major red flag.....will this prevent me from matching?

[throwaway9999]

Hi all....I'm a regular poster on the forums but made this new account for obvious reasons. I would really appreciate any insight you have into my situation, especially from any of the PDs on here.

I'm currently a third year md student at a US school. During my time in med school, I went through the breakup of my engagement. I did not take this very well and my ex-fiance ended up filing for a protective order against me. I know for a fact that this shows up on any simple background check. The order references harassment and falls under the category of "domestic violence". I've taken full responsibility for my actions and poor judgment and have moved on, but I don't believe he will be willing to drop this at this point.

Will this be something I need to disclose on ERAS and do programs run a background check prior to sending out interview invites? Since this happened after medical school began, it wasn't something I dealt with through the amcas process. Also, how will this affect licensing in the future?

I am also concerned because I am planning to apply to pediatrics, and I wonder if peds PDs will perhaps think I am too unstable to work around children? My application will not be the strongest to begin with, as I had very average preclinical grades, average Step 1 score, etc.

Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer and please be as honest as possible. I've learned to handle criticism.

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[hamstergang]

The order references harassment and falls under the category of "domestic violence". I've taken full responsibility for my actions and poor judgment and have moved on

I have no actual knowledge about this situation, but I can't help but feeling that what you actually did makes a difference. I know that sometimes certain actions end up getting a title under the law that sounds overly harsh, but I can't tell if that's what actually happened with you or not.

 

[throwaway9999]

I have no actual knowledge about this situation, but I can't help but feeling that what you actually did makes a difference. I know that sometimes certain actions end up getting a title under the law that sounds overly harsh, but I can't tell if that's what actually happened with you or not.

A domestic violence restraining order can be filed if you were previously in a close relationship with someone and there was behavior including harassment such as unwanted phone calls, texts, emails, etc. We lived on different sides of the country when this all happened, so all the charges were based on me trying to contact him in these ways even after he had asked me to stop, and therefore it was very easy for him to produce the necessary evidence to qualify for this type of order. We never even saw each other in person besides the court hearing to grant the order, so no there was no physical violence involved, but the title that it falls under makes it very easy to assume that unfortunately.

 

[Smurfette]

It's hard to know for sure based on what you describe. The best answer is to consult an attorney about this and find out before you apply.

Did this show up on your school/hospital (or VA?) background checks after you started med school and did you have to explain it to your school? Or did you not have any background checks since you got in?

Most residency programs don't do a background check prior to interviews. An explanation of what happened is possibly all that will be needed, BUT, if your background isn't sufficiently clean for the policy of the hospital, it could mean you don't fulfill conditions of employment once they finally do a background check, which will be after you match. State licensing will also run a background check. The concern is for the implied violence that is often assumed with a restraining order (even though that is not the case as you described, expect to need to explain this and that you are not a danger to others). This doesn't mean you need to panic; it means you need to get advice from your lawyer and follow this advice from the beginning so there are no discrepancies in your documentation and that you don't appear to be hiding anything.

 

[throwaway9999]

It's hard to know for sure based on what you describe. The best answer is to consult an attorney about this and find out before you apply.

Did this show up on your school/hospital (or VA?) background checks after you started med school and did you have to explain it to your school? Or did you not have any background checks since you got in?

Most residency programs don't do a background check prior to interviews. An explanation of what happened is possibly all that will be needed, BUT, if your background isn't sufficiently clean for the policy of the hospital, it could mean you don't fulfill conditions of employment once they finally do a background check, which will be after you match. State licensing will also run a background check. The concern is for the implied violence that is often assumed with a restraining order (even though that is not the case as you described, expect to need to explain this and that you are not a danger to others). This doesn't mean you need to panic; it means you need to get advice from your lawyer and follow this advice from the beginning so there are no discrepancies in your documentation and that you don't appear to be hiding anything.

Thank you for your response and advice. I will definitely be consulting a lawyer soon before I apply. I haven't had any background checks run since I started school as far as I know, so this has never been brought up to me by my school, but I have been debating back and forth for awhile whether I should bring it up to my dean or not....

 

[throwaway9999]

Any other thoughts? If you were considering someone's application and found this, would it cause you to pass them over? @aProgDirector @IMPD ? Does anyone know how this could complicate licensing?

 

[throwaway9999]

bump....could the mods move this to another forum where it may get more traffic if this isn't the best place for it?

 

[Winged Scapula]

bump....could the mods move this to another forum where it may get more traffic if this isn't the best place for it?

1) it is not necessary to bump threads which appear on the opening page of a forum;

2) threads aren't moved to higher traffic forums just to generate a response but rather where they fit the best;

3) this is Spring Break in many places in the US so please consider that many regular users may be off or otherwise preoccupied and don't have the time to respond;

4) most importantly it is probably the case that most people just don't know the answer to your question, suggest that you see an attorney or figure "what's done is done" and there's not much that be done now

 

[colbgw02]

most importantly it is probably the case that most people just don't know the answer to your question, suggest that you see an attorney or figure "what's done is done" and there's not much that be done now

This. You're asking about a pretty specific set of circumstances that few of us are likely to be familiar with. It's a legal issue, which - pretty much by design - is convoluted and not intuitive to the lay public.

It's been a long time since I filled out ERAS, so I don't know what sort of questions they ask you. If it's not clear to you if you have to disclose it, then your best bet may be to take a copy of all of the legal jargon from ERAS to an attorney to let him/her decide. He/she may also be able to tell you if this will show up on a background check, or you could run one on yourself right before ERAS opens.

Regarding licensing, it's been my experience that states care about criminal offenses and civil litigation as it pertains to malpractice. I don't know how these sorts of things are classified, but if you don't know, then that's another question for an attorney.

The worst case scenario might be if you (rightly) don't disclose on ERAS, but then it appears on a background check. If a hospital gets scared or if this disqualifies you from employment, then you'll be stuck without a job after the match. In that case, you may choose to disclose to programs (even if it's just in your personal statement and at the interviews), so that there shouldn't be any surprises. But again, I don't think you can make these decisions until you know the legal category of this order and its likelihood of being uncovered.

 

[naus]

This is not a criminal offense, it's neither a felony nor a misdemeanor. Nor were you arrested. I would simply not mention it at all on your ERAS form. From your description, this is pretty minor in the scheme of things. There are doctors with repeated DUIs still practicing with their license, and that's a felony in many states. If you have money to spare, I would still consult a lawyer just in case, but if I were in your shoes, I would absolutely not mention it on my ERAS.

 

[HooliganSnail]

I agree with the above poster. The questions that appeared on my license application asked about criminal convictions. They specifically stated they were doing a background check for criminal convictions. That means you committed a crime, went to trial, and had a decision go against you. You have not done anything wrong.
I am sorry about your break-up. It sounds really harsh.

On another note, even if the subject somehow came out, most people understand that the things people do/say about each other during break-ups/divorces are hardly hard facts.

This is not a red flag. This will not prevent you from getting a medical license.

 

[sprin001]

I'd be interest to know how this plays out. WCS - you have to explain yourself and think about the whole situation again.

 

[BlondeDocteur]

In answer to your first question: in ERAS and in all of the subsequent credentialing paperwork you will have to fill out for the rest of your career, you do not have to voluntarily disclose the restraining order. It is not a criminal offense. As others mentioned, voluntary disclosure is related to criminal offenses, prior irregularities leading to prior licensure suspension/revocation, a history of mental illness, a history of drug/alcohol addiction, and current prescription medication usage which impairs your judgment and makes you unable to function as a physician.

However, whether or not it comes up on a background check depends on the thoroughness of your employer's background check contractor. All of them will check the national criminal, sex offender and Homeland Security databases. In addition they will usually check the county criminal databases in the counties in which you have recently lived. Very few employers will bother to check the family & civil court system, which is where your restraining order will be recorded. They can, but it would be extremely expensive and low-yield, so most don't.

Just don't violate that restraining order and make it into a criminal matter. Then you're screwed.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I agree. This does not need to be disclosed. However, even if you did, I do not think it would really affect much. It was situational, did not involve physical violence, and is over. No one will really care.