Posted for a member:

Hello,
I am currently a practicing lawyer. In college I was a pre-medical student and did well (3.85+ GPA cumulative, BS in biology). I made a rash decision and went to law school for various reasons, and in my first year there I was suspended for a year (it was for academic dishonesty, basically).

I was accepted by the bar and my law firm notwithstanding what was on my record. I have been working as a lawyer in good standing for several years now and want to grow into a physician. I feel like it is the ultimate fit for me. I have been very successful as a lawyer, but I feel like I can do and contribute more as a physician.

My questions are as follows, and I sincerely appreciate your feedback:

1) How will the academic disciplinary action be viewed by medical schools?

2) How will it realistically affect my application?

3) What I can do to prove that I have learned and grown, and to otherwise show I am a qualified candidate?

I'm curious what insight you may have. I am OK with you being brutally honest.

Thank you VERY much. This website is truly a valuable service that you provide.

This is tough to answer as you haven't told us enough about what happened, how long ago it was, etc. However, it will be a major red flag. Nonetheless, with good letters and with the evidence of what you've done since, I do not think it would be an absolute deal-breaker. I think you might want to have a talk with an admissions dean and tell them the whole story and see how they react.

In the professions, there is respect between boards. If you are admitted to the bar of a state, that is similar to being licensed as a doctor. What that gives you is an affirmative log of ethical behavior.

Patterns are key - if you've made a mistake, learned from it, and moved on, and have walked the "straight and narrow" since then, it's in the same vein as academics. What you MUST do, though, is show insight, remorse, and that you've advanced.

The issue that will be raised would probably go as such: "If you've cheated in the past, how can your work in a similar professional environment be trusted?" Now, there's the perspective of being an attorney: give a lawyer answer, and you're shot down. Period. Interviewers are doctors first, and, if there's a hint of BS, you're out.

Law licensing authorities are very serious about previous academic dishonesty and legal issues. I can't imagine OP's transgression several years ago being serious enough to deny a medical license when the OP was able to be licensed as an attorney just a few years after the incident occurred.

Basically a non-issue unless you make it one. Lawyers are both good and careful with words ( the good ones anyway). You can handle it if it arises.