Thoughts on including a not so positive interaction with the physician in personal statement

[Timeless:)]

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Hi, I have been getting feedback on my PS and I just want to hear what others think about this.

In my PS, I talk about an experience where the limited interaction with the physician made my grandmother worry as they only focused on the treatment and diagnosis (which is a good thing), but did not really care about her emotional well-being. (This happened in another country, not in the US)

Some suggest I remove it, but it is one of the big factors why I wanted to become a physician. I might be stubborn but I really want to keep it.
One suggestion I got was I could possibly shape turn this around as a systematic issue instead of focusing on the fault of the individual physician.

Any ideas on how to spin this positively?

 

[LindaAccepted]

Without seeing the essay, it's hard to give recommendations. However is there an incident where you saw a physician treat your grandmother or others and address the emotional component as well as diagnosis and treatment? That example might get the same point across more positively.

 

[LunaOri]

I think it’s okay, if you can contrast it with another encounter/experience in which those issues were addressed.

 

[cj_cregg]

I have read/reviewed a decent number of medical school and residency personal statements, and 100% sympathetic to the fact that people have bad experiences with doctors and the healthcare system in general, and I have yet to come across one where someone said something critical about a doctor that hits me in a good way. It's not that the experience isn't valid or that your feelings about it are not correct, it's just not the place to bring it up. I agree with the recommendation above to consider focusing on a time when someone caring for your grandma did address those other aspects of her well being.

 

[Bwesternn]

I don't think this is a good idea at all, and it could very well keep you from receiving interviews.

I can't see how you could put a positive spin on wanting to be a doctor BECAUSE of the perceived faults you saw in another doctor's (BTW in another country) quality of care.

 

[Goro]

Hi, I have been getting feedback on my PS and I just want to hear what others think about this.

In my PS, I talk about an experience where the limited interaction with the physician made my grandmother worry as they only focused on the treatment and diagnosis (which is a good thing), but did not really care about her emotional well-being. (This happened in another country, not in the US)

Some suggest I remove it, but it is one of the big factors why I wanted to become a physician. I might be stubborn but I really want to keep it.
One suggestion I got was I could possibly shape turn this around as a systematic issue instead of focusing on the fault of the individual physician.

Any ideas on how to spin this positively?

It's never a good idea to throw a physician under the bus in a PS.

 

[AvsPearTree]

It's never a good idea to throw a physician under the bus in a PS.

What if you don't explicitly throw a a physician under the bus?

for example,
"No one I saw would take me seriously until two physicians in the emergency room took a minute to sit and talk with me."

 

[Timeless:)]

Without seeing the essay, it's hard to give recommendations. However is there an incident where you saw a physician treat your grandmother or others and address the emotional component as well as diagnosis and treatment? That example might get the same point across more positively.

I think it’s okay, if you can contrast it with another encounter/experience in which those issues were addressed.

I have read/reviewed a decent number of medical school and residency personal statements, and 100% sympathetic to the fact that people have bad experiences with doctors and the healthcare system in general, and I have yet to come across one where someone said something critical about a doctor that hits me in a good way. It's not that the experience isn't valid or that your feelings about it are not correct, it's just not the place to bring it up. I agree with the recommendation above to consider focusing on a time when someone caring for your grandma did address those other aspects of her well being.

I have read/reviewed a decent number of medical school and residency personal statements, and 100% sympathetic to the fact that people have bad experiences with doctors and the healthcare system in general, and I have yet to come across one where someone said something critical about a doctor that hits me in a good way. It's not that the experience isn't valid or that your feelings about it are not correct, it's just not the place to bring it up. I agree with the recommendation above to consider focusing on a time when someone caring for your grandma did address those other aspects of her well being.

It's never a good idea to throw a physician under the bus in a PS.

What if you don't explicitly throw a a physician under the bus?

for example,
"No one I saw would take me seriously until two physicians in the emergency room took a minute to sit and talk with me."

This was what I wrote if people need more context. Appreciating all the comments here

Her interactions with physicians were limited. They focused more on treatment and management, rather than her emotional well-being.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Would strongly advise against it

 

[SharonShares]

What if you don't explicitly throw a a physician under the bus?

for example,
"No one I saw would take me seriously until two physicians in the emergency room took a minute to sit and talk with me."

Without reading the entire paragraph or statement, I'm not sure your sentence aligns to what you are trying to convey.

Perhaps you could say something like. "As the medical staff engaged with professionalism and decisiveness, I could see the fear in my grandmother's eyes. I was powerless to help. Fortunately, a doctor recognized her fear and took an extra moment to hold her hand and reassure her that she was in good hands. This small act of kindness eased her fear, and I could see the fear leave her eyes replaced with concern and most importantly, faith".

The above is very wordy, but it does allow the interaction to be viewed as professional and convey the lack of initial focus on her emotional well- being.

 

[xDNA]

Definitely don't do it.

 

[cj_cregg]

This was what I wrote if people need more context. Appreciating all the comments here

Her interactions with physicians were limited. They focused more on treatment and management, rather than her emotional well-being.

I would not do it this way. This falls in the same line as many of the ones I/others have negative reactions to in PS's I've read/discussed with others. This type of comment tends to put the reader on the defensive especially if they are a physician, and the writer often comes across as naïve (e.g. was it really such a revelation for this candidate that doctors shouldn't be mean to patients? is this person ignorant of some of the system-level challenges that may have led to this interaction/experience?). I agree with the comment above that the narrative of "I saw somebody do a crappy job of taking care of my grandma and that made me want to be a doctor" is perhaps less cogent than it could be. This should be a story about what made you want to be a doctor, not about the kind of doctor you want to avoid being.

If you really feel like you HAVE to include this part of the story because it is such a key point in your decision to become a physician, I would really, really encourage you to focus on a point when someone DID recognize and respond to your grandma's emotional needs, and your desire to be like that person. The example from SharonShares a couple posts up is a good starting point.

 

[deleted1100659]

I think experiences that can be viewed as subjective and isolated don't correlate to a strong enough reason to want to become a physician.

Especially when other people will have unique stories like "grandmother was weak, losing weight, experiencing severe nausea. GI doctor diagnosed her as somatic symptom disorder but I knew there was more to it, and I advocated for her and researched other GI doctors and found one who later diagnosed it as pancreatic cancer".

 

[GoSpursGo]

Hi, I have been getting feedback on my PS and I just want to hear what others think about this.

In my PS, I talk about an experience where the limited interaction with the physician made my grandmother worry as they only focused on the treatment and diagnosis (which is a good thing), but did not really care about her emotional well-being. (This happened in another country, not in the US)

Some suggest I remove it, but it is one of the big factors why I wanted to become a physician. I might be stubborn but I really want to keep it.
One suggestion I got was I could possibly shape turn this around as a systematic issue instead of focusing on the fault of the individual physician.

Any ideas on how to spin this positively?

Here's the problem with throwing a physician under the bus--the implication is that you think you could do a better job than this other physician. This may be true, and this may have inspired you to become a doctor, but it's going to hit a number of reviewers as arrogant or presumptuous. Even if you try to spin it as a systemic issue, it's still very presumptuous to think that you understand a systemic issue sufficiently well to come up with the answer to the problem.

Bottom line, medicine is hierarchical. Fellows don't get to criticize attendings, residents don't get to criticize fellows, med students don't get to criticize residents. And pre-meds definitely don't get to criticize attendings.

 

[Bwesternn]

Here's the problem with throwing a physician under the bus--the implication is that you think you could do a better job than this other physician. This may be true, and this may have inspired you to become a doctor, but it's going to hit a number of reviewers as arrogant or presumptuous. Even if you try to spin it as a systemic issue, it's still very presumptuous to think that you understand a systemic issue sufficiently well to come up with the answer to the problem.

Bottom line, medicine is hierarchical. Fellows don't get to criticize attendings, residents don't get to criticize fellows, med students don't get to criticize residents. And pre-meds definitely don't get to criticize attendings.

Plus the fact that this encounter happened with a physician in a completely different country.

 

[LizzyM]

It was your grandmother! You had a vested interest in getting her all the help she needed, both physical and emotional. Will you be any better when caring for strangers that those other doctors were with your grandmother? What makes you think so? "I could do better and I will be a better doctor than those unnamed people over there" is not a good point to bring up in a personal statement.

 

[Timeless:)]

Here's the problem with throwing a physician under the bus--the implication is that you think you could do a better job than this other physician. This may be true, and this may have inspired you to become a doctor, but it's going to hit a number of reviewers as arrogant or presumptuous. Even if you try to spin it as a systemic issue, it's still very presumptuous to think that you understand a systemic issue sufficiently well to come up with the answer to the problem.

Bottom line, medicine is hierarchical. Fellows don't get to criticize attendings, residents don't get to criticize fellows, med students don't get to criticize residents. And pre-meds definitely don't get to criticize attendings.

Plus the fact that this encounter happened with a physician in a completely different country.

It was your grandmother! You had a vested interest in getting her all the help she needed, both physical and emotional. Will you be any better when caring for strangers that those other doctors were with your grandmother? What makes you think so? "I could do better and I will be a better doctor than those unnamed people over there" is not a good point to bring up in a personal statement.

Would strongly advise against it

I think experiences that can be viewed as subjective and isolated don't correlate to a strong enough reason to want to become a physician.

Especially when other people will have unique stories like "grandmother was weak, losing weight, experiencing severe nausea. GI doctor diagnosed her as somatic symptom disorder but I knew there was more to it, and I advocated for her and researched other GI doctors and found one who later diagnosed it as pancreatic cancer".

I would not do it this way. This falls in the same line as many of the ones I/others have negative reactions to in PS's I've read/discussed with others. This type of comment tends to put the reader on the defensive especially if they are a physician, and the writer often comes across as naïve (e.g. was it really such a revelation for this candidate that doctors shouldn't be mean to patients? is this person ignorant of some of the system-level challenges that may have led to this interaction/experience?). I agree with the comment above that the narrative of "I saw somebody do a crappy job of taking care of my grandma and that made me want to be a doctor" is perhaps less cogent than it could be. This should be a story about what made you want to be a doctor, not about the kind of doctor you want to avoid being. ETA: A similar but perhaps less controversial example would be the following - I asked a candidate what characteristics they value in a teacher/supervisor. They started their answer with "I hate...." and listed all the things they didn't like. Didn't answer the question, and left a poor impression of the candidate as perhaps having somewhat of a negative attitude.

If you really feel like you HAVE to include this part of the story because it is such a key point in your decision to become a physician, I would really, really encourage you to focus on a point when someone DID recognize and respond to your grandma's emotional needs, and your desire to be like that person. The example from SharonShares a couple posts up is a good starting point.

I perfectly understand all your points. My point was not to criticize while it does sound like I am criticizing them in a way. Seems like I have worded it negatively.
Thanks for the advice, I will try to focus more on the positive aspect.

 

[snooper]

Much better to give a positive example --- with vivid details --- and then say that's the kind of physician you want to be.