New non-trad member

[Venice]

Hello everyone.. I am planning to apply for 1st year medicine in 2010.

Obviously I am non-traditional-student wannabe. I had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder plus obsessive compulsive disorder when I was 22. I was literally bed-bound for a few years. I am now 28, and have recovered.

If there is any merit about being obsessive compulsive, it would be that it never allows you to quit once you are obsessed with doing a certain thing. My obsession with "reading of the law" had allowed me to complete a LLB degree with upper second class honours from the University of London while I was extremely depressed.

I am currently preparing to write my personal statement (aka "reasons for entering medicine") and I am not sure if I should disclose my past illness and how it changed my perspective on certain things and values. (Not sure if relying on how mental illness had changed the way I think and motivated me to study medicine would be beneficial or detrimental in my application) I am also feeling a bit overwhelmed by the ultra-competitive nature of medicine.

Anyhow, it would be great to see how other non-trad students are doing and coping
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[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

I'm not familiar enough with obsessive compulsive to answer in a clinical way, but would suggest that if you refer to this at all in the personal statement, it be in a general sense rather than specifically stating that you have a mental illness. It'd be impossible to get an honest answer as to if there is prejudice about this or not among admissions offices, but if you bring it up, there may be some negative action related to getting into med school.

As a reference point, legally in the US, schools cannot discriminate on the basis of age. This was somewhat a concern for me being mid-30's, given it'll be 10 years until i'm fully trained. A number of admissions committees I spoke with mentioned that, although not a concern for me, it would be a concern if a 55 yr old were to apply. Practical response, albeit not quite legal. Prejudice exists, you just may not hear about it.

 

[punkiedad]

The world is shades of GRay right? not black and white. I would say I am OCD, but it depends on the DEGREE of OCD. If I open up the dishwasher and rearrange it because my wife and kids have jammed things into it, I am called OCD. If I make sure everything is picked up, even though nothing is mine, then I am OCD. When I am cooking dinner and I actually put things away and wash them as they are used, I am OCD......In my view, this is just being detail oriented, not OCD. Or maybe it is just controlled OCD.......My point is, in order to be a physician, you have to be a little OCD don't you? Those lingering facts, that cause you to continue digging to find the true diagnosis, the detail oriented charts (so nice men don't come in clean your office after being deposed), etc......

I am a drug rep until I start school in July. Have a couple Doctors that I have shared these OCD stories about. Everyone agrees, a controlled obsessive person is just a stickler for details......Now Jack Nicholson in that one movie (can't think of the damn name) where he keeps locking and unlocking the doors and can't eat at the restaurant unless he brings his own silverware, etc, that is over the edge......

As far as ADCOMS, I don't know your whole story, so I hesitate to give specific advice, but, in general, life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you handle it. So you were depressed...took some time to figure out.....got help....picked yourself up.....got into med school......sounds like you have a good story, though the devil is in the details. Exactly what details you shre of your story is up to you.

Don't be afraid to share general stories though. I only interviewed at one school and they were incredible about not only understanding about family and my story of what lead me to start med school at 38, but were also interested in me not just my stats.

Good luck to you.

 

[student1799]

......Now Jack Nicholson in that one movie (can't think of the damn name) where he keeps locking and unlocking the doors and can't eat at the restaurant unless he brings his own silverware, etc, that is over the edge......

I remember that movie: "As Good as it Gets." It came out about 10 years ago. My husband is OCD (though not in the same way), so we found Nicholson's character pretty funny.

 

[Scottish Chap]

Hello everyone.. I am planning to apply for 1st year medicine in 2010.

Obviously I am non-traditional-student wannabe. I had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder plus obsessive compulsive disorder when I was 22. I was literally bed-bound for a few years. I am now 28, and have recovered.

If there is any merit about being obsessive compulsive, it would be that it never allows you to quit once you are obsessed with doing a certain thing. My obsession with "reading of the law" had allowed me to complete a LLB degree with upper second class honours from the University of London while I was extremely depressed.

I am currently preparing to write my personal statement (aka "reasons for entering medicine") and I am not sure if I should disclose my past illness and how it changed my perspective on certain things and values. (Not sure if relying on how mental illness had changed the way I think and motivated me to study medicine would be beneficial or detrimental in my application) I am also feeling a bit overwhelmed by the ultra-competitive nature of medicine.

Anyhow, it would be great to see how other non-trad students are doing and coping
​

It's never a good idea to use OCD or depression as a major theme for a medical school admissions essay. This is the kind of stuff that makes you a compassionate physician and an asset to patients once you've beaten it but, honestly, some adcoms will use any excuse to eliminate another applicant from the massive pool. So many factors go into deciding who gets an interview, and so discrimination may be unfair, but it will be totally undetected in this case. Best to keep a medical school admissions essay positive. Good luck, and congratulations on earning a 2.1 LLB!

 

[Helen Wheels]

This is just my opinion but having worked in mental health for over a decade I would not specifically mention the OCD or depression in your apps/interview. Unfortunately, stigma against mental illness still exists, even amongst informed people. In addition to that the adcom might worry that the stress of med school will cause you to relapse and then potententially not finish the program.

IMHO, I generally think the applicant's personal mental and physical illnesses should not be mentioned. It is okay to talk about friends and family members illnesses and how they affected/inspired you.

I think your background will make you a better doctor to your future patients but I would not mention it to the admcoms. If you do and you don't get in you'll always wonder if it was because they knew your history of mental health issues.

 

[ProteinChemist]

This thread is really helpful. Thanks to everyone who posted here.

 

[Venice]

Thank you for all the comments. They have but only confirmed my unreliable intuition about the stigma that society, whether consciously or unconsciously, hold against people who have mental illness. Although I guess I won't be putting this little turbulent episode of my life into my essay, I am sure it will make me even more motivated as before to enter medicine.

 

[Scottish Chap]

Thank you for all the comments. They have but only confirmed my unreliable intuition about the stigma that society, whether consciously or unconsciously, hold against people who have mental illness.

I'm not sure what the other posters think, but if you got that impression from me, it's not correct. It's important not to 'tar everybody with the same stick'. Medical school is a high-pressure environment, and residency is even worse because you're in the privileged decision to make decisions that affect peoples' lives. If there have been issues with focus and handling pressure in the past, some medical schools will think twice if you make a big deal of it, that's all. Good luck whatever you decide.