Race

guys, play nice in the sand box. redbull, we all seek others in our field who relate. race and gender are the easiest notable attributes that may bind 2 people from shared experiences. other shared experiences like where you grew up, went to college, or medical school, also link 2 people who otherwise do not know each other.

as fare as race, i have avoided this question because it is a hot button topic. for all of the majority students. the application pool for the underrepresented minorities (URM) and women is small. just playing the odds, you are more likely to be directly to be competing with a a majority student than a URM or woman.

here is a recent article that discusses the numbers. www.jaaos.org/cgi/content/full/15/suppl_1/S37

interesting, thanks for that article and perspective

i must be honest, comments like redbulls are annoying and to me shows a true lack of perspective. That is just me, obviously i am biased.

Will not touch the topic again, always a hot one no matter where it is addressed. Annoying was not my intent, but I can see how you perceived it as such. My background is probably very different than you imagine but this is not the place. So, no more posts on the topic from me.

redbull, I am sorry if i came across harsh. I think you had a good question and I proably snapped at you, with out taking time to really answer your question. I am sure there are some things I could ask you, really not knowing, that could upset you. I apoligize for responding with emotion and not rational. Best of luck with everything man

Ok I will play.
Does it matter?? YES
in what way (positive vs negative) is often region and mostly program specific...............of which i will not mention
the need for diversity in medicine is no longer a question of debate..........the need is a fact. Look at the patient population then look at the field of Ortho........shouldn't the faces of this field be atleast half as diverse. Last time i checked there were less than 1.5% African american and hispanic minority ortho pods and just under 3% females.....comeon its 2008.
The flaw is not solely on the programs themselves. The simple fact is that there are so few minority applicants in the pool and If you were a minority on the trail this year you know what I mean. So if you were a minority female.......you were rare like a black pearl.
The reality of the situation for those at the beginning of the thread is IF you didn't make it past the screen because of your "race" then you DONT want to be at that program anyway regardless of how bad you "just wanna match"....if they dont TRULY want you....your life will be hell or you will wash out the program.
In this whole process you can't waste sleep wondering WHY you didnt get an interview....there is really no method to this madness. Do i think some might have weaned me out for unfair reasons such as gender or ethnicity ........sure but they also weaned me out because of my school or who wrote my letter, or because i rotated/interviewed at their rival school or my lack of hobbies/interests they could relate to. It's crazy.
I also have been rejected at places where i know of males of same and different race with lower scores, less research, less extra-curr, etc who DID get an interview.......of course you feel bitter but it is what it is, somethings aren't worth your mental energy thinking about.

Some people are just uncomfortable with change, some are stuck in tradition, and some are afraid of what is unfamiliar and different but it is 2008 and hopefully one day we will no longer have to have this discussion.

I would love to reapply next year with my same application as my true self,as a white female, a white male, a hispanic female and a black male and see which version of me gets interviews where. It would truly be something to see.
To end, for those of you who share my tan or that extra X chromosome u know that the unfortunate and sad reality is you have always had to work harder and always defend yourself because no matter how good and smart you are, how neutral, loveable, dependable and down to earth you are, too often you have been second guessed, your dedication/motivation questioned and have the feeling that someone somewhere is waiting for you to mess up to prove their stereotype of you right.

When deciding to play a game you must know the environment in which you are playing. Ortho is a competetive and biased one. Simply put, You can't expect to play football and not get hit....sometimes hard. Whether everyone is playing fair or not does not matter because too many aren't. You can't try to understand or spend your time complaining about whose not.........instead you find a strong team with great players who plays fair.

Ortho is a great field to say the least and everyone deserves a piece of the pie. It's hard ball for everyone majority and minority alike........some just unfairly start out as underdogs.