Do Not Pass Go
This is a response to a repost in this subreddit from another subreddit.
This is where well-bred kicks in. Let me educate you. Your comment section says, “I know you lurk here”. Oh my, dear, I do not make a habit of taking peeks at other people’s houses. I only try to keep my house clean.
But let me ask you this: I posted my “rant” (as the flair called it) on my tribe's subreddit, yet it somehow found its way to you. Between the two of us, who is the lurker? Had it not been posted in this subreddit, I would not have even known you took the time out of your busy schedule to respond to my post. Thank you for taking the time. I was going to post about the activities we are having, and this lovely piece of prose came my way. Since you took it out of your house and let everyone see it, I'd like to respond to you.
For the record, we were never a monopoly. There were always other RCs who gave medical reviews. Apart from that, universities conducted in-house reviews. A very prestigious pontifical school had an excellent review program that, unfortunately, was only open to its graduates. Nevertheless, their notes were very sought after. Sort of like how our notes are used by students enrolled in different institutions, even without our permission. Tsk Tsk. It is the height of hubris for you to believe that the RC you are affiliated with is the only one to ever offer a program alongside ours. It also comes across as dismissive toward the other RCs, suggesting that you and I are the only ones in this game. Did you really think you were the game changer? You can’t break a monopoly when there is no monopoly. No Boardwalk and Park Place for you.
It is not “ill-bred” to compare RCs. It is “ill-bred” to prop one up by pushing another down. In all the years that the other RC and TN have been around, we have never bad-mouthed each other. There is a code of ethics among colleagues that we do not put one another down. We have co-existed peacefully because of that. We discuss how we have improved our program, introduced new innovations, and met students' needs. We have never said that RC was sub-par compared to us, and this is the big difference; we have never encouraged any of our students to talk that way.
That is the etiquette test that you did not pass.
Don’t be afraid of the term “well-bred”. It’s an attainable goal. I’m sure your parents wanted that for you. Keep trying.
We do not deal in fear. We proactively alleviate fears by preparing our students mentally and emotionally. We have gone above and beyond expectations by providing you with mental health support and emotional companionship while you study. We have made adjustments to our program and how we run it based on the feedback of both successful students and those whose success has been delayed. We do not sell you fear. We help you address it with your eyes open. Here’s the thing: medical academics do not end with your license. You require further study, further training, and endless hours of study and work hand in hand. Those who trusted and followed our program say that the fortitude they developed during the hours of study prepared them for residency. We want to contribute to growth. We want to contribute to excellence. We do not sell fear. We just try to make our students see what excellent doctors they can become.
Our programs have a clear, structured schedule with mental health breaks between activities throughout the day and the week. I have no idea where 12 hours of straight lecture come from. I can only assume some people do not attend our synchronous lectures and have not listened to our instructions on how to optimize the program. That’s up to you. But you don’t get to say my program is too hard, inefficient, or ineffective. You didn’t do it, how do you know it doesn’t work?
I’m not anyone’s savior. We help students to save themselves. They’re the ones taking the exam. They’re the ones who will be excellent doctors, or the kind of doctors who need to push colleagues down to feel better about themselves.
But when one keeps quiet and the only ones that talk sell one story, that is the story that gets believed. You say you believe with your own eyes and your results. Then look. Really look. Tell me that in the time you were preparing for the boards, you never read any of my notes or watched any of my videos. Look around you. Look at the people who studied with you.
Lastly, I leave you with something I crafted recently. I don't know why the need to make several of these compelled me to make plushies and now I know why.
Minions are creatures that have tunnel vision that mimics good or bad behavior.
Turns out, I can crochet and still run a kick-ass program. I guess my training is solid, too.
