Do Med schools drug test?

[Dagrimsta1]

My bud likes to smoke, says it calms his nerves. Question is do Med schools care? Will he be drug tested at any moment? Should he buy the fake penis from his friend Dickie?

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[wanderingorion]

I can sell you mine.

 

[Turkishking]

Stop smoking prior to entering medical school. I think 1 month should be sufficient, or 2. If you eat like crap, I'd give it 3 months to clearly flush out.

 

[Chelsea FC]

This made me lolz. I know alot of medical students who do it and couple of physicians who do it on the weekends when they arent working. But personally I think its best to just give it up from now it isnt that hard just replace it with another vice whether that be going to the gym,alcohol women etc

 

[justin1390]

Honestly, I'd get clean and stay clean. You will be spending over $50,000 a year to be in medical school to get a degree. Then another 3 years to get a license to practice. If the DEA gets a hold of you, you risk NEVER having a license to write a single prescription. Hospitals like physicians who can prescribe life-saving drugs. That's if the medical licensing board doesn't get to you first. There are more robust physician rehab programs developing, but I wouldn't even risk it. If you think medical school is going to be a pain in the neck, try doing it with the dean and DEA breathing down your neck.

 

[TheBiologist]

well just stop smoking a month before enrollment; it should be out of your system by then

as others are saying it's illegal under federal law; yeah it probably shouldn't be and I support legalization for many reasons but the DEA owns us all now

 

[JustAPhD]

Just stop smoking for an adequate time before you start medical school. Whatever you do in your private time with that fake penis is up to you.

 

[Danbo1957]

Yes. And we will catch you. And we will throw you out of school.

 

[The Knife & Gun Club]

Some do some don't. I know FIU is one school that has a very robust drug test policy. And I know from friends at other schools that some do test and some do not. I know people who smoked weed daily all through the pre-clinical years.

I'd say pot and med school aren't particularly compatible on a practical level anyway though.

Since it takes so long to clear from your system, a regular smoker is always going to be a piss test away from very serious disciplinary action. Even the schools that don't regularly drug test still reserve the right to do so if they think something is up, and I imagine most would exercise that right if it was justified.

Also med school is a memory and info retention game. IMHO pot wrecks your ability to learn/retain information quickly and over the long term.

Oh and when it comes time to do rotations and aways you will be getting drug tested, I can pretty much promise that.

 

[Donald Juan]

I personally think drugs aren't worth being worried about your career, which will mean more and more as you put in more years and rack up more debt. However, I know many people who regularly used drugs during med school. You should at least quit before starting, because you don't know what your particular schools policies are and you have to (I repeat have to) be able to quit smoking pot to be a doctor. I don't believe most schools randomly drug test in preclinical years, but you will without a doubt be drug tested in your M3-M4 years (possibly multiple times if you go to different hospital that want an up to date urinalysis). Once you start clinicals/residency, it is never worth the risk. Any mistake that happens could result in you having to submit an on-the-spot urinalysis, whether or not the mistake was one that would happen whether or not you had smoked a joint the weekend prior. You will still lose your job and likely any prospects on continuing on this path.

 

[Poit]

My school drug tests once at orientation and once before clinical rotations.

 

[kavorca]

I was never tested. They tested some students my third year when some opiates went missing on the wards. They may have caught a few weed smokers in the net, but I didn't hear about any fall out.

 

[zuzuspetals8]

I'm a 3rd yr on clinical rotations and near the end of Christmas break, one of the hospitals I rotate with issued an e-mail stating all med students had to complete a new background check and drug screen within one week or would not be able to start thier next rotation. Surprise! Don't smoke during clinicals period. It's not worth it.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

It is just not worth it. Even schools that are in states that have legalized it have stated (rather strongly) that if you are caught they will throw you out.

 

[flapjack3d]

just asking for SWIM

 

[neuromaria9]

This guy in my anatomy class changed his major to business because he found out med schools most likely test for drugs and he loves weed too much. Imagine THAT

 

[BeddingfieldMD]

This was covered recently elsewhere on here. The short answer is I think med schools and residencies rarely perform random drug tests. I'm sure some do, but I suspect most are targeted at suspected students or residents. Most trust their students and residents enough that they don't subject them to random tests.

The second thing I would say is that I certainly knew some med students who smoked a healthy dose of marijuana during med school. Whether they continued throughout residency and/or into practice, I can't say. I'm sure the OP is not the only one, in other words.

All that said, I can't say this behavior is without risks. As others have pointed out, marijuana is still considered a Schedule I drug by the DEA, meaning it's illegal to use federally and has no known medical use according to the DEA. Even though some states are increasingly taking a liberal view of the drug, at the federal level it is still as illegal as it was 20 years ago. As you progress through your training, a clean bill of health regarding drug use will be required for you to maintain hospital privileges, keep your DEA prescribing license--and probably your medical license, as well. That's a lot to put on the line.

If you're talking a significant amount of daily use and you're worried about getting caught, perhaps you should consider seeing a mental health professional to see if a prescribed (legal) anxiolytic might help you?

 

[Turkishking]

This guy in my anatomy class changed his major to business because he found out med schools most likely test for drugs and he loves weed too much. Imagine THAT

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