What is this crap with ethical dilemmas

[choker]

sorry to vent but WTF?!?!?!?

i am doing the secondaries for duke and pitt and what the hell is up with that damn ethical dilemma crap?!? the only ethical dilemma i ever had was whether or not to break my foot off in nancy tillinghast's face. do i write some stupid brady bunch story where my friends wanted me to smoke some crack or steal a car? or what about the time i stood up for henri, the not so cool foreign exchange kid when the jocks teased him after study hall?

weak question dudes. totally weak.

seriously, the only ethical dilemmas i've ever really been involved in are either involve cheating, or they were just too damn personal to talk about (or i chose to take the evil path).

-choker

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[Jamier2]

Originally posted by choker:
•(or i chose to take the evil path)•

You know, this made me think that I may have figured out why Duke uses this question. Maybe they think that if you didn't take the "evil path" then you'll feel comfortable writing about an ethical dilemma?? Does this mean that if you don't have an ethical dilemma you are automatically seen as one who took the "evil path"?

Just a thought.

 

[lady in red]

this is funny; they say do not address cheating. I don't know; I was thinking this for the last 2 months. People like us rarely have substantial ethical dilemma, b/c most of us do not GET INTO situations like that or purposely try to avoid them. Personal stuff--boyfriends girlfriends--that is a dangerous subject. sorry can't be of any help; I will email you if i come up w/something
lady

 

[jargon124]

LOL - I have to say that the original post made me laugh. Come on people, it doesnt have to be an earth - shattering sort of thing. Just think of an instance in your life where you had to make a tough decision and I would be willing to bet that it was some sort of ethical dilemma. I just can't believe that there are people out there who have not encountered an ethical problem.

 

[Rumit]

Come on guys. It doesn't have to be a big deal. Think...there are lots of things. For instance, did you ever steal something, even something small like a coke? Have you pirated software, do you listen to MP3's? Did you ever see someone steal something, what did you do? That's just one angle that I think lot of people have some experience dealing with. Just because you take it for granted, doesn't mean it isn't an ethical dilemna, or that it shouldn't be.

Just my opinion...of course, I haven't applied to any schools that asked for it

Adam

 

[choker]

truth is that real life isn't black or white, it's grey. there are no clean cut ethical decisions_ there's always some sort of sacrifice being made. I mean, every decision you make, you rarely think you're being unethical. the point is that only rarely is there ever a textbook ethical dilemma, and even if you do choose the unethical path and regret it later, you look like a complete idiot writing about it.

argh... i don't know what im trying to say. gotta stop procrasturbating, pick a topic and write it.

i just can't imagine writing this essay without sounding like a complete sap.
seriously, the only bad things i did were when I was 11 years old...
My friends and I would steal porn mags from the convenience store; we would make prank phone calls; and we would blow stuff up with firecrackers. Did I learn anything from it? NO- i just grew out of it. Did it contribute to my motivation for becoming a doctor- NO. does it have anything to do with anything- HELLS NO!!!

 

[jargon124]

Choker,

I would bet that the BEST way to answer that question would be to cite a time when you made an ethically bad decision and show how much you learned from it. I agree its not often that we come across textbook type cases - but I dont think thats what they are expecting. Good luck.

 

[UCMonkey]

I agree with all of you guys. Maybe this is just me, but it seems like most of us have at least some research experience. I see at least a few ethical dilemmas there - especially with animal research (I work with monkeys myself). Just another idea to think about.

 

[audeo]

Fortunately, I had plenty of ethical dilemmas even to spill over the given space for response. I got them from the army.

 

[lady in red]

I found one! You guys inspired me. Actually, I dug it out from my own past, my college years, and it is a substantial one. However, it won't apply to most applicants, as my situation was sort of weird, and I am not your standard pre-med.

 

[BlackPuma]

Originally posted by choker:
[QB]

argh... i don't know what im trying to say. gotta stop procrasturbating, pick a topic and write it.

[QB]

procrasturbating?



can someone say freudian slip?

is that a combination of procrastination and masturbating? procrasturbating? what the heck...someone is sexually frustrated for delaying his application....dont let it get to u bro

hmm let me help u out

i will send u a couple of "ethical dilemmas" that I thought off that I havent used, that u could use! just email me in private and i will tell u

alright bro....

 

[csgirl]

Choker: I totally feel your pain. I hate those ethical dilema questions. I've never even been offered drugs! I don't even have that! I've never even had a chance to cheat!

The day I decided to become a vegetarian is the day I thought it might be unethical to kill animals for food (I still think it's ok to kill animals for research... so don't jump all over me!) But it's not like I can write about that because it's very posible that not a single admissions committee member is vegetarian. Most of the ethical issues people like us are confronted with have to do with personal views or beliefs with no clear cut right and wrong.

 

[jglemonade]

How about anybody who has had to put their dog or cat to sleep because it was old and suffering. Or if anybody has seen a stray cat or dog and picked it up. Or maybe if somebody had a dog that bit them, and faced the dilemma of having to put the dog down because it bit them. Just some ideas...

 

[Jessica]

Doesn't anyone have clinical experience to talk about? THere is TONS of ethical stuff you could pull for experiences in a hospital or working with patients!

 

[none]

I hope they don't let volunteers make ethical decisions for patients!! I very much agree with the poster who said that this is an extremely difficult and poor question because most of us try extremely hard to avoid situations forcing us into making ethical decisions.

 

[Jessica]

You may not have a say in what goes on (with regard to a patients' care) if you are a volunteer, but if you are paying attention while you push people around in wheelchairs you might learn something about morality or ethics as it pertains to health care. And FYI, not everyone's clinical experience is limited to volunteer work, some of us actually have work experience as health professionals.