is what they're looking for.

Long story short, I describe my experience with a patient admitted to the psych hospital I work at for a suicide attempt. It was very meaningful to me because I was one of the few staff members to build rapport with her, and when she left she gave me a letter discussing the impact I had on her life.

My concern is that this isn't necessarily a medical experience. So I'm wondering if the purpose of the clinical exposure question is to get at your experiences with medicine, or your experiences interacting with patients in general.

Psychiatry is a medical specialty after all

 

[mcatjelly]

I think your answer is fine. She was a patient, you had direct contact, and it sounds like it was meaningful.



Psychiatry is a medical specialty after all

Haha, don't worry, you're preaching to the choir here: I'm hoping to become a psychiatrist (or a pediatrician who has a large focus on mental health)!

I guess I'm just concerned because there's such a large mental health theme in my application--but I think you're right.

 

[sovereign0]

Haha, don't worry, you're preaching to the choir here: I'm hoping to become a psychiatrist (or a pediatrician who has a large focus on mental health)!

I guess I'm just concerned because there's such a large mental health theme in my application--but I think you're right.

I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, so long as you are equipped to talk about it in an interview.

 

[Goro]

Mental illness is real. This was a patient you were dealing, no different than someone with cancer or lupus. Hence, this is perfectly fine to write about. I don't know why you would think that this is not a medical experience, but hope that you lose that attitude...some 10% of the American public has some form of mental illness, and I'm not talking about being shy or afraid of seafood.

About to submit a secondary but am hesitant because I'm no longer sure if my answer to "What is your most meaningful clinical experience to date, involving direct patient contact?" is what they're looking for.

Long story short, I describe my experience with a patient admitted to the psych hospital I work at for a suicide attempt. It was very meaningful to me because I was one of the few staff members to build rapport with her, and when she left she gave me a letter discussing the impact I had on her life.

My concern is that this isn't necessarily a medical experience. So I'm wondering if the purpose of the clinical exposure question is to get at your experiences with medicine, or your experiences interacting with patients in general.

 

[mcatjelly]

Mental illness is real. This was a patient you were dealing, no different than someone with cancer or lupus. Hence, this is perfectly fine to write about. I don't know why you would think that this is not a medical experience, but hope that you lose that attitude...some 10% of the American public has some form of mental illness, and I'm not talking about being shy or afraid of seafood.

Ah, Goro, I'm probably one of the biggest mental health advocates on this forum! I know on both a personal (me, family members, many friends) and professional level that mental illness is equally as important as physical illness; in fact, it was the focus of my personal statement.

In retrospect, I provided poor context/phrased my question poorly. My concern is that most of my application centers around my experiences in the mental health field: president of mental health organization for 2 years, research in psychological well-being, clinical work as a psych tech. Do I need to pick a clinical experience that addresses a different side of medicine to show more well-roundedness, or am I still good to go?

 

[Goro]

I think you're good to. @gyngyn? @LizzyM? @gonnif? What say you?

Ah, Goro, I'm probably one of the biggest mental health advocates on this forum! I know on both a personal (me, family members, many friends) and professional level that mental illness is equally as important as physical illness; in fact, it was the focus of my personal statement.

In retrospect, I provided poor context/phrased my question poorly. My concern is that most of my application centers around my experiences in the mental health field: president of mental health organization for 2 years, research in psychological well-being, clinical work as a psych tech. Do I need to pick a clinical experience that addresses a different side of medicine to show more well-roundedness, or am I still good to go?

 

[gyngyn]

Mental health is crucial and we are always looking for folks interested in the field.

 

[mcatjelly]

I think you're good to. @gyngyn? @LizzyM? @gonnif? What say you?

Mental health is crucial and we are always looking for folks interested in the field.

Music to my ears, thank you both.

 

[Cotterpin]

I was wondering about this question too. What if you already wrote about your most meaningful clinical experience in other parts of your application, e.g. personal statement or work and activities?

 

[LizzyM]

I was wondering about this question too. What if you already wrote about your most meaningful clinical experience in other parts of your application, e.g. personal statement or work and activities?

always keep in mind that someone who is reviewing your application might not read the whole thing. Sometimes they may hone in on one secondary question for the answer they're looking for such as, "Has this applicant had any clinical experience?"