Safe secondary topic vs controversial one

[Slythery_snape]

Hello everyone, I am working on prewriting secondaries right now but I am torn on the topic for my adversity essay. I am mostly stuck between two options.

1. Hospitalization and its aftereffects when I was a teenager. I had to be hospitalized with a serious life-threatening injury when I was a teenager, and since I did not have a good relationship with family at the time, I largely managed its fallout (medications, appointments, symptoms, etc.) by myself. This whole period of my life was very dark, dehumanizing, isolating, etc. and it took me a long time to recover mentally and physically from it. I am working as a nurse now and I even got to work on the very unit where I was hospitalized all those years ago! I really found myself in healthcare and I truly love being able to guide people through this process and be there for them during dark times in their lives. Trauma-informed care is the center of my practice and I fully credit my experiences with my current ability to make relationships with my patients. The caveat: I would not be able to talk about the REASON I got into the hospital because it was as a result of a suicide attempt when I was very young. The unit I was on was a medical one so that in itself wouldn't give me away, but I was told to avoid bringing anything related to this up at any cost even though it has been more than a decade. I could try talking around it and just describe my physical symptoms and feelings surrounding the medical aspect of it (i.e. just avoid saying my actual diagnosis), but I am not sure if this would be seen as a cop-out by adcoms. But yeah, this one is very personal to me and I think I can write very well about it, even if I do not talk about the mental health aspect (which obviously is a big aspect but whatever, gotta play the game).

2. I guess I could also talk about overcoming getting bullied? I guess it was pretty severe when I was in middle school and high school, but I honestly forget about it since it is so minor compared to the other issues I faced relating to abuse/mental health. I guess I could tie it into prioritizing advocacy for people from marginalized groups and avoiding making judgements about patients and stuff, so I'm sure I could make something decent out of this, but it just feels basic and uninteresting.


Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this!

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[Mr.Smile12]

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[Hollow Knight]

I would avoid talking about mental health in your medical school applications. Many physicians are still in the 19th century with their views on depression, anxiety, etc.

Also you need to get all that stuff squared away with meds/therapy before you start. Just friendly advice. Physicians shouldn't have to worry about being persecuted for having MDD or etc, but until my generation is in charge you should probably play it safe.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

What did you write in OIE?

 

[Slythery_snape]

I would avoid talking about mental health in your medical school applications. Many physicians are still in the 19th century with their views on depression, anxiety, etc.

Also you need to get all that stuff squared away with meds/therapy before you start. Just friendly advice. Physicians shouldn't have to worry about being persecuted for having MDD or etc, but until my generation is in charge you should probably play it safe.

Thanks for the reply, do you think I could just not talk about the mental health aspect and only the impact that navigating healthcare had on me?

 

[Slythery_snape]

Thanks for the reply, do you think I could just not talk about the mental health aspect and only the impact that navigating healthcare had on me?

What did you write in OIE?

Hello, I actually misunderstood the OIE essay as something to only write in if you are disadvantaged, so I did not write it. I did speak briefly about being hospitalized in one part of my personal statement, but I did not go into it in detail.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Thanks for the reply, do you think I could just not talk about the mental health aspect and only the impact that navigating healthcare had on me?

I wouldn't. If someone asks you why you were hospitalized, you will feel pressured to lie. I'd avoid that situation (unless you're one of those sociopaths who can lie as easily as they breathe......)

 

[Slythery_snape]

I wouldn't. If someone asks you why you were hospitalized, you will feel pressured to lie. I'd avoid that situation (unless you're one of those sociopaths who can lie as easily as they breathe......)

I see, that's really unfortunate. Do you think that the second option has any potential as a good topic even though it is a bit overdone?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I see, that's really unfortunate. Do you think that the second option has any potential as a good topic even though it is a bit overdone?

If topic 2 is overdone, that's a fault of our society, not you. Speak your truth. You don't get more points being more unique because of your diagnosis.

 

[GoSpursGo]

It seems like topic 1 would be good and you would write a strong essay. I'd probably go with that one, but leave out the mental health aspects and the fact that it followed a suicide attempt for the reasons mentioned.

 

[LunaOri]

I like topic #1; it sounds like you can write a strong, deep essay about your experiences and how it affected you. You won’t be asked in an interview about the reason for your hospitalization (it’s not legal to ask). Just be clear that you are now recovered.

 

[Slythery_snape]

I like topic #1; it sounds like you can write a strong, deep essay about your experiences and how it affected you. You won’t be asked in an interview about the reason for your hospitalization (it’s not legal to ask). Just be clear that you are now recovered.

Thank you for your perspective!