Don't let resume padding cloud your judgement

Silhouette Opinions Contributor
The Silhouette

You are walking through the University Hall arch homecoming evening as you hear a muffled “EFRT” and all of a sudden –OUCH.

You’ve been hit.

Bewildered, you look around, catching a glimpse of a girl repositioning her footing on her bicycle and riding off. You later learn she was a participant of McMaster Students Union’s Emergency First Response Team orientation weekend, a competitive selection process where only the very best make the team.

Waiting for an X-ray the next day, you grapple with the thought of a potential emergency first aid responder running you over and failing to respond to your need for emergency first aid.

It’s no secret that a medical school application must be impressive to stand out from a sea of hopefuls. A myriad of volunteer commitments, leadership positions, awards and research experiences are staples in competitive CVs. These are wonderful opportunities for personal growth beyond the classroom and for potential improvements in our community. But how many of these experiences are truly meaningful and compassion-driven?

The slogan “this will look great on a resume” is a marketing strategy that has become ubiquitous when trying to recruit students into clubs and organizations. Many of us, in our attempts to amp our resume, end up making tedious and half-hearted attempts at dozens of activities.

Dabbling here and there, however, to satisfy a quota for an application does not leave a lasting impact on us. Nor on our community. Worse, being so single-mindedly fixated on the achievement can harm those around us in the process.

None of this, however, is apparent from the eloquently worded statement on a resume.

Medicine and compassion are inextricable. Yet, in our frenzy of resume development, we sometimes let the greater purpose slip away; the goal of one day becoming a professional capable of helping and caring for people. How many of our accomplishments are undertaken to develop ourselves and enrich our community? And how much of it is done to sway the hand of an administrator seated behind a stack of applications in a few years?

We should be wary of getting so swept up on our journeys to medical school that we become callous to our surroundings. After all, the greatest of doctors are passionate, dedicated and compassionate. Building our preconceived notions of a great application with the absence of these qualities can veer us away from being great physicians later.

From one medical school hopeful to another: on your road to doctorhood, watch out for pedestrians.