Existing illness and Oph

[Ophopeful]

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Hello!

I am a 3rd year med student who recently decided on Ophthalmology as her career choice. I've worked hard and maximized my chances for matching into Ophthalmology. 🙂

As recently as I made my choice, I found out that I'm Hepatitis B S-Ag positive. 🙁

I've seen on some school sites that certain schools don't accept students with communicable illnesses into their externships. Fair enough. 😕

However, will my Hep B status prevent me from matching into a residency? Also, will it hinder my residency and my future career as a practicing Ophthalmologist? Finally, on an ethical note, is it unethical for me to pursue a surgical subspecialty knowing that I'm Hep B Positive?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!😍

- OPhopeful.

 

[Ophopeful]

Can someone with experience please help me out by posting on this thread? Thank you. Thank you!

 

[odieoh]

Hello!

I am a 3rd year med student who recently decided on Ophthalmology as her career choice. I've worked hard and maximized my chances for matching into Ophthalmology. 🙂

As recently as I made my choice, I found out that I'm Hepatitis B S-Ag positive. 🙁

I've seen on some school sites that certain schools don't accept students with communicable illnesses into their externships. Fair enough. 😕

However, will my Hep B status prevent me from matching into a residency? Also, will it hinder my residency and my future career as a practicing Ophthalmologist? Finally, on an ethical note, is it unethical for me to pursue a surgical subspecialty knowing that I'm Hep B Positive?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!😍

- OPhopeful.

As far as affecting you getting in to residency, I don't think there is anywhere on the SF match application that asks about whether or not you have any communicable diseases, so it really shouldn't affect you there.

Will it hinder your residency/career? I guess that depends on how it affects your overall health.

As far as the ethics go- good question. I'm a little removed from remembering all about hepatitis, but as I recall hep B isn't going to be transmitted from the kind of contact you would have with pt's in a clinical setting. Surgery would be where some people would be nervous, but as long as you are using sterile tecnique, I don't know that it would be an issue either. There have been cases of HIV + physicians and dentists who have done surgery. The debate in those cases is whether or not to inform the patients about it. I can't really answer what I would do if it were me, I wouldn't know until I was actually in the situation.

 

[Ophopeful]

Thank you for sharing. All good thoughts!

I guess my most pressing concern is if I will be able to do Externships because certain schools have restrictions on students with communicable diseases. I think I will work on it on a school by school basis.

Thank you!😍