Advice for an aspiring burner doctor

[realitymama]

Hello fellow burners,

I have been running a theme camp for the last 6 years and as such am heavily involved in the Burning Man community. I am now applying to medical school. I am wondering if I should list my leadership experience with burning man on my medical school application or if it is considered too taboo by admissions committees.

In addition, I would love to hear stories from other medical professionals on the playa, how you make the pilgrimage work with your medical practice.

Thanks and much love,

Reality Mama

[Captain Goddammit]

Medical schools tend to be very conservative.
I wouldn't even mention you ever went.

[kittyrodriguez]

Of course it ultimately depends on how conservative your school is, but I think it could be beneficial in demonstrating your well-roundedness. If you have a diverse resume, adding something else that showcases your leadership abilities could be favorable.

You could soften the extremity of it by phrasing things carefully. Perhaps don't mention it by name, just mention that you organize and are responsible for "blank" number of people in a harsh environment and that it required you to do A, B. and C.

I have not applied to medical school, but I did go through the law school application process (and was accepted). With the sheer quantity of applicants, sometimes it can be advantageous to stand out.

Do note, though, that this is merely my opinion, and perhaps it would behoove you to seek the advice of an admissions advisor.

[lumusislight]

"A common mistake that students make when they are trying to sound smarter is the boasting part; while I domyhomework projects, I try to be as shy as I can imagine myself in a new era of an artist."- Douglas Adams

I guess all academic institutions tend to be too conservative and picky when it comes to an application letter. I was rejected several times, when I applied to a medical college, and then I just deleted all the information about the Burning Man community and voila: I got accepted at Illinois Central College (I chose the Medical Assistant Program). So yes, not everyone wants to hear about the Burning Man experience. I don't know why though.

[IamtheREALpacman]

4th year US MD student here. I talked about it in my application and I strongly encourage you to do so as well. I was very involved with the Zendo project, which is easy to sell to ADCOMS because it's a mental health support space, and I applied to medical school because I wan to be a psychiatrist. I also had psychedelic research on my resume which I discussed openly.

Applying to med school is a game of trying to stand out from the very crowded field. There are tens of thousands of bio majors with basic science research on their med school apps, but not many people were able to organize infrastructure to have 30+ people survive in the desert while giving back to the community. The key with controversial EC's is to speak about them intelligently, hide the unsultry parts, and discuss how the experience will make you a better leader and a more empathetic physician.

(Edit: this all assumes that the rest of your app is well rounded and solid. This can't be your only EC.)

That all said, if there are easily findable photos of you at burning man on line, I would see that these cease to exist.

Please feel free to DM me, I'm happy to chat. I remember being in your shoes!

[meganhawkins]

Hey there! I'm not a doctor but I'm also related to the medical sphere, as I'm studying in nursing school at the moment, so let me share some insights for future students. Be ready that this major requires not only dealing with various paper writing but also understanding the principal values together with relevant skills of becoming a healthcare professional. To pass your interview, you'll have to answer some questions, you can find a list of the main ones here: https://www.nursingpaper.com/questions/. Knowing all of that, you'll be able to prove to the admission officers that you're a perfect match for this school! Good luck!