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Is anyone concerned about how living with a chronic illness might impact you in med school?
Doglover4fever said:Is anyone concerned about how living with a chronic illness might impact you in med school?
Gabby said:I have an autoimmune disease and I'm extremely concerned. My own doctor is very supportive though. When I told him what I wanted to do but that I was worried that my illness would hurt me, he told me that there was nothing I couldn't do and that he'd be there every time I flare to get it under control.
Now I just have to go to a med school in my state to make sure I get to keep him as my doctor. LOL
akaz said:You will be alright. Some of us have epilepsy...others, lupus.
an1s said:Not to hijack or anything, but this is very close to a question I've had recently...for those of you who have gone through the cycle, did you include a rec from your physician? Mine wants to write a LOR first talking about his experience with me and how I would be a great doctor, but then basically telling them that I have his full support and am medically stable and physically able to become a doc. Any thoughts?
an1s said:Another one over here. I have a chronic pain disease...not too much fun, either. I've finally gotten the thing under control, though, with determination, a great doc, and a spinal cord stimulator. Unfortunately, that wasn't before the surgeries and such affected the GPA.
Not to hijack or anything, but this is very close to a question I've had recently...for those of you who have gone through the cycle, did you include a rec from your physician? Mine wants to write a LOR first talking about his experience with me and how I would be a great doctor, but then basically telling them that I have his full support and am medically stable and physically able to become a doc. Any thoughts?
Hang in there, guys; and congratulations on being fighters!
marctam86 said:marfan syndrome, but thankfully, a very mild form of it. hard to find pants my size, though.
beary said:I just finished med school and have pretty bad heart disease. I did well in school and am going to a great pathology residency, but I must say I feel like I hardly made it. Med school is not forgiving. Even if you have to have major emergency surgery or something, you WILL have to make up the days. People will be understanding and be nice to you about it, but the rotation schedule is tight. It's very different than college - I missed practically an entire semester once and got a 4.0 from making up the work. I had a few surgeries and hospitalizations through med school and it incredibly added to the stress - both of med school and of being sick. I bet one more hospitalization would have delayed my graduation a year.
I am not trying to freak you folks out at all - I am just being honest about my experiences. It is something to consider. When I was applying in college, I had this "I can do anything!" attitude. But I have learned that that is not true. You can be too sick sometimes to do something no matter how important it is to you.
Another thing - a few of you mentioned talking about your illnesses in your LOR or PS. I would discourage this - unless your illness caused you to miss time in school, or significantly affected your grades - and then only if it is fixed. You are all right about knowing what patients go through, and being empathetic, but med school is competitive and it seems like everybody is smart, hard-working, and physically fit and you don't want to bring up a reason that you may have trouble in school. If it's in your record, you have to address it - but if not, I would leave it. Just my 2 cents.
Best wishes and good health to you all.
Doglover4fever said:I am glad to hear you have done well. However, I think some of your advice is incorrect, and does not apply to every situation. I never missed a single lecture in 4 years as a result of my diabetes, and I maintained a 3.8+ GPA. I still talked about my illness in my personal statement because it is one of the reasons I am motivated towards medicine. I discussed how successful I have been in managing it, and how even though it has been a major obstacle, I feel confident in my abilities (and I think I have proven myself capable by my performance thus far). I have been accepted at two really good schools, and I am waitlisted at another that frankly I was surprised to even get an interview at. I have had several interviewers tell me that they think my story is inspirational. I get really sick and tired of people coming on here saying that we should HIDE our illnesses, even if they are not compromising our ability to perform. I understand that your experience may have been difficult, but please stop discouraging people on here from doing something that may actually help their chances of getting in.
an1s said:Another one over here. I have a chronic pain disease
Gabby said:I'm actually going to be shadowing my rheumatologist starting in July. I'd love for him to write me an LOR, talking about the shadowing and also about my physical health since I'm sure adcoms will at least wonder about whether or not I can handle the rigors of med school.
RandomGuy said:I don't think that hiding it is appropriate, but flaunting it may not be the best choice either.
beary said:I 100% agree with your post. I always discourage folks from putting their personal medical info in their PS, but that doesn't mean you're "hiding" it.
Best wishes to you for your health and career.
RandomGuy said:I struggled for a while as to whether or not I wanted to discuss the fact that I have Crohn's Disease when applying to medical school. At first I intended on writing my personal statement about my experiences with the illness, which is really what guided me toward pursuing a medical career. However, many doctors discouraged me from doing so, because they said it might create the impression that I am not physically capable of the rigors of medical school. Ultimately, I decided to take their advice, and avoided discussing it my primary and secondary applications.
In making that choice, I suppose that I took more of a realist than an idealist approach. On the one hand, adversity can make us more compassionate and even better doctors. It can even be the original inspiration for a medical career. On the other hand, medical school and the medical profession exact a physical toll, which can be more significant for people whose health is more vulnerable to stress. The uncomfortable truth about chronic illnesses is that they really can "compromise our ability to perform." My illness is under excellent control, but not everyone with Crohn's or other chronic illnesses is this lucky. Many people have to go to the hospital every few weeks when their disease flares up. These are considerations that admissions officers may take seriously, and though it is difficult for me to say this, perhaps rightly so.
My personal suggestion for those who are beginning the application process now is to tread a careful ground with this issue. It can help, but it can hurt. You can write an essay about how you have triumphed over your illness in the recent past, but that doesn't necessarily ensure that it won't become an issue in five or ten years. Doctors, particularly, are aware of this. I warmly applaud all of you who have struggled against adversity to make it this far in your academic career. But I think it is important to remember that chronic illness is not something to wave away. I don't think that hiding it is appropriate, but flaunting it may not be the best choice either.
Duchess742 said:hmm, i'd like to know what lizzy m's take on this issue is.... how do adcoms view applicants who have chronic illnesses?
lynn623la said:I keep hearing about his Lizzy M. I want to meet her!
swim2006 said:I am also a member of the gi chronic disorder group. I have had major concerns over whether I would be able to take proper care of myself while in med school esp. during the 3rd and 4th years. The other thing is that my gi thinks my problem is related to a virus I got but there is no way to be sure until a couple of years down the road (and I have had this condition since my freshman year of college and I just graduated). I have to watch my diet and when I eat and how stressed out I get. So I definitely have had my doubts but both my gi and pcp have been encouraging and done their best to figure out ways to counter different problems. The other problem is that with gastroparesis I tend to get sick more freq. But I'm not ready to give up yet. If I could make it through college with this chronic disease and some other problems pop (emergencey appy, lap. choley, mono, vertigo, pneumonia, and strep) down 2 organs means I can't have those problems again and I cant get mono again so hopefully it will just be dealing with the chronic disease.
As far as adcoms goes, In one interview I was asked about it because my gallbladder cause major problems and my gpa suffered my soph year. At my second interview it did not come up at all except me stating that it was one reason that I became more interested in medicine after many ortho problems. I was waitlisted at that school and that is my only acceptance but I don't believe that the illness was the reason for not gaining an acceptance (I am thinking it was due to some inconsistancies between by ps and my activities). If I am not admitted off the waitlist I am going to work on a master's in epi and work on geting things under better control esp the new diets I am supposed to try to keep fatigue low.
It is always nice to hear that other people in similar situations make it through medical school (esp since my condition alone should not cause any hopsitalization).
Having people around that understand what it is like to deal with a chronic disease makes dealing with it easier. A group that can give tips about how to deal approach different situations is great.
beary said:...
Another thing - a few of you mentioned talking about your illnesses in your LOR or PS. I would discourage this - unless your illness caused you to miss time in school, or significantly affected your grades - and then only if it is fixed. You are all right about knowing what patients go through, and being empathetic, but med school is competitive and it seems like everybody is smart, hard-working, and physically fit and you don't want to bring up a reason that you may have trouble in school. If it's in your record, you have to address it - but if not, I would leave it. Just my 2 cents.
Best wishes and good health to you all.