Using "fake names" in secondary essays?

[okjoint]

I have been browsing some of the old threads regarding variations on this question. I wanted to clarify if it is appropriate to use a fake patient name in my secondary essays, especially if I failed to clarify that I made the first name up. If not, have I ruined my chances?

Thank you in advance.

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[Goro]

Please give us credit that we're smart enough to know that you're using fake names.

 

[okjoint]

Please give us credit that we're smart enough to know that you're using fake names.

Thank you for your response @Goro. But for future essays, I should add quotations to be safe right?

 

[Justapremedguy]

I used a real name once and just added quotations. Not enough to even get close to identifying the patient and what’s the difference to an adcom if I use a fake name or a real name which they’ll assume is fake

 

[papilloma1212]

I used designations like Mr. S and Ms. E to refer to my hospice patients in a particular story for an essay. I refer to them by initials when emailing about them with their care team and my volunteer coordinator so it seemed natural

 

[Goro]

Thank you for your response @Goro. But for future essays, I should add quotations to be safe right?

Yes

 

[LizzyM]

Put the fake name in quotes. I knew a adcom who recognized a story about her own son in an application essay. The kicker was that her son, a boy with a disability, had died very recently, but the applicant, who met the boy at a school activty, was unlikely to have known that. Had the name been changed to "Dan" or "Doug" it might have gone unnoticed.

 

[Rachapkis]

Many people use one letter (e.g., Dr. D was making rounds) because that approach preserves anonymity and saves on character count.