The saddest thing I have ever read

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OP, I'm curious, what about the blog makes you feel sad?
 
He spent such a significant amount of time, money, and effort to end up doing something he hates. He pretty much has to live with the fact, that regardless of his intellectual achievements, he does not have much for options. Not to mention the fact that he had to be away from his fiancé for such a long period of time. Its stories like this that make me really happy that I don't have a specific specialty I am dying to go into.
 
danman794 said:
He spent such a significant amount of time, money, and effort to end up doing something he hates. He pretty much has to live with the fact, that regardless of his intellectual achievements, he does not have much for options. Not to mention the fact that he had to be away from his fiancé for such a long period of time. Its stories like this that make me really happy that I don't have a specific specialty I am dying to go into.
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He had many opportunities to make better choices and actively thrust them aside. In the sense that tragedy can result from hubris, it does qualify. Not really Shakespearean, though.
 
danman794 said:
He spent such a significant amount of time, money, and effort to end up doing something he hates. He pretty much has to live with the fact, that regardless of his intellectual achievements, he does not have much for options. Not to mention the fact that he had to be away from his fiancé for such a long period of time. Its stories like this that make me really happy that I don't have a specific specialty I am dying to go into.
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I understand your view. But, at the same time, I think the blog writer shows a lack of insight on many of his posts.
 
gyngyn said:
He had many opportunities to make better choices and actively thrust them aside. In the sense that tragedy requires the opportunity to have avoided the unfortunate outcome, it does qualify (even if based on hubris). Not really Shakespearean, though.
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I am curious, what other mistakes could he have avoided other than going to med school in the Caribbean in the first place?
 
gublagu3 said:
I understand your view. But, at the same time, I think the blog writer shows a lack of insight on many of his posts.
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I agree, I just think that the general theme of the story is saddening (assuming it's true). Truly made the SGU sound terrifying.
 
danman794 said:
I am curious, what other mistakes could he have avoided other than going to med school in the Caribbean in the first place?
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Well, for starters a few flags:
  • "top 33% MCAT" can be a 28 or 29, mentions they had some clinical experience but no research
  • says having an "ethnic" name hurts your odds a bunch/implies it's what caused them not to get interviewed
  • says they applied to nearly 100 (!) schools in their second round
  • only got two DO interviews
  • got into a DO school, turned it down
probably more, stopped reading after a bit
 
efle said:
Well, for starters a few flags:
  • "top 33% MCAT" can be a 28 or 29, mentions they had some clinical experience but no research
  • says having an "ethnic" name hurts your odds a bunch/implies it's what caused them not to get interviewed
  • says they applied to nearly 100 (!) schools in their second round
  • only got two DO interviews
  • got into a DO school, turned it down
probably more, stopped reading after a bit
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Ya, I thought that was a little odd. Maybe their PS was garbage or they played their stats up a bit, who knows?
 
Crayola227 said:
I couldn't keep reading because he whined about people not getting into their preferred specialty

matching to *anything* is not the saddest story to come out of the Carribbean, ffs
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After thinking about it I agree, it just pulled at my heart strings +pity+
 
I'm confused as to why someone with a good GPA and probably decent MCAT couldn't get 1 MD interview? Even when the Dean said they admitted people with stats lower than his. And what is the problem about his name?
 
danman794 said:
He almost had to have left something out.
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Does anyone even know if this is real? I see this link a lot on SDN and it seems like a short novel some random guy wrote.
 
His arrogance is also what did him in. At the end of the blog he says "why do I have to be so smart" ummmm you made the choice to reject a DO school and go to a Caribbean MD school. I don't think you're as intelligent about LIFE as you may think you are. I'm sure his PS was full of arrogance and that may have turned off a lot of adcoms.

He's just a whiner and probably a privileged kid who says he got a raw deal when in fact he probably did and is doing ok for himself now.
 
I think the medical school system did a good job by screening someone like him out. Kudos to them. Maybe all these hoops actually do something.
 
lol at his points though:
  • Have a plain Jane name – seriously. Anything even remotely ethnic will not help, unless that school’s token (insert race here) is about to graduate. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot like I did.
Nothing against it, but it's well known being a minority helps.
 
Nerdeka said:
lol at his points though:
  • Have a plain Jane name – seriously. Anything even remotely ethnic will not help, unless that school’s token (insert race here) is about to graduate. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot like I did.
Nothing against it, but it's well known being a minority helps.
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Yeah that's where I lost sympathy for him. Anyway it sounds like all he needed to do was retake the MCAT and he would've been fine.
 
Nerdeka said:
lol at his points though:
  • Have a plain Jane name – seriously. Anything even remotely ethnic will not help, unless that school’s token (insert race here) is about to graduate. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot like I did.
Nothing against it, but it's well known being a minority helps.
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My minority begs to differ 😉

But yes, this is an oft quoted blog on SDN that seems to carry a number of emotionally charged accusations rather than factual information

Also iirc the OP is like Italian or something...hardly even a minority of any sort
 
md-2020 said:
My minority begs to differ 😉

But yes, this is an oft quoted blog on SDN that seems to carry a number of emotionally charged accusations rather than factual information

Also iirc the OP is like Italian or something...hardly even a minority of any sort
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How do you know this guy is Italian? I honestly think it's some troll who wrote a fake blog. Is there any proof this guy is even real lol
 
Only read this all because I'm stuck alone in the back seat of a road trip. This guy is an idiot, that's my take. Overly naive and horrible at decision making. Turning down Touro for SGU is downright insane. If it's LUCOM, I'd somewhat understand (emphasis on "somewhat"). I hope his fiancé left him, she seems like she has her you-know-what together a million times better than him.
 
It was simply a sob story about how he didn't go DO so now he has to live with a foreign MD degree and without an ortho residency.

If you want a real sad story read "When Breath Becomes Air" or "The Road".


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
 
Swish16 said:
It was simply a sob story about how he didn't go DO so now he has to live with a foreign MD degree and without an ortho residency.

If you want a real sad story read "When Breath Becomes Air" or "The Road".


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
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I didn't find The Road to be particularly sad actually, more or less just another dark novel, McCarthy has much darker books, too.
 
Swish16 said:
It was simply a sob story about how he didn't go DO so now he has to live with a foreign MD degree and without an ortho residency.

If you want a real sad story read "When Breath Becomes Air" or "The Road".


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
Click to expand...


The Road? Not sad at all. More like a meandering, pointless tragedy.

If you want to read something sad, pick up Maus or The Diary of Anne Frank. There you will find proof that reality is infinitely more impactful than fiction.
 
Spinach Dip said:
The Road? Not sad at all. More like a meandering, pointless tragedy.

If you want to read something sad, pick up Maus or The Diary of Anne Frank. There you will find proof that reality is infinitely more impactful than fiction.
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you read Maus!!

the wikipedia article about it was cool to read for a taste of an analysis of using such a medium to discuss such a serious topic
deepened my appreciation of it

Also, you could read Night by Elie Wiesel.
 
Crayola227 said:
you read Maus!!

the wikipedia article about it was cool to read for a taste of an analysis of using such a medium to discuss such a serious topic
deepened my appreciation of it

Also, you could read Night by Elie Wiesel.
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I've posted before that Maus is one of my top3 favorite books of all time (and the only non-fic on that short list).

But, to return this diversion to the original topic, getting into a residency you don't want is NOT a horrible tragedy. Depressing and sad, yes, but getting paid 300k/yr for doing a job you don't like is not even close to the saddest thing I've ever read.
 
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THAT's the saddest things you've ever read? There are people dying every hour in Syria and Iraq simply because of their faith and you think a doctor being an internist instead of an othodoc is sad? Step outside your home and realize the world the larger than your city.
 
Ioannes Paulus said:
THAT's the saddest things you've ever read? There are people dying every hour in Syria and Iraq simply because of their faith and you think a doctor being an internist instead of an othodoc is sad? Step outside your home and realize the world the larger than your city.
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I may exaggerate often and excessively.
 
danman794 said:
I may exaggerate often and excessively.
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You want a sad story? Ask Spinach Dip to tell you his sometime.

By the way...@Spinach Dip, it's nice to see you back. I was wondering where you were.
 
I was prepared for "Unfortunate decision/mistake leads to patient death and heart wrenching pain" story, not "oops I didn't listen to people and went carrib poor me" story.
 
OP, pls give me the time I spent reading the first 3 pages before I stopped.
 
MI2015 said:
How do you know this guy is Italian? I honestly think it's some troll who wrote a fake blog. Is there any proof this guy is even real lol
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The blog guy makes a reference to his "Italian family".
 
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