Writing about Poor Clinical Experience?

[Saintman41]

I'm finishing up my AACOMAS application. Overall, I feel pretty good about what I have in my application except for one activity as an MA. In the description I talked about how the provider's leadership wasn't the best due to high employee turnover, poor treatment of employees, and upset patients. I did not write this with intentions of speaking poorly of the provider. She's brilliant when it comes to her knowledge, but her delivery of care isn't the best. Is this a red flag to adcoms?

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[DrFutureDO]

Why not turn it positive and write what you learned during the experience… how you grew! No one in medicine wants to read another negative story about healthcare.

 

[DJKitty]

I wouldn't do this.... Now that I'm finally on the attending side of things I think there are many things that are much more complex than students realize. Sometimes a provider is doing the best that they can in a not-so-supportive or frankly toxic environment/health care system. You could generalize it a bit and talk about the challenges inherent in today's health system, but I wouldn't single out an individual. Just my two cents. Good luck with your application cycle

 

[Goro]

I'm finishing up my AACOMAS application. Overall, I feel pretty good about what I have in my application except for one activity as an MA. In the description I talked about how the provider's leadership wasn't the best due to high employee turnover, poor treatment of employees, and upset patients. I did not write this with intentions of speaking poorly of the provider. She's brilliant when it comes to her knowledge, but her delivery of care isn't the best. Is this a red flag to adcoms?

Never, ever throw a clinician under the bus.

 

[chilly_md]

I'm finishing up my AACOMAS application. Overall, I feel pretty good about what I have in my application except for one activity as an MA. In the description I talked about how the provider's leadership wasn't the best due to high employee turnover, poor treatment of employees, and upset patients. I did not write this with intentions of speaking poorly of the provider. She's brilliant when it comes to her knowledge, but her delivery of care isn't the best. Is this a red flag to adcoms?

The description you used has nothing to do with you, and serves no purpose other than to criticize someone else.

 

[Kardio]

I'm finishing up my AACOMAS application. Overall, I feel pretty good about what I have in my application except for one activity as an MA. In the description I talked about how the provider's leadership wasn't the best due to high employee turnover, poor treatment of employees, and upset patients. I did not write this with intentions of speaking poorly of the provider. She's brilliant when it comes to her knowledge, but her delivery of care isn't the best. Is this a red flag to adcoms?

I wouldn’t include any mention of the provider’s poor leadership. True or not, you will come across as possessing an array of unfavorable personality traits. Your application is your sales pitch, but you need to sell yourself without tearing other people down.

 

[hallowmann]

I'm finishing up my AACOMAS application. Overall, I feel pretty good about what I have in my application except for one activity as an MA. In the description I talked about how the provider's leadership wasn't the best due to high employee turnover, poor treatment of employees, and upset patients. I did not write this with intentions of speaking poorly of the provider. She's brilliant when it comes to her knowledge, but her delivery of care isn't the best. Is this a red flag to adcoms?

Its a redflag in that you wrote it. No one will care what the "provider" did or did not do, they'll care that you wrote it criticizing your boss. You should be talking about things that gave you growth (e.g. working with limited resources, navigating workplace tension, navigating patients frustration, etc). You should never be criticizing someone you're working with. Talk about how you helped them navigate x, y, z. Talk about how you made the clinic better, etc. You want people to come out of reading it with positive feelings, not potentially negative ones.