Would adcoms look poorly on a controversial senior thesis?

[farnk20]

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As a requirement for one of my majors I have to write a 9000-15000 word senior thesis. The topic I would likely end up writing on is the ethical practices of the pharmaceutical industry in manufacture and pricing of prescription medicines, which could potentially be a hot-button issue for adcoms. This is going to be a big part of my research experience in undergrad; I'll likely be writing a research proposal, doing primary research of my own on the topic over the summer which would be funded by a grant I would apply for, and presenting the paper to my department as a requirement for graduation. Part of the argument would likely involve the notion that doctors are too dependent on pharmaceuticals to act as an effective regulatory mechanism on the industry. If I find over the course of my paper that the pharmaceutical industry IS unethical in its pricing practices, would that negatively influence my chances of getting in to a medical school? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Nymphicus]

As a requirement for one of my majors I have to write a 9000-15000 word senior thesis. The topic I would likely end up writing on is the ethical practices of the pharmaceutical industry in manufacture and pricing of prescription medicines, which could potentially be a hot-button issue for adcoms. This is going to be a big part of my research experience in undergrad; I'll likely be writing a research proposal, doing primary research of my own on the topic over the summer which would be funded by a grant I would apply for, and presenting the paper to my department as a requirement for graduation. Part of the argument would likely involve the notion that doctors are too dependent on pharmaceuticals to act as an effective regulatory mechanism on the industry. If I find over the course of my paper that the pharmaceutical industry IS unethical in its pricing practices, would that negatively influence my chances of getting in to a medical school? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

No. Quit worrying.

 

[lovesfall]

As a requirement for one of my majors I have to write a 9000-15000 word senior thesis. The topic I would likely end up writing on is the ethical practices of the pharmaceutical industry in manufacture and pricing of prescription medicines, which could potentially be a hot-button issue for adcoms. This is going to be a big part of my research experience in undergrad; I'll likely be writing a research proposal, doing primary research of my own on the topic over the summer which would be funded by a grant I would apply for, and presenting the paper to my department as a requirement for graduation. Part of the argument would likely involve the notion that doctors are too dependent on pharmaceuticals to act as an effective regulatory mechanism on the industry. If I find over the course of my paper that the pharmaceutical industry IS unethical in its pricing practices, would that negatively influence my chances of getting in to a medical school? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

I wouldn't think so. In fact, if you can tackle a potentially controversial issue professionally and objectively it might even be more of a positive quality. That being said, I'm not an adcom member so I have no idea. One thing I have noticed is that some med schools are becoming stricter about what pharmaceutical companies are allowed to sponsor as far as education is concerned, so it may not be all that surprising.

 

[tiedyeddog]

No one will care. Don't worry about it.

 

[ShenanigansMD]

Hahaha...

Adcoms: [Reading controversial thesis] "Uh oh... he knows too much! REJECTION!!!!!"

But really dude, it sounds like an interesting topic to discuss during the interview.