Criminal Record and Getting Accepted into Medical School

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redcap

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Hey,

I got arrested last year for possession of CDS and paraphernalia (both on school grounds in NJ). Both charges were first reduced to misdemeanors, and then both charges were completely dismissed. I also had an expungement done to seal the record.

I was just wondering how bad this would hurt my chances of getting accepted into a medical school...

I was also wondering if anyone else has gone through a similar experience and got accepted into medical school...

Any input would be much appreciated.

Thanks
 
My understanding of an expungement is that there is no longer any record of it. So on that end you should be ok. Your concern should be about any disciplinary issues with your school.
 
This might be better directed at one of the more experienced staff or PDs who are around here (such as aPD or WingedScapula). You should maybe consider looking around at some websites for specific med schools to see what their policies are. I believe AMCAS has a pretty clearly worded question regarding criminal records, though it's been way too long since I did it to recall what it asks for specifically. After looking at what some schools have to say on the subject, it may even be worth talking to a lawyer since they are the legal experts and we here are not (might be overkill, but I'd rather you get the right info than the wrong info).

As a word of caution, someone in my class at an allopathic school did not disclose a DUI he had received prior to entering med school. I don't know much about the situation, but I do know that at the very least he was suspended for a year, possibly more but I'm hesitant given that I dont' know the entire situation. Being forthcoming is usually best it seems, especially if you can say you've learned something from the situation.

You could also post this in the "Confidential Consult" forum, see what the intelligent staff there have to say about it. Best of luck to you!
 
Unless something has changed since last year, AMCAS will only ask about convictions, not episodes of being arrested. While some schools may ask specifically about arrests, most that I know of will not ask about non-convictions at all. If you are not asked whether or not you have been arrested, you do not have to disclose that information, and if your record has been expunged, your arrest will not show up on the AMCAS background check.

I am not sure whether or not that information will show up later on in your career. I do know that it should not come up on a VA hospital background check or a med school background check, so you should be alright for the time being.
 
Are you positive that it won't show up on a med school background check cuz i'm really worried about this....
 
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Talk to your lawyer or try running a background check on yourself see what comes up.
 
Are you positive that it won't show up on a med school background check cuz i'm really worried about this....

If the expungement is done correctly, your expunged offense should not show up on a standard background check. I know people in this group and they never had any problems at the medical school level. I am not sure what does or doesn't show up on a residency or licensing background check, but for medical school, you should be fine.
 
Didn't you already post about this before? In any case, you should understand that the mistakes you make in life have real consequences. If you're worried about possession, then simply don't do drugs. It's that simple. I have encountered many of you types while in undergrad and hopefully I won't see many of you next year in medical school.
 
Didn't you already post about this before? In any case, you should understand that the mistakes you make in life have real consequences. If you're worried about possession, then simply don't do drugs. It's that simple. I have encountered many of you types while in undergrad and hopefully I won't see many of you next year in medical school.

Don't worry, I'm sure most of your fellow students will be as uptight and judgemental as you are.
 
Didn't you already post about this before? In any case, you should understand that the mistakes you make in life have real consequences. If you're worried about possession, then simply don't do drugs. It's that simple. I have encountered many of you types while in undergrad and hopefully I won't see many of you next year in medical school.

To normlsaline: I have encountered many of you types during undergraduate too. I can only hope most of you will have matured by medical school.

People have different life experiences than you!
 
Didn't you already post about this before? In any case, you should understand that the mistakes you make in life have real consequences. If you're worried about possession, then simply don't do drugs. It's that simple. I have encountered many of you types while in undergrad and hopefully I won't see many of you next year in medical school.

Wow...care to elaborate on what his "type" is? I know that this may be a surprise to you, but some people have actually ventured out of their dorm rooms during college and had the ability to make poor decisions and learn VALUABLE LESSONS from making them. So long as the OP has recognized that his behavior was wrong, and he has learned from it, who are you to judge him and decide what "type" he is? Not everyone has been a choir boy like yourself their entire lives, never making a mistake.
 
Didn't you already post about this before? In any case, you should understand that the mistakes you make in life have real consequences. If you're worried about possession, then simply don't do drugs. It's that simple. I have encountered many of you types while in undergrad and hopefully I won't see many of you next year in medical school.

That was a bitchy thing to say to him/her. Unless you know him/her personally how do you know what type of person she/he is. What other types of people you dont want medschool next year? Let me guess! You also dont want old people,fat people,gay people, colored people, disable people, pregnant people, short people, divorced people, religious people, people who name begins with the letter "E", people who were born on a Friday, or people who drive Hondas. I bet the list goes on and on.

You are going to come cross people who's life style and life choices that you dont approve off as a doctor. What are doing to do? Tell them you dont treat their type.
 
i agree with all this...but can we get back to the questions...is there anyone who has gone through a similar situation...
 
tough guy eh?

im going to sit on my SDN high horse and totally judge you.




/sarcasm
 
Didn't you already post about this before? In any case, you should understand that the mistakes you make in life have real consequences. If you're worried about possession, then simply don't do drugs. It's that simple. I have encountered many of you types while in undergrad and hopefully I won't see many of you next year in medical school.

lol, what a d ick.
 
in all seriousness,

you might want to check out what "conviction" means. have you ever been convicted? perhaps, because you did plead guilty to have it dismissed. (first offenders program and blah blah). but since you got it expunged, you may not have to reveal your conviction. it is my understanding that expungement seals any infractions, but not necessarily your court proceedings (not sure. ask your lawyer. this is why i hate law. bs)
 
There is a way to be certain.

The question asks "have you ever been convicted?" If the answer is yes, you MUST disclose it.

If your charges were dismissed prior to conviction, then you have no problem. If you want further (definitive) information, go to the medical licensing board website for the state you hope to become licensed in. Generally, they will ask you to disclose records even of things that were expunged and/or sealed.

I don't think people are aware of how extensive an FBI record check is...

That being said, there are schools that will accept applicants with a legal history. Connecticut comes to mind. And there is always the Caribbean. But you will definitely need to disclose it if there was ever a conviction, period. It will be much more difficult to be accepted and become a licensed physician, but if this is your dream and you're willing to pay the price for past choices, keep walking forward.

Best of luck to you.
 
There is a way to be certain.

The question asks "have you ever been convicted?" If the answer is yes, you MUST disclose it.

If your charges were dismissed prior to conviction, then you have no problem. If you want further (definitive) information, go to the medical licensing board website for the state you hope to become licensed in. Generally, they will ask you to disclose records even of things that were expunged and/or sealed.

I don't think people are aware of how extensive an FBI record check is...

That being said, there are schools that will accept applicants with a legal history. Connecticut comes to mind. And there is always the Caribbean. But you will definitely need to disclose it if there was ever a conviction, period. It will be much more difficult to be accepted and become a licensed physician, but if this is your dream and you're willing to pay the price for past choices, keep walking forward.

Best of luck to you.

This sounds about right. I am in a similar situation. I checked my state's health board website and found the relevant statutes for medical licensing. My state has a list offenses that can preclude you from gaining licensure. My guess is the med schools in your state will basically go by this. Obviously if you have done something that would prevent you from getting a license, they will not accept you. My particular state requires disclosure of convictions, even if it is sealed or expunged. However, on the lists of offenses that preclude a person from getting a medical license, it says CDS, but only if felony. My state doesn't seem to worry too much about misdemeanor possession. My advice is as above, check out your state's licensing board. I would also call schools you are interested in to get the full view of how they treat the matter.
 
Reach out to your state representative in Congress. Provide a resume and a description of your aspirations, show what you have done to change, and then petition the Governor for a full pardon. Also, if you have the ability to donate heavily to the governors re-election campaign, this will help your cause. All of our advice on here is speculation, consult an attorney on this matter, it will cost you some coin but well worth it. A full pardon from the governor is the only way to truely make a conviction or plea deal completely disappear.
 
If the case was dismissed, then you are innocent. You are innocent until proven guilty, and were never proven guilty. So its a non-issue.

Just during your application process make sure to answer each question completely and honestly. Lying gets you in more trouble than anything.
 
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Didn't you already post about this before? In any case, you should understand that the mistakes you make in life have real consequences. If you're worried about possession, then simply don't do drugs. It's that simple. I have encountered many of you types while in undergrad and hopefully I won't see many of you next year in medical school.

lol
 
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Didn't you already post about this before? In any case, you should understand that the mistakes you make in life have real consequences. If you're worried about possession, then simply don't do drugs. It's that simple. I have encountered many of you types while in undergrad and hopefully I won't see many of you next year in medical school.

yet more evidence that SDN needs a douchebag icon.
 
Here is what my state licensing board says, you can take it for what it is, but they want complete disclosure.

I've been no saint, so I can relate. I hope this doesn't affect your chances.


Be sure to list all relevant complaints, disciplinary actions, arrests, charges, or convictions in response to the licensure questions. Failure to fully disclose could constitute grounds alone for denial of your application or revocation of your license. More important, avoid some of the common excuses we have heard from people who failed to disclose, such as:

My attorney told me I didn’t have to disclose the criminal conduct or disciplinary actions.

I didn’t think the prior conduct had anything to do with the profession.

I didn’t think the disciplinary action, arrest, charges, or conviction was still on my record. I didn’t think it was subject to disclosure because

I received a deferred sentence/judgment.
 
has anyone gone through a similar experience with regards to being arrested for marijuana possession and then having all the charges dismissed and then expunged?...i would really like to hear from someone who has gone through something like this...

and

For those of you who have done background checks and have been arrested for marijuana possession and then had it expunged...what showed up on the check?

Thanks
 
You may have participated in some sort of deferred adjudication which technically ends with the charges dismissed, but those charges and the arrest record may still show on that counties database.

I hired an employee for whom this happened, it showed up on the background check as dismissed, but he went to the county website and found all the details, dated of hearings, fines, arrest date, deferred adjudication info, etc.

Go check it out on the county site. Sealing an arrest record is different than expungment, expungment in most states means it will show as charges dismissed.

You might check the AMCAS question and see if they ask about DA or if the ask if you have pled no contest, many DA programs require you to initially enter a guilty plea then have the case dismissed after you successfully complete the program.

Then check the secondaries to see if they ask in more detail.
 
honestly, do a background check on yourself. figure out which ones the medical schools do and then do one yourself. if something pops up, then you DEFINITELY have to mention it. If it's clean, then start asking questions about whether or not you should mention it.
 
ive read through all of this and quite frankly the answer is allot simpler than what you have been coming up with. age really matters. felony or misdemeanor? was it expunged and what is your states definition of expungment. call everyone that was involved in the case and find out what the deal is. telephones and honesty are about 10x more effective than random questions on the internet. we've all messed up, but since you did you need to talk to the people that can actually tell you, maybe a law blog???????

:diebanana: +pissed+
 
Hey whats up ... I live in Texas and am actually still going through the whole court process on two class A misdemeanors and I also wanted to attend pharmacy school. I hired the most expensive attorney I could, and he told me that even expunged records are not concealed to medical boards, they see everything. Medical boards are unique in this manner to the entire federal system, (except of course THE government itself). Which, I suppose even unfortunately in my case in not great, but I completely understand why at least. Also, keep in mind it is very easy to say I was allegedly charged with some crap from a rookie officer blah blah blah whatever and was never convicted.... etc...(of course it sucks still but ur stuck) Hope this helps.
 
I was arrested but the case got dismissed. I haven't gone through the entire application process so somebody please tell me if the first and secondary application asks you to disclose arrests or convictions? If it only asks for convictions then I should be fine, right? Thank you.
 
I was arrested but the case got dismissed. I haven't gone through the entire application process so somebody please tell me if the first and secondary application asks you to disclose arrests or convictions? If it only asks for convictions then I should be fine, right? Thank you.

What level of crime and do a background check
 
i agree with all this...but can we get back to the questions...is there anyone who has gone through a similar situation...


AMCAS specifically asks you to answer NO to both misdemeanor & felony questions, IF (among other caveats) ur charge was dismissed. Most medical schools use AAMC'c CBC service (certiphi) and they have the same caveats fro answering NO to the bolded question.

You have nothing to worry about. We all are innocent until proven otherwise, and we have a right to due process. You had ur due process and the charges were dismissed, I doubt any school is going to penalize u for not being guilty.
 
AMCAS specifically asks you to answer NO to both misdemeanor & felony questions, IF (among other caveats) ur charge was dismissed. Most medical schools use AAMC'c CBC service (certiphi) and they have the same caveats fro answering NO to the bolded question.

You have nothing to worry about. We all are innocent until proven otherwise, and we have a right to due process. You had ur due process and the charges were dismissed, I doubt any school is going to penalize u for not being guilty.
Sorry for being redundant but this is an important matter so I have to ask again: Is there any point during the entire application process (primary, secondary and interview) that you have to disclose your prior arrests with no charges? Can I use CBC service (certiphi) to perform a background check on myself? Will it reveal my arrest? Thank you so much for your help. All the best.
 
Sorry for being redundant but this is an important matter so I have to ask again: Is there any point during the entire application process (primary, secondary and interview) that you have to disclose your prior arrests with no charges? Can I use CBC service (certiphi) to perform a background check on myself? Will it reveal my arrest? Thank you so much for your help. All the best.

Yes you can check ur own CBC using certiphi. It's $150 and the option is offered after u submit your amcas.

For this application cycle, the link is:
https://www.applicationstation.com/home/cal.asp?rc=CERTAP2010There's some code u'll need to get to request the CBC. I got Certiphi's phone number from AMCAS and got the code from them (Certiphi). It's good to get ur own CBC, if u can afford it, to see what schools will see and to have enough time to correct any inaccuracies.

GL
 
Sorry for being redundant but this is an important matter so I have to ask again: Is there any point during the entire application process (primary, secondary and interview) that you have to disclose your prior arrests with no charges? Can I use CBC service (certiphi) to perform a background check on myself? Will it reveal my arrest? Thank you so much for your help. All the best.

Some schools asks if you have ever been arrested, but the majority ask if you have any convictions.
 
The admissions process is competitive enough that adcoms can accept an entire class with no criminal record whatsoever. What's the acceptance rate for most medical schools? 5%?
 
AMCAS specifically asks you to answer NO to both misdemeanor & felony questions, IF (among other caveats) ur charge was dismissed. Most medical schools use AAMC'c CBC service (certiphi) and they have the same caveats fro answering NO to the bolded question.


I'm an incoming pharmacy student and need to get the pharmacy student intern liscence to do rotations, the Board of Pharmacy application asks

"Have you ever been, CHARGED, ARRESTED, or CONVICTED of a MISDEMEANOR or FELONY?"

Also, if you had a drug charge and did PC1000 or any other drug deferment program in order to have deffered judgement that ended up with a full dismissal within 5 years, you must also admit to that.

Although it's for pharmacy, I am sure that medical school students must also go through something VERY similar if not even more stringent.

Good Luck! AND DON'T LIE!
 
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