Writing about war in residency Personal Statement

[dendrites]

One of the guys I work with is a foreign graduate and applying to general surgery residences. He was telling me how he volunteered in war torn areas of the middle east as a surgeon and I told him that would be a great and interesting topic to include in his personal statement. However, he is hesitant to write about this in order to avoid any biases from the readers.

Any opinions on this matter??

Thanks!

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[JMK2005]

What biases is he worred about? Discrimination you mean?

 

[3dee]

oops

 

[dendrites]

yes...discrimination

when israel was bombing gaza in 2008 he was helping the injured palestinians.... its clear that there is a bias in the US media about the Israel/Palestine

 

[JMK2005]

It is certainly a concern, but it seems his story would be compelling enough to write about. I would hope that people in medicine look past the politics and focus on the humanitarian aspects of what he did.

I'd say include it.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Might not go over big at Albert Einstein, but otherwise, I agree its a compelling story.

But if he were nervous, he doesn't have to give details, or can obscure some of them.

 

[dendrites]

yeah i was telling him to focus only on the humanitarian side and his patients/medical because i think its a really unique and courageous experience that will set him apart from everyone else.

However, i know that field of medicine is pretty conservative. Even if he doesnt mention which side he was on,they can always ask about details of the experience in the interview, right?

I guess I wont encourage him to write about it because hes a FMG and already at a huge disadvantage.... better safe than sorry, right??

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

Hmm, I'd like to say that people are not petty with their biases, but whenever you have a sensitive situation you're taking a risk when it comes to who's reviewing the application. That applies to any conflict (e.g. Vietnam vs. Cambodia, but how many Cambodians/Vietnamese do we have in medicine - not that many?). Remember that there are many people of Muslim/Arab background and Jewish background in medicine, some who care deeply about the Mid East situation, and there are many people who belong to neither of the above-mentioned groups who have equally strong views on the Mid East.

I would sanitize the essay of any political or place reference and try not to give details unless specifically asked in an interview. I don't think what's key here is who's bombing whom. What's key is that he worked in a trauma situation in constrained conditions in which many people were coming in with very serious injuries. That's what's key here.