Question about potential red flag wording in secondary

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jb1811

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I think this is where I had intended to post an earlier question about a concern that has me very stressed regarding secondaries (initially posted in school specific thread - oops!). I had received some feedback already, but just want to hear back from as many as possible nonetheless to maybe alleviate my nerves. In the wording of one particular type of essay that appeared for maybe a handful of my schools, specifically asking about instances where I have witnessed inequity and what I have done to address it etc etc, I referred back to my time as a nurse aide on a memory care unit with a resident who spoke only Spanish.

While I could give perhaps more of a preamble or additional context, let me instead just paraphrase what I wrote here and states my concern(s): "While working as a memory unit nurse aide, we had admitted a Spanish-speaking resident whose reluctance toward certain care routines was difficult to address without an interpreter. Without on-demand services, and with bilingual staff not always available, providing reassurance or adapting care to his perspectives in ways I typically did for others proved difficult. His family’s presence during the daytime offered some relief in settling him in, but their offers to continue that help in the evening conflicted with visit limitation policies."

I then go on to talk about what I did to help etc etc. but my concerns come from... (will be deleting later for privacy)

  1. My poorly worded "did not have on-demand service" statement. What is obvious given that it is a legal requirement, is that our site DID have on demand remote interpretation - but the context in which we used it (for instance trying to connect with this resident for care or redirect safely when sundowning and growing agitated) was largely ineffective, and thus left us more-so relying on bilingual staff or family who weren't always there. I fear I communicated it instead, however, was that our facility like just didn't have the services. Which again, obviously wasn't true but more-so that it didn't close the gaps it should have.

  1. The way I articulated the conflict with limitation policies for family members. Again, legally speaking there were no limitations on extended stay for family in normal circumstances, however Covid and other illness outbreaks that occurred did lead to extra precautions where the issues were seen.
I know this is a long winded post. I also understand that I can't expect to come here for sympathy on how intensely I scrutinized my own essays or how well I communicated ideas, and even know that if ever asked in an interview, that the explanations I have above would be how I addressed them. What I am instead asking is if this comes across as "is this dude working somewhere that broke the law??" mega red flag that would prevent my chance of getting that chance at all. I don't have II's yet but applied mostly mid-late august so I understand delay. Idk I truly hate to be neurotic but this cycle has stressed me to the max and this has just added to it.. Is this why people say not to look back at what you wrote until prepping for interviews???
 
I'm sorry, but what is the prompt. I need help to cut through the wall of anxiety.

Since you are paraphrasing what you wrote, I don't know how we can help you other than say, trust the process. Maybe an interviewer will follow up, but you probably won't get asked anything about it.
 
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This was one prompt in which the question was directly answered (obviously expanded upon): Please describe an example of your personal and/or professional experience with and understanding of systemic inequity, exclusion, or lack of representation in health care in the United States. How did you arrive at this understanding?

This was another where another iteration of my paraphrase above was used and then also expanded upon: Drawing from your lived experiences, how do you think knowledge of social determinants of health can be leveraged to address social justice issues within healthcare?

And then for a couple others, it naturally found its way into the "Why Us?" prompt. I know that the above can probably be used to realize what schools, but I hope this adds perhaps a little clarity.
 
This was one prompt in which the question was directly answered (obviously expanded upon): Please describe an example of your personal and/or professional experience with and understanding of systemic inequity, exclusion, or lack of representation in health care in the United States. How did you arrive at this understanding?

This was another where another iteration of my paraphrase above was used and then also expanded upon: Drawing from your lived experiences, how do you think knowledge of social determinants of health can be leveraged to address social justice issues within healthcare?

And then for a couple others, it naturally found its way into the "Why Us?" prompt. I know that the above can probably be used to realize what schools, but I hope this adds perhaps a little clarity.
Yes, and my first thought is that I don't think you answered the prompts. But you are paraphrasing so I don't know if you answered the questions. That's not "systemic inequity" in the SDOH sense to me.
 
Yes, and my first thought is that I don't think you answered the prompts. But you are paraphrasing so I don't know if you answered the questions. That's not "systemic inequity" in the SDOH sense to me.
Definitely fair given what I have provided, I will be the first to admit that being first gen and non trad that I have felt particularly vulnerable to missing the plot at times despite outreach efforts - what can ya do. I hope that my expansions in each case and the directions I went from there would more closely align with what you would expect for the different prompts, respectively, though I won't bore you with my entire work history haha.

While I appreciate that insight, I do hope that my initial question of this jumping out as a "what egregious clinic did this guy work at" red flag is less likely. Again, if they follow up then I have answers (though if these are poor secondaries maybe I just have to get ready for another cycle..)

Appreciate it!
 
While I appreciate that insight, I do hope that my initial question of this jumping out as a "what egregious clinic did this guy work at" red flag is less likely. Again, if they follow up then I have answers (though if these are poor secondaries maybe I just have to get ready for another cycle..)
I don't know how you described the clinic where you worked, or if you even described it in other areas of your application. Many clinics are short-staffed, so what you point out about not having available bilingual staff is common. But it's not something that can be directly chalked up to social determinants of health as the prompts are looking for.

That's why we have experts here to help give you better insight into the question. (See Becoming a Student Doctor course.)
 
I don't know how you described the clinic where you worked, or if you even described it in other areas of your application. Many clinics are short-staffed, so what you point out about not having available bilingual staff is common. But it's not something that can be directly chalked up to social determinants of health as the prompts are looking for.

That's why we have experts here to help give you better insight into the question. (See Becoming a Student Doctor course.)
Many thanks - resources I will most certainly use if this cycle doesn't go to plan. Appreciate the guidance.
 
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