So I've been writing one of my essays and talking about how I've seen burnouts in healthcare from shadowing, volunteering, and working as an EMT. I propose how emotional care has worked beneficially for me in these circumstances, and talk about my research on trust in medicine. Would some adcoms find this pretentious.. as if someone who isn't a doctor yet is making judgments on something they don't understand? I tried acknowledging here or there that I'm only a pre-med but will this topic be a) a turnoff to physicians on the adcom, b) too cheesy?
Talking about physician burnout/lack of empathy in essay = too presumptive?
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hmm.. tough call. I think it might be something that you want to avoid on a personal statement (you can still talk about how emotional care has worked beneficially to you and will further in your career).. If you mention it, just make it vague and make sure you don't make it seem like burnout is the norm. Even if it is, if the member of the adcom is a little disenchanted they might take offense. Its a better topic to discuss during interviews when you ahve a chance to explain yourself and feel out the other person and their reaction-- I talked about it at some of my interviews and it was okay but the reaction varied from "you have a great attitude about it" to "you dont really know anything" haha.. be careful!
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Well it all depends on who it is... I mean it definitely could be fine to talk about it. I just am telling you to phrase it carefully because you don't want someone to take offense to it before you get an interview.. Interviews are where you can be a little bold and talk about some topics that could be taken the wrong way if you aren't there to explain yourself. I'd say talk about what gives you the best personal statement-- just keep it mild when talking about things you havent experienced. I actually think if you phrase it like 'this particular physician I shadowed was burnt out for so and so but my qualities buffer me against it' and dont generalize burning out as a type of physicians you should be okay.
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I think if you present it in a positive light- a special interest of yours, not a judgement or condemnation of physicians that you've observed, then it should be okay. It's a legit issue, fersher- just be careful.
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Whatever you end up writing about, you just need to keep it positive in tone. You can talk about burnout, because it is a fact of life that it happens. But you should be framing the discussion around how that has motivated you to go into medicine (maybe you want to work on improving physicians' emotional stability, or work for a positive working environment). What you should not do is focus on how burnt out doctors are bad physicians or how you think you will be more resilient than them (not saying you would do this, just an example). Be humble, and positive in tone and it should be fine.
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This doesn't seem like an issue you should really touch, IMO. It's fine to mention that you've considered the downsides of medicine (burnout being one) but I would shy away from making it a central point of your PS. I know I personally experienced (not just witnessed) burnout as an EMT, and I'll bet you have too at some point. Instead of talking generally about what you think physicians might experience, talk about something specific that you experienced that relates to burnout in the medical field. Don't make vague statements or assertions, describe 1) what happened to you, 2) how you felt about it, and 3) what you learned from it.
