ADD/ADHD --> Medicine = bad?

I've heard of people with ADD that was very mild (they didn't even notify their school's disability office about it) and still functioned well in medical school.

ion said:

What if one has notified their school? I'm not particularly worried about getting through medical school, it is more about whether or not it will be looked down upon when applying/would it blacklist me/make me ineligible. At the same time, I don't know how they would find out

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Who would ever notify their school of such a thing?

It's none of the school's business, and trust me, they'd rather not know. Moreover, they have NO way of knowing, unless your doctor also happens to be on the admissions committee of the school to which you're applying.

Why would you inform your schools of your past medical history?

In case you did happen to include ADHD as one of your activities, I think most schools try not to discriminate based on medical history. However I would question your judgment for choosing to include it on your applications.

If you actually have ADHD, then you would likely be more worried about the academic aspect, not what schools will think.

No, your undergraduate school can't release information on a disability to medical schools you're applying to.

As far as getting in - no, they can't legally ask you about your medical history. If your grades and MCAT are good enough to get in, then your ADHD won't affect your study habits - so they have no grounds for even considering asking you. (As far as life as a doc, you can figure out during your 3rd and 4th year if there are any specialties that your ADHD will make problematic.)

The brightest medical student that I have ever personally met has ADHD.

He pretty much forces himself to study before major tests (never really studied much during undergrad), but mostly just figures things out based on prior knowledge and listening to the recordings of the lectures. The one downside he faces is that he can never really bring himself to sit through full lectures and pay attention - it's much better for him to just watch the powerpoints and take a break halfway through. He still studies less than his other classmates - but he does make better grades than most.

N=1, so your mileage may vary, but it definitely can be done.

marele86 said:

As far as getting in - no, they can't legally ask you about your medical history.

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I don't know about this, but when I applied to UMiami's BS/MD they had a question that asked if you had anything that would affect your ability to practice medicine.

schrizto said:

I don't know about this, but when I applied to UMiami's BS/MD they had a question that asked if you had anything that would affect your ability to practice medicine.

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Fair enough, and a good point - I was thinking that ADHD wouldn't necessarily interfere, but it certainly *could*.

I wonder about that question.. If I had ADHD and still came out of undergrad with good stats, shadowing experience, and a healthy confidence about my fitness as a possible physician, how would I answer it? It *could* affect my ability to practice, but I would obviously be thinking at that point that it wouldn't.

What kind of health problems do you think they're trying to catch with that question?

Here's the question from the application verbatim:

"Is there any other information that would have a bearing upon your ability to attend medical school and/or practice medicine? Yes No
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, explain the circumstances on a separate sheet and attach to this form."

schrizto said:

Here's the question from the application verbatim:

"Is there any other information that would have a bearing upon your ability to attend medical school and/or practice medicine? Yes No
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, explain the circumstances on a separate sheet and attach to this form."

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If you have >3.5/3.6 GPA, I would say that ADD is not affecting you significantly.

I don't know if Miami asks this on their MD secondary because I haven't seen it and this is for their accelerated program, which doesn't apply to anyone here. I have a feeling they don't ask on there, though.

Two of my classmates have obvious ADHD. They talk fast as hell, never shut up and are IMPOSSIBLE to deal with during lecture but they study hard, do well and very likable. ADHD is as much of a factor as pimples imo.

marele86 said:

Fair enough, and a good point - I was thinking that ADHD wouldn't necessarily interfere, but it certainly *could*.

I wonder about that question.. If I had ADHD and still came out of undergrad with good stats, shadowing experience, and a healthy confidence about my fitness as a possible physician, how would I answer it? It *could* affect my ability to practice, but I would obviously be thinking at that point that it wouldn't.

What kind of health problems do you think they're trying to catch with that question?

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You would answer "NO". The types of problems that they're asking about are NOT ADD. Take it from someone who's talked at length with AdCom members of a well-ranked school, do NOT mention ADD/ADHD in your application or anywhere else. If it becomes a problem once you're in, deal with it then.

redsquareblack said:

You would answer "NO". The types of problems that they're asking about are NOT ADD. Take it from someone who's talked at length with AdCom members of a well-ranked school, do NOT mention ADD/ADHD in your application or anywhere else. If it becomes a problem once you're in, deal with it then.

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What do you think is something a person would answer yes to for this question then? In fact, I answered yes to that question and had to explain and still got an interview.

redsquareblack said:

You would answer "NO". The types of problems that they're asking about are NOT ADD. Take it from someone who's talked at length with AdCom members of a well-ranked school, do NOT mention ADD/ADHD in your application or anywhere else. If it becomes a problem once you're in, deal with it then.

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So I have ADHD but I did not get diagnosed with it until after my sophomore year of college. Junior year when I was on medication for it my GPA went up quite a bit. Freshman and sophomore year I was averaging around a 3.00 and junior year was a 3.7. I thought that it would be worth mentioning and explaining on my application to explain the lower grades from my first two year so it doesn’t look like I was just being lazy during them, which I wasn’t. So I’m curious as to what some of these Adcomm members you have spoke to have said about applicants with ADHD and why people should avoid mentioning it?

schrizto said:

What do you think is something a person would answer yes to for this question then? In fact, I answered yes to that question and had to explain and still got an interview.

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Good for you. (Seriously, not being facetious). Was your yes answer related to ADHD, or were you just adding color to the conversation?

I’m curious as to what some of these Adcomm members you have spoke to have said about applicants with ADHD and why people should avoid mentioning it?

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Look, man, as a fellow ADHDer, I personally believe that the diagnosis and resulting treatment & organization efforts on my part made me a much better student.
Nevertheless, there is a stigma. As much as we'd like to believe otherwise, AdCom members are, in fact human, and many are guilty of the same flawed thought processes as everyone else. Especially about controversial subjects like adult ADHD. Not all, mind you, but still... Additionally, it will raise a red flag for an AdCom, and will be an unnecessary distraction and concern in considering your application.

redsquareblack, can you please give an example of something that you should answer "yes" to that question?

schrizto said:

Here's the question from the application verbatim:

"Is there any other information that would have a bearing upon your ability to attend medical school and/or practice medicine? Yes No
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, explain the circumstances on a separate sheet and attach to this form."

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I think has to deal more with motor skills and nervous system abnormalities.

ion said:

Would being diagnosed with mild ADD or ADHD affect one's chances of becoming a doctor (not in the academic sense)?

Thanks

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Eh, I think I have ADHD inattentive type, but I never got it diagnosed because of complications like this. I have HUGE difficulty paying attention to things I don't like(like my engineering courses), I am late to everything, I have HUGE trouble finishing things(sometimes I would spend hours doing a homework and be too lazy to finish the last paragraph or just turn it in), and when I think, I need to be walking around. That's part of the reason I chose medicine, really, I love learning about the sciences. I can memorize the pathway of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis all day, for example, so it's never really affected me in my science courses.

I am not going to mention my ADHD anywhere on applications. I think that it would cause more hassle than it's worth and a lot of people don't even think it exists...so I'd rather not deal with it. Mine is also relatively mild and I've managed it to the point that it hasn't negatively impacted my grades significantly. I suppose if there was a drastic improvement in grades after getting on medication for example, it might be worth mentioning, but if not, I'd steer clear.

I think a lot of ADHD diagnosis and treatment is focused on work and school, but your social life can be affected too. Maybe that's the other dimension you're looking for.






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