I field questions from clients about how to identify themselves racially and ethnically on their applications, and as diversity becomes a more prominent priority for many academic institutions, this issue will come up more often. The New York Times Ethicist answers an interesting moral dilemma posed by a medical school applicant in a recent column. Enjoy.
Blog Archives
Flaunting our Failures?
The New York Times had a recent, thought-provoking article for perfectionists, overachievers, those with impostor syndrome, and any combination of the above. “Do you Keep a Failure Resume?” is a great reminder that chronicling our failures (something that isn’t encouraged in medicine) can help us determine what the operational roadblocks were to our successes so that we avoid those obstacles in the future. (Perhaps the issue was lack of preparation or speeding through a project unnecessarily.) Reviewed in retrospect, an “anti-portfolio” is also a good reminder that a failure is sometimes the first step to a success in another realm.
Tags: Failure, New York Times, Portfolio, Resume
Do No Harm
I recommend reading this piece in Emergency Medicine News by Dr. Graham Walker. He writes about a physician colleague who recently committed suicide. The article notes that anesthesiologists and surgeons are the most likely to die by suicide, and emergency physicians come next in the specialties.
As a follow up, this NYT piece on physician suicide is also worth a read – old but still relevant. Sadly, it notes that pre-meds enter medical training with mental health profiles similar to those of their peers but end up experiencing depression at greater rates.
I’ve written about depression in doctors before and would like to reinforce the importance and urgency of seeking professional help for depressed clinicians.
Paralympic-Medalist Physician Asks to be Recognized for her Tremendous Abilities, Not her Wheelchair
Check out this well-written New York Times piece by Dr. Cheri Blauwet, an American wheelchair racer (Paralympic and Olympic medal winner) and physician in PM&R. I’m sure Dr. Blauwet’s assertions are true about bias among patients, colleagues, and admissions officers: In my career, I’ve met very few doctor colleagues with overt physical disabilities.
Tags: Medical School, New York Times, PM&R, residency
Working for Satisfaction, $, or Both?
Here’s a thoughtful New York Times article on work satisfaction, the influence of compensation on decision-making, and human motivation that has many applications to a career in medicine.
Tags: Doctors, New York Times
Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more
