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- Medical Student
i had a major medical problem that is now gone. will this answer to a secondary question make me look crazy for writing that I skipped all my classes in undergrad?
Here is the Q:
Tell us about a difficult or challenging situation that you have encountered and how you dealt with it. In your response, identify both the coping skills that you called upon to resolve the dilemma, and the support person(s) from whom you sought advice.
Here is my answer:
I feel strange writing about this in my secondaries, but because it was such a challenging and chronic situation, it would not be truthful if I did not write about this. For my entire life, I had suffered from major sleep and attention-span problems. My parents, several doctors, and myself had never figured out the cause of these problems, until I visited a very sharp ENT in July 2006. He told me that the cause of these problems were based on my extremely large adenoids, deviated septum, and other minor airway blockages. He performed multiple surgeries on me on September of 2006.
It was not until after my surgery that I realized how tenacious and adaptable I was forced to become in order to prevent these problems from interfering with my academics. My constant fatigue and lack of attention span due severe airway problems forced me to become a book-learner throughout ever since elementary school up through college, since I was unable to pay attention in class. When college came around, in order to cope with my problem, I skipped all of my classes unless they had mandatory attendance. Instead, I would use this time to memorize textbook readings for each class, and use additional literature and review books in order to solidify and reinforce my knowledge. Although this was a hugely inefficient way of getting through college, it was my only choice available in order to succeed. My ability to graduate in three years can be largely attributed to the fact that I was able to take five to six courses of my choice each semester--despite the fact that many course times conflicted with others--solely because I never attended lectures.
Other than my parents and doctors, I had few support persons to seek advice from, since most people assumed my problems were a result of laziness. Currently, I feel fantastic and can pay attention better than ever, and I feel sharper and more energetic than ever before. I believe that the extreme adaptability and indestructible work ethic I was forced to develop over the years was a gift in disguise, and that I will finally be able to use these traits to their fullest potential in order to achieve great success in medical school.
Here is the Q:
Tell us about a difficult or challenging situation that you have encountered and how you dealt with it. In your response, identify both the coping skills that you called upon to resolve the dilemma, and the support person(s) from whom you sought advice.
Here is my answer:
I feel strange writing about this in my secondaries, but because it was such a challenging and chronic situation, it would not be truthful if I did not write about this. For my entire life, I had suffered from major sleep and attention-span problems. My parents, several doctors, and myself had never figured out the cause of these problems, until I visited a very sharp ENT in July 2006. He told me that the cause of these problems were based on my extremely large adenoids, deviated septum, and other minor airway blockages. He performed multiple surgeries on me on September of 2006.
It was not until after my surgery that I realized how tenacious and adaptable I was forced to become in order to prevent these problems from interfering with my academics. My constant fatigue and lack of attention span due severe airway problems forced me to become a book-learner throughout ever since elementary school up through college, since I was unable to pay attention in class. When college came around, in order to cope with my problem, I skipped all of my classes unless they had mandatory attendance. Instead, I would use this time to memorize textbook readings for each class, and use additional literature and review books in order to solidify and reinforce my knowledge. Although this was a hugely inefficient way of getting through college, it was my only choice available in order to succeed. My ability to graduate in three years can be largely attributed to the fact that I was able to take five to six courses of my choice each semester--despite the fact that many course times conflicted with others--solely because I never attended lectures.
Other than my parents and doctors, I had few support persons to seek advice from, since most people assumed my problems were a result of laziness. Currently, I feel fantastic and can pay attention better than ever, and I feel sharper and more energetic than ever before. I believe that the extreme adaptability and indestructible work ethic I was forced to develop over the years was a gift in disguise, and that I will finally be able to use these traits to their fullest potential in order to achieve great success in medical school.
