What is considered "name dropping" in personal statement?

[GomerPyle]

Last year I got criticized for name dropping my personal statement.

For example, I included patient first names and I also included physician first and last names as well as which hospital they were affiliated with( ex. Dr. John Doe from Murray Health Care)....

I understand that using first and last name, as well as hospital affiliation is name dropping, but can I just say just the last name (shadowing Dr. Doe, I learned......)?

Also, is it fine if I use patient first names? It just sounds weird if I say "the female patient" or whatever - it sounds more personal when you use the first name, but I was told not to even use the first name either. Maybe put quotes around the name so that they see it is fake?

If anyone can please let me know the guidelines for this, I'd appreciate it! Thanks

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[ericksonj15]

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[Geebeejay]

Last year I got criticized for name dropping my personal statement.

For example, I included patient first names and I also included physician first and last names as well as which hospital they were affiliated with( ex. Dr. John Doe from Murray Health Care)....

I understand that using first and last name, as well as hospital affiliation is name dropping, but can I just say just the last name (shadowing Dr. Doe, I learned......)?

Also, is it fine if I use patient first names? It just sounds weird if I say "the female patient" or whatever - it sounds more personal when you use the first name, but I was told not to even use the first name either. Maybe put quotes around the name so that they see it is fake?

If anyone can please let me know the guidelines for this, I'd appreciate it! Thanks

I used "Mr. Smith" when referring to a patient interaction. Don't use first names. Also I don't see why you would have to use the name of a doctor you shadowed. Instead of "shadowing Dr. Doe, I learned" use "while shadowing, I learned."

 

[loltopsy]

I talked about a patient. I just called him 'the patient'. The doctor, I used his full name since it was a shadowing activity listed in my AMCAS app anyway. I didn't say what hospital it was at, but again, that's on AMCAS already.

 

[Doctor Strange]

"the patient"

"a doctor"

etc.

Don't use names. It sounds tacky.

 

[Irish Football]

I name-dropped SDN users in my personal statement. Whoops.

 

[GomerPyle]

Okay, so it's okay to say the doctors name, just not the affiliated hospital. I'll keep it safe and just mention last name (not first).

As far as patient names - my personal statement is centered around a particular patient, and I can't call her "the patient" the whole time...it just wouldn't sound personal! I guess I will just name her "Mrs. Smith" ?

 

[GomerPyle]

"the patient"

"a doctor"

etc.

Don't use names. It sounds tacky.

Tacky? What do you mean? My statement is centered around a particular patient experience, and I think it would sound "tackier" if I referred to her as "the patient" 100 times over. I am not arguing against you, I just want to understand "why"? Whats wrong with mentioning her name, or just say "Mrs. Smith" or something?

 

[N7chell]

Okay, so it's okay to say the doctors name, just not the affiliated hospital. I'll keep it safe and just mention last name (not first).

As far as patient names - my personal statement is centered around a particular patient, and I can't call her "the patient" the whole time...it just wouldn't sound personal! I guess I will just name her "Mrs. Smith" ?

In my PS, I wrote about a shadowing experience and did not reveal the Dr's name but mentioned the institution. I assume it's ok because the Dr's full name and institution had to be filled out on AMCAS anyways.

Also, I get what you're saying. Writing "the patient" over and over again would mess up the flow of your essay. I used a super generic name for the patient I mentioned in my PS, and I just found a post by LizzyM saying using generic first names are fine (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=9759466&postcount=19).

 

[loltopsy]

Okay, so it's okay to say the doctors name, just not the affiliated hospital. I'll keep it safe and just mention last name (not first).

As far as patient names - my personal statement is centered around a particular patient, and I can't call her "the patient" the whole time...it just wouldn't sound personal! I guess I will just name her "Mrs. Smith" ?

Just call her 'Mrs. Doe'. Smith could be a real name. Doe obviously isn't.

 

[GomerPyle]

Lol hearing so many different things...

Okay - so I assume I should just go with a super generic name such as Ann and type (pseudonym) after the first time I mention that name, that way they know it is a made up name.

Also, with doctors, I can probably just call him "the surgeon" but it would be better if I could just state his name (Dr. lastname). Would that be okay, or is the consensus that it's not okay?

 

[I Love Cats]

I honestly think the name drop is okay, especially if they are a significant contributor to your app in some way, like doing research with or shadowing them. If they are in your app already, why not just say it again? Just don't beat the horse by giving them more glory and focus than yourself. This is my opinion.

 

[LizzyM]

To go back to the original meaning of the phrase "name dropping" this usually means to use a name as a means of impressing someone. So if you talk about going on rounds with Dr. Gupta in Atlanta and scrubbing into a procedure with Dr Oz in NY while on a summer reserach rotation that might seem like name dropping in the PS even if you mention your shadowing of them or whatever in the experience section. It just sounds like showing off or trying to impress the adcom with your close ties to medical celebrities.

 

[Benedictus123]

Yeah, I mentioned the name of one of the doctors I shadowed, and I didn't think it was a big deal. It was just a natural part of the narrative.

Like Lizzy indicates, 'name dropping' usually means mentioning someone famous, not just saying anyone. Everyone does it in real life conversation. I'll never forget the time I screwed up haploid and diploid while chatting with a Nobel Prize in Medicine winner in his office. If I mentioned that incident in my PS, THAT would be name dropping.

 

[medschool2016]

I agree, I shadowed a doctor, he is listed in my activities, and he is writing me a rec. Putting down Dr. A in my opinion is just silly. If confidentiality is the issue, people will already know who I am talking about.

 

[candbgirl]

But OP you said you were criticized last year for "name dropping" yet you want to continue the same thing this year. The majority of the people on here said to use a generic Mr. or Mrs. Doe and be equally generic with the docs you shadowed. As just about everyone said the real names of the docs are elsewhere on your application if the readers are interested. Learn from last year and be GENERIC.

 

[BABSstudent]

Lol hearing so many different things...

Okay - so I assume I should just go with a super generic name such as Ann and type (pseudonym) after the first time I mention that name, that way they know it is a made up name.

Also, with doctors, I can probably just call him "the surgeon" but it would be better if I could just state his name (Dr. lastname). Would that be okay, or is the consensus that it's not okay?

One acronym that will help determine what you should do: HIPAA.

If you gave enough details to be able to identify a patient, such as age, maiden name, address, birthday, date of the visit, etc. then it is a big no-no. Like you said here, it is better to use a pseudonym and identify it as a pseudonym. Honestly, her name doesn't matter. I used three people in my personal statement and their names were "immigrant," "Ecuadorian schoolgirl" and "grandmother." Go ahead and try to find those people.

In my case, using these descriptions was enough for the reader to create a big picture. The important thing to remember is that this essay isn't about them, it's about you.

As for the doctor, again, the name doesn't matter. Just day while shadowing. If you really want to name the physician, you don't have to say the hospital name in the PS. Again, this is way more detail than you have to go into. For example, would the story be any different if you were at Madigan Army Hospital, Massachusetts General, or even a small clinic? The answer is no. Patients of all shapes, sizes and colors go to each place.

You seem to be going into way too much detail. I suggest rereading your PS to try to eliminate some of those extraneous details. This isn't a case study and the people reading your file know that. The most important thing is to talk about yourself and make sure you are the star of this paper.

 

[csx]

So listing a patient's real first name is a no-go? i have to write some thing like "John (Psedonym)?"

 

[LizzyM]

So listing a patient's real first name is a no-go? i have to write some thing like "John (Psedonym)?"

I just posted this anecdote on another thread... applicant used a real first name, had the name of the organization in his "experience" section and the mother of the person mentioned by real first name was the adcom member reading the application!! (Making it worse, the adcom member had just buried her son who was mentioned by name in the PS.)

 

[GomerPyle]

Thank you so much guys.

So for patient names, use a generic name and type (pseudonym) after the first time you mention the name.

For doctors, you can use their real name as long as you don't build them up to be some sort of celebrity or big shot - and don't mention their affiliated hospital. Just use Dr. "lastname" and you will be fine.

 

[bear2roo]

ok sorry if I didn't catch anything or am ignorant, but in my PS, I talked about a relative of a patient, so I shouldn't use his real last name (it's a very common last name in a part of the world & does not reveal who he is at all)? I referred to him as Mr. ______ .

And for shadowing/volunteer/research experiences I referred to in my PS, I used the doctor's last name, which seems ok? like Dr. ______

Thanks!

 

[NCKSD]

I just posted this anecdote on another thread... applicant used a real first name, had the name of the organization in his "experience" section and the mother of the person mentioned by real first name was the adcom member reading the application!! (Making it worse, the adcom member had just buried her son who was mentioned by name in the PS.)

 

[AxiomaticTruth]

I just posted this anecdote on another thread... applicant used a real first name, had the name of the organization in his "experience" section and the mother of the person mentioned by real first name was the adcom member reading the application!! (Making it worse, the adcom member had just buried her son who was mentioned by name in the PS.)

Wow. That rejected guy should buy a few lottery tickets to make up for his bad luck.




Luck works like that right? 😉

 

[hopefulmed3]

I mention the first name of the patient(which is pretty generic) and the nickname he liked to be called by. I don't say what disease he has, just that it is rare. Is that too much information?

 

[acceptmeplease]

I mention the first name of the patient(which is pretty generic) and the nickname he liked to be called by. I don't say what disease he has, just that it is rare. Is that too much information?

I changed the name/gender and put the disease.

 

[snorlax]

This thread has made me very paranoid. In my app, already submitted, I mentioned the first name of a patient along with the gender, an age, and a disease. Though I have previously been well versed in HIPAA, it never occurred to me while writing my personal statement that I was violating any privacy laws. Probably because the name is common enough (though it is in fact the real name), I am just guessing the age (but I am probably close, as it's a child), and I am guessing the disease (but it is either this or something similar, because I know what unit she was on and who her physicians were). Any input on what could be the consequences of having these details in a personal statement? If it is that bad, I might just forego applying this cycle - I was considering taking another year off anyway... :/

 

[BABSstudent]

This thread has made me very paranoid. In my app, already submitted, I mentioned the first name of a patient along with the gender, an age, and a disease. Though I have previously been well versed in HIPAA, it never occurred to me while writing my personal statement that I was violating any privacy laws. Probably because the name is common enough (though it is in fact the real name), I am just guessing the age (but I am probably close, as it's a child), and I am guessing the disease (but it is either this or something similar, because I know what unit she was on and who her physicians were). Any input on what could be the consequences of having these details in a personal statement? If it is that bad, I might just forego applying this cycle - I was considering taking another year off anyway... :/

Well, it is too late now. You already spent the money so you should probably go with it. If anyone brings it up, just say it was a fake name and estimations.

But serious, in the future, keep in mind the patient and their privacy. Would you like it if some premed took your low point and made it the center part of their application? What if they did it without your consent and stated what you said to a doctor/your health record (which you thought was private). It may come off extremely negative depending on who reads your application or they might not notice.

Whatever happens in the end, at least you know about HIPAA and will (hopefully) never reveal a patient's health information again in a way that allows someone to readily identify them.

 

[username456789]

This should not be rocket surgery.

If the patient's real name is John Robinson, just say "Mr. R" or "JR." Or, be like me and just use a different name altogether, but still go by the same rule I just mentioned (John Robinson now becomes "Mr. S" or "WS."

If you shadowed a doctor, he or she is referred to as "Dr. S", "Dr. K", etc.

 

[snorlax]

Well, it is too late now. You already spent the money so you should probably go with it. If anyone brings it up, just say it was a fake name and estimations.

But serious, in the future, keep in mind the patient and their privacy. Would you like it if some premed took your low point and made it the center part of their application? What if they did it without your consent and stated what you said to a doctor/your health record (which you thought was private). It may come off extremely negative depending on who reads your application or they might not notice.

Whatever happens in the end, at least you know about HIPAA and will (hopefully) never reveal a patient's health information again in a way that allows someone to readily identify them.

Thanks a lot for your input. In my case, it was a patient who is now deceased whom I worked with as a volunteer on a long-term basis. If anything, I thought I was honoring the patient by giving her a name (shouldn't have used the real name, though it would have felt strange to change the name). I only gave the details to offer some context so that I could show how my experience with her (and patients with similar conditions) motivated my interest in a particular area of medicine. But I agree with you completely. It is kind of shocking, and I will definitely be extra careful about avoiding this kind of situation in the future! I was concerned that it would irresponsible to submit this application to schools since it does give info on a patient.

 

[catzzz88]

I understand that using first and last name, as well as hospital affiliation is name dropping, but can I just say just the last name (shadowing Dr. Doe, I learned......)?

I dont get what the big deal is. I think "name dropping" only applies when the person is famous and would be well known by at least 1/5 people...

It would be name dropping if you were like: "Yo, I worked in the laboratory of Dr. James Watson doing DNA stuff and also by the way I shadowed Dr. Oz, the cardiothoracic surgeon in the clinic and also on his television show."

But saying: "I worked int he lab of Dr. Kamil Frankfurt and shadowed Dr. Wontsburgur in Samisville Hospital" does NOT count as name dropping. If fact, it may even help the AdCom make connections between your personal statement, activities section, and maybe even your LORs...

Name dropping: http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=name-dropping

S: 👎 name-dropping (the practice of casually mentioning important people in order to impress your listener) "the hard thing about name-dropping is to avoid being too obvious about it"

Listing off the people you worked with/for/under does not count as name dropping unless the people reading it may actually have a fairly high chance at recognizing the name. Otherwise, it is simply informative...

As for patients, I think people have made it clear here NOT to list the names of patients. Just day Mr. John Doe or Mr. Doe or something... that is of so little significance that you need not worry.

 

[JJMrK]

Getting redic up in here.

For a physician:
If it's someone you mention multiple times and it sounds weird not to mention the name, "Dr. Smith" is fine. "Dr. Bob Smith, MD, Professor of Neurodermatologic Surgery" sounds like you are trying to impress people. See the distinction?

For a patient:
"I was intrigued by the patients. One patient, "Mr. Doe," had a fascinating conditon.... blah blah."
Using quotes and "Doe" makes it easy to tell it's a fake name.

 

[GomerPyle]

Getting redic up in here.

For a physician:
If it's someone you mention multiple times and it sounds weird not to mention the name, "Dr. Smith" is fine. "Dr. Bob Smith, MD, Professor of Neurodermatologic Surgery" sounds like you are trying to impress people. See the distinction?

For a patient:
"I was intrigued by the patients. One patient, "Mr. Doe," had a fascinating conditon.... blah blah."
Using quotes and "Doe" makes it easy to tell it's a fake name.

I'm kind of leaning towards doing it this way - "My very first patient, Ann (pseudonym) was experiencing respiratory distress....." and refer to as Ann for the rest of the essay? I want to note that I will be mentioning the pseudonym in parenthesis the first time I mention Ann.

 

[ericksonj15]

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[LizzyM]

Why would you ask for advice if you are going to go ahead and ignore 99% of the responses? In any event, writing Ann (pseudonym) looks absurd and is a waste of 11 characters.

Because some advice is more valid than other advice.


While were off -topic, let me warn all y'all about the minefield that is the "greatest challenge" secondary question. Remember that your parents' names, alma maters, etc are on your primary application. Now you go and write about your father's urinary incontinence after his prostate surgery (while that's your biggest challenge, I'm not sure) or about your parents' divorce after one of your parents came out of the closet, or about your father's love child that came as a surprise to the rest of the family. You can tell your story but be careful about sharing too much about other people who should have a right to privacy (in one of the three examples above, I happened to know the applicant's grandmother and I was a bit surprised at the information shared by the applicant).

 

[snorlax]

While were off -topic, let me warn all y'all about the minefield that is the "greatest challenge" secondary question. Remember that your parents' names, alma maters, etc are on your primary application. Now you go and write about your father's urinary incontinence after his prostate surgery (while that's your biggest challenge, I'm not sure) or about your parents' divorce after one of your parents came out of the closet, or about your father's love child that came as a surprise to the rest of the family. You can tell your story but be careful about sharing too much about other people who should have a right to privacy (in one of the three examples above, I happened to know the applicant's grandmother and I was a bit surprised at the information shared by the applicant).

Wow, that's pretty incredible. It is a smaller world than we might think. I wish this thread had popped up a month ago...

 

[JJMrK]

I'm kind of leaning towards doing it this way - "My very first patient, Ann (pseudonym) was experiencing respiratory distress....." and refer to as Ann for the rest of the essay? I want to note that I will be mentioning the pseudonym in parenthesis the first time I mention Ann.

Sure, that works.

I've never had to put in extra effort figuring these out when reading apps. Use any of the strategies mentioned without using the real name and you'll be fine.

 

[devinakbv]

I used his full name since it was a shadowing activity listed in my AMCAS app anyway.