RGK Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 In my previous post, I asked about whether the med school application process is fair or not........ In this post, I would like to ask about how relevant is the med school application process...... Don't you think that all of this med school application process is just a game ? Why did you volunteer during undergrad ? Is it because you really wanted to contribute to the community ? Why did you stop volunteering after you got accepted into med school ? Why did you go into research ? Did you really like the lab or did you do it because you thought it would look good on your application ? During the interview, did you give a sincere 100% honest answer to all questions ? Or did you just tell them what they wanted to hear even if you actually disagree with it ? Is the application process really measuring what it thinks it is measuring ? Does it really measure compassion or does it measure the ability to ACT like you are compassionate ? Don't you think that everybody is just playing the system to get in ? Getting into easy programs and taking easy courses just to secure a spot in med school / What is the point of all of this ? Your thoughts on this topic are much appreciated.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Are these posts really necessary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wartortle Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katakari Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 There is a battle between outcome and intent. For many, especially in accomplished subsets of individuals, intent becomes a way to rationalize dissonance between outcome and expectations (i.e. "I did it cause I love it" "I applied just for fun" "That person is a gunner, they would sacrifice their soul to get in to medical school"). Truly, outcome is the end game. I have coached individuals in this process and completely spun around their luck just by helping them change the way they present themselves. All attempts to assess intent generally fall by the wayside except in extreme cases of individuals who don't possess the ability to even act professional. Ask yourself this, who cares about intent? Is there a difference between being compassionate and acting compassionate? If your acting is spot on, you will not only seem compassionate, you will become compassionate yourself (by the fake it till you make it principle). How does anyone become compassionate without first acting that way regardless? Is every doctor truly empathetic to their patient when those patients are in situations the doctor themselves will never been in? What is the importance of intent then? In the end, you are accountable for yourself. Why put yourself through something you do not wish to do? Why do research you hate and community involvement you don't like simply to be pushed to do more of it in medical school, in residency, and in life beyond? That does not sound like a good life, even if you are respected by the community. For me, yes I "gamed" the system. While students were out leading countless clubs and organizations, I took on roles that I found were fun, made me money, or that I could do homework at. These roles sound incredibly selfish in the way I describe them, but they arguably provided just as much value to the community as well as afforded time for me to work on objective qualifiers such as GPA and MCAT. When it came time to apply, I spent hours on end selecting each word for my application essays and sketch, because no one can be there when you do these activities, they only see what you write about them. Work smarter, not harder. I really think doctors could benefit from getting off their "high horse" of prestige, empathy, what ever glory it is that they desire and start taking a lesson from business people, marketers and advertisers. Stop designing ways to assess if a student is compassionate or merely acts compassionate when the patient will see compassion either way. We are smart as scientists, but we get so wrapped up in this game that we can't properly play politics in the real world and miss out on the ability to argue for better wages, working conditions, and better patient outcomes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGK Posted February 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Are these posts really necessary? What's wrong with this post ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGK Posted February 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Just give me your opinion.....no need to shy away from sensitive topics.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGK Posted February 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 There is a battle between outcome and intent. For many, especially in accomplished subsets of individuals, intent becomes a way to rationalize dissonance between outcome and expectations (i.e. "I did it cause I love it" "I applied just for fun" "That person is a gunner, they would sacrifice their soul to get in to medical school"). Truly, outcome is the end game. I have coached individuals in this process and completely spun around their luck just by helping them change the way they present themselves. All attempts to assess intent generally fall by the wayside except in extreme cases of individuals who don't possess the ability to even act professional. Ask yourself this, who cares about intent? Is there a difference between being compassionate and acting compassionate? If your acting is spot on, you will not only seem compassionate, you will become compassionate yourself (by the fake it till you make it principle). How does anyone become compassionate without first acting that way regardless? Is every doctor truly empathetic to their patient when those patients are in situations the doctor themselves will never been in? What is the importance of intent then? In the end, you are accountable for yourself. Why put yourself through something you do not wish to do? Why do research you hate and community involvement you don't like simply to be pushed to do more of it in medical school, in residency, and in life beyond? That does not sound like a good life, even if you are respected by the community. For me, yes I "gamed" the system. While students were out leading countless clubs and organizations, I took on roles that I found were fun, made me money, or that I could do homework at. These roles sound incredibly selfish in the way I describe them, but they arguably provided just as much value to the community as well as afforded time for me to work on objective qualifiers such as GPA and MCAT. When it came time to apply, I spent hours on end selecting each word for my application essays and sketch, because no one can be there when you do these activities, they only see what you write about them. Work smarter, not harder. I really think doctors could benefit from getting off their "high horse" of prestige, empathy, what ever glory it is that they desire and start taking a lesson from business people, marketers and advertisers. Stop designing ways to assess if a student is compassionate or merely acts compassionate when the patient will see compassion either way. We are smart as scientists, but we get so wrapped up in this game that we can't properly play politics in the real world and miss out on the ability to argue for better wages, working conditions, and better patient outcomes. You gamed the system. This is exactly what I am talking about. When you talked about your EC's in your application, did you say '' I did them because I could write them on my CV plus they made me money'' or did you say '' I did these EC's because they meant the world to me'' ? I am not judging you and I have no right to do that I am just saying you were scored on what you said in your application not your real intentions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGK Posted February 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 If you are a rude person for example you can act like a sweetheart during the interview and still get in......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGrisham Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 What's wrong with this post ? It's something so existential and broad that it ultimately doesn't really serve a purpose lol, that's just my 2 cents. Welcome to life haha. If others want to partake in such a discussion than that is their choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katakari Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 You gamed the system. This is exactly what I am talking about. When you talked about your EC's in your application, did you say '' I did them because I could write them on my CV plus they made me money'' or did you say '' I did these EC's because they meant the world to me'' ? I am not judging you and I have no right to do that I am just saying you were scored on what you said in your application not your real intentions. I didn't say either because the first statement is unnecessary to the evaluation of my application -- all people work because they need to make money -- and the second statement is not true. I explained what I offered to the community through my extracurriculars -- things like helping a hospital program stay open late at night for parents, helping people get into university, providing one on one teaching time to students who need extra assistance etc. Both parties benefited from these experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvey Specter Posted February 28, 2015 Report Share Posted February 28, 2015 Don't you think that all of this med school application process is just a game ? Why did you volunteer during undergrad ? Is it because you really wanted to contribute to the community ? Why did you stop volunteering after you got accepted into med school ? Why did you go into research ? Did you really like the lab or did you do it because you thought it would look good on your application ? During the interview, did you give a sincere 100% honest answer to all questions ? Or did you just tell them what they wanted to hear even if you actually disagree with it ? Is the application process really measuring what it thinks it is measuring ? Does it really measure compassion or does it measure the ability to ACT like you are compassionate ? Don't you think that everybody is just playing the system to get in ? What is the point of all of this ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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