Should I disclose?

[Just Another Anonymous]

I recently found out I have a learning disability that hinders my reading comprehension, which showed on my MCAT score: 7/4/9. My question is: should I disclose this information to the schools during my interview?

I searched all over SDN to try to see what others have said. They were all in the MD section and I'm getting mixed info. Some say no because I won't be able to get accommodations for boards anyway. There are federal laws that mandate accommodations for "normal" average people but since medical boards are at a professional level, you are no longer considered as "normal" and they can get away with not providing accommodations. Some say yes because it shows you have overcome difficulties, but even some argue this as a negative.

So the only way I see this will benefit me is it provides a reason for why I have a low verbal score. But is it worth risking? Does anyone have a different angle on this that I'm not seeing? Any input will be much appreciated!

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[Podophile]

Physicians are in a group where handicapped people are not protected, nor are they accomadated for because the job requires a baseline level of mental (and physical) capacity. Schools will not (and should not) give a student any credit for any preexisting mental or physical limiting conditions because it places a student at a disadvantage from the start.

 

[Just Another Anonymous]

Schools will not (and should not) give a student any credit for any preexisting mental or physical limiting conditions because it places a student at a disadvantage from the start.

What do you mean by credit?

 

[redhorse]

Podophile is wrong, morally and legally.
Disclose your disability and be able to explain how you will handle the courseload with your disability.

 

[pacpod]

I would let them know. Just be honest and things will be handled the way they are supposed to be handled.

 

[Podophile]

Podophile is wrong, morally and legally.
Disclose your disability and be able to explain how you will handle the courseload with your disability.

This is absolutely ludacris. Am I the only one who has the nerve to say it??? DOCTORS should not have LEARNING DISABILITIES.


And legally I am correct. While we live in an "everyone wins, reach for your dreams, equal opportunity society", medicine does not fall into that category. If you do not meet the criteria and have the mental capacity to be a doctor, then you shouldn't (and cannot) be one. If a surgeon loses a hand, they can no longer operate. If an internist suffers from head trauma with a resulting decrease in mental capacity, they are NOT allowed to keep practicing and being responsible for patients' health.

I never said don't be honest about your condition, but the school is NOT mandated to make any educational accommodations: this is not publicly funded elementary education, this is a doctorate.

 

[Just Another Anonymous]

This is absolutely ludacris. Am I the only one who has the nerve to say it??? DOCTORS should not have LEARNING DISABILITIES.


And legally I am correct. While we live in an "everyone wins, reach for your dreams, equal opportunity society", medicine does not fall into that category. If you do not meet the criteria and have the mental capacity to be a doctor, then you shouldn't (and cannot) be one. If a surgeon loses a hand, they can no longer operate. If an internist suffers from head trauma with a resulting decrease in mental capacity, they are NOT allowed to keep practicing and being responsible for patients' health.

I never said don't be honest about your condition, but the school is NOT mandated to make any educational accommodations: this is not publicly funded elementary education, this is a doctorate.

First of all, I thank you for expressing your opinion. Second, I'm not asking the schools to give me ANY kind of accommodations nor do I want them to. I want to be treated like any other student. I've done just fine without these accommodations thus far and I will continue to do fine without them.

You're making me sound like I have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or something severe enough where I don't have the mental capacity to function as a doctor. My condition is mild and my mental capacity is fully functional. Most people with LDs find out when they're young because it hindered them in school. I didn't find out until I was an adult. My grades NEVER suffered due to this condition.

If you do not meet the criteria and have the mental capacity to be a doctor, then you shouldn't (and cannot) be one.

What criteria are you speaking of? As far as I'm concerned, I've done everything under the admissions requirements for all pod schools. I am just as qualified as anyone else.

I just want to know if it's a good idea to disclose. I don't want special treatment of any sort.

 

[Podophile]

First of all, I thank you for expressing your opinion. Second, I'm not asking the schools to give me ANY kind of accommodations nor do I want them to. I want to be treated like any other student. I've done just fine without these accommodations thus far and I will continue to do fine without them.

You're making me sound like I have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or something severe enough where I don't have the mental capacity to function as a doctor. My condition is mild and my mental capacity is fully functional. Most people with LDs find out when they're young because it hindered them in school. I didn't find out until I was an adult. My grades NEVER suffered due to this condition.



What criteria are you speaking of? As far as I'm concerned, I've done everything under the admissions requirements for all pod schools. I am just as qualified as anyone else.

I just want to know if it's a good idea to disclose. I don't want special treatment of any sort.

Good. Then my advice is to NOT disclose anything. They will not give you any credit and they will not give you any benefit of the doubt by disclosing. You can either hack it or not.

 

[hughesn2]

Technically, what Podophile is saying does make it MORALLY and LEGALLY wrong, but at the same time he is accurate with his constructive criticism.
I don't think many committees will take the "oh, I have a reading disability that hinders my ability to read at the level of other med school students" as a reason to accept you. In my own personal opinion, ONLY disclose the issue IF you are asked about the low verbal score.

It may sound ignorant, but that is the truth. If you have a reading disability and you JUST NOW found out after 3-4yrs of college it will and should give the committee reasons to judge your application with more red flags than others.
Legally maybe it is not exactly legal for them to say that was the ONLY reason you got declined, but it sure is legal for them to say that with addition to this info it showed that it would be difficult to expect them to keep up with the work of med students.

You also don't mention HOW BAD your verbal section was and what was your total MCAT score? If you scored above a 22 overall then they probably won't be asking you about this. My advice, if you really wanted to be treated completely serious in the interview don't bring it up unless you are asked about it.
They're not going to accept you because they feel bad for you.

 

[Admissions to Medicine]

I have worked with several clients who fully disclosed various learning abilities and all were admitted. It is all about the strategy you employ while doing so, as to not make it a crutch but rather something that you have not allowed to control or inhibit your dreams and ambitions. -Admissions to Medicine

 

[Pronation]

In my class there are two students with learning disabilities that get to take exams alone, in another room, and with additional time as well.

 

[greenri]

This is absolutely ludacris. Am I the only one who has the nerve to say it??? DOCTORS should not have LEARNING DISABILITIES.


And legally I am correct. While we live in an "everyone wins, reach for your dreams, equal opportunity society", medicine does not fall into that category. If you do not meet the criteria and have the mental capacity to be a doctor, then you shouldn't (and cannot) be one. If a surgeon loses a hand, they can no longer operate. If an internist suffers from head trauma with a resulting decrease in mental capacity, they are NOT allowed to keep practicing and being responsible for patients' health.

I never said don't be honest about your condition, but the school is NOT mandated to make any educational accommodations: this is not publicly funded elementary education, this is a doctorate.

To say that doctors should not have learning disabilities is the most ignorant thing I have ever heard. There are so many people in this world that just learn differently than what is expected with the standard curricula. Some people also learn how to adapt and for others it may be a little more of a struggle. The end result, however, is that they know the material expected of them. I really have no idea how you can not understand how to be compassionate to this person's situation. They obviously have learned to compensate for this learning disability, which is why they hadn't been diagnosed until recently. This does not mean that they will not be able to pass the licensing exam or be a fabulous health care provider one day.

I, personally, have auditory processing disorder. When I was in elementary school I received accommodations for it, but over time, I learned to adjust. Things were still quite a bit of a struggle while I was growing up, but I am about to graduate from college with a 4.0 science GPA and 3.99 overall without receiving any accommodations from the university. People can compensate for their disability and succeed in school. Having a learning disability does not mean that that person is not every bit as capable as somebody without a learning disability. You should probably educate yourself some more about the topic before telling somebody that they cannot pursue their passions.

Just Another Anonymous, I would say that you could disclose this information as long as you feel comfortable. I would not expect it to guarantee a spot in any school. Perhaps now that you know of this learning disability, you could retake the MCAT with some more practice and different techniques for getting through the section that you struggled with.

 

[yanks26dmb]

This is absolutely ludacris. Am I the only one who has the nerve to say it??? DOCTORS should not have LEARNING DISABILITIES.


And legally I am correct. While we live in an "everyone wins, reach for your dreams, equal opportunity society", medicine does not fall into that category. If you do not meet the criteria and have the mental capacity to be a doctor, then you shouldn't (and cannot) be one. If a surgeon loses a hand, they can no longer operate. If an internist suffers from head trauma with a resulting decrease in mental capacity, they are NOT allowed to keep practicing and being responsible for patients' health.

I never said don't be honest about your condition, but the school is NOT mandated to make any educational accommodations: this is not publicly funded elementary education, this is a doctorate.

There are kids who can't break 20 getting into pod school. This kind of defeats the whole, if you don't have the mental capacity argument...

 

[Pronation]

There are kids who can't break 20 getting into pod school. This kind of defeats the whole, if you don't have the mental capacity argument...

There's a distinction between getting into pod school and succeeding in pod school.