I definitely agree that professionalism is extremely important. I could not agree more. And ideally, we're "impartial consultants" for the health and well-being of patients. But doctors are also people, though.
Doctors express opinions on a wide variety of subjects -- from child abuse/neglect, to obesity treatments, to healthcare/insurance costs. They are passionate about different areas of human rights. For that reason, I don't think having 'broad appeal' is everything. Having insight into causes of and solutions to both social and medical problems is one of the most important gifts that a doctor can have -- and sometimes, it might just be that a little pink triangle pin is symbolic of a commitment to a cause (unpopular though it may be). Frankly, you can't please everybody these days.
Anyway, this is straying farther from the discussion of ECs than I had intended. But as an example, one of my close friends was a mentor for the Queer Resource group at my college. In some ways this is a 'controversial' EC. But clearly it gave him the opportunity to advise underclassmen, deal with confidential information, and act in a leadership capacity. While it might not be "aesthetically pleasing" to an ADCOM it was nevertheless an important activity for him.
The point to this rambling post is that basically, when ADCOMs ask for personal information like "what I do for fun"/"what ECs I have", they should be prepared to consider the merits of each answer as objectively as possible. And it may be up to the applicants to help explain WHY they feel that the hobby/EC contributed to their personal growth and development.
Again, I'm not saying that I agree or disagree with you since my opinion on the subject has no particular influence on the discussion. Which was why I said
LucidSplash said:
"For the record, I'm not taking a stance on that particular issue in this forum. I'm just putting it out there as something which I know to exist and something that should be considered, even if only to be dismissed after some thought, by those who are applying."
I do agree that "doctors are also people" but what I was trying to get across is that one of the prevailing opinions on professionalism is that doctors should be "all things to all men." Whether or not adcoms "should" consider the merits of each EC objectively was not my point - adcoms are people too and that will flavor those considerations.
The focus of my comments was on perceived manifestations of professionalism, many of which are intended to make patients as comfortable as possible.
Remember that while you will be taught not to judge your patients, your patients will always be judging you, and many patients are bigots, prejudiced, leftists, fundamentalists, or any other extreme you can think of. Patients will come to you with preconceived notions of what someone wearing a pink triangle thinks, feels, does with their personal life, exposure to disease, and will subconsciously or consciously transfer that over to their opinion of you as a physician and your competence and ability to take care of their needs.
Hence the theory of being a blank slate - so that you can adequately earn the trust and provide exceptional care, even for the bigots. Again, no particular commentary from me on where I stand on that, simply the fact that many many many people running medical schools these days think the "blank slate" quality during patient interactions is an important characteristic needed to be a physician. They want you to be well-rounded, they just want you to be able to self-edit so that you can be an effective physician for the broadest range of patients.
OP, put whatever you like down for your ECs. Comments here about considering editing for some of the more "extreme" hobbies and forethought about what your hobbies say about you as a person, should be taken into consideration because the hobbies question is designed to help adcoms get a better overall picture of who you are outside of your academics and all the ECs you do because you know you have to have something to put on your applications. They want to see how well those things you choose to do "just for fun" fit into the picture you'd portrayed in the rest of your application. If your ECs on your AMCAS were all social, helping other people, volunteering with inner city kids, and your hobbies are all about being alone without human interaction, something will "feel" off in your application. They're looking to see how it all fits together.
