explain my gap on cv

[MDgirl2013]

Hi there,

I am new to this forum and hope you can be of some help to me 🙂

I am a recent IMG that graduated in 2010. I have not completed my medical exams or sat for them since I have had many issues. I have been trying to deal with depression, anxiety, adhd, fibromyalagia, ptsd and other personal problems. I have started medication and counseling for all of these but it took me all this time to finally get the right treatments started. Due to this there is a large gap on my future CV, basically from 2010-2013 I didn't do anything medical related, and just spent time getting better and volunteering at the local election office.

How can I explain this gap on my CV? My plan now is to stay healthy, take my treatments and write these exams, one by one and apply for 2013-2014 match in Canada and America. I do not know if explaining my different health and personal problems is a good idea because I do not want to come across as weak or distracted. However it is the truth and I have many different doctor's who could vouch for me.

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[mlw03]

I'm going to be honest here at the risk of sounding like a meanie, but your story is going to be a massive red flag for any PD, for multiple reasons. Any educational/training gap is bad, so a 3 year one is a big deal. You're an FMG with pretty good English, so that's good, but you're still an FMG. And probably most concerning are your various issues, any of which can derail a physician's career when combined with the stress of residency. Plus, plenty of doctors think 'fibromyalgia' is not a real disease, so I sure as heck wouldn't mention that one. But regardless, depression, anxiety, and ptsd are all serious issues, so why would a PD want to take a chance on an FMG who might not make it through and/or need excessive time off to deal with their psych problems when they can take one of the ever-increasing US MD or DO applicants? There's just far too much risk for very little reward.

 

[shopsteward]

You are right that you can't leave any gaps on a CV. Whenever I came across them, it told me for certain that the applicant a) couldn't read the instructions for filling in application forms, and b) wasn't giving me any evidence that they hadn't spent time in prison for drug or violence offences. (I'm not saying that you have, or that any of the applicants I saw had. I'm just saying, that's why otherwise good applications got weeded out of the pool of 1500 applicants for 100 places.)

If you have taken time off from education, work or training, you need to expain it. "Medical reasons now resolved" is a reasonable explanation, but from what you say, two years of medical issues indicates something serious which is likely to be the subject of future enquiry (subject to any disability discrimination rules of course). Also, from your post I don't see how at the moment you can say the "now resolved" part. You may of course be able to say it by the time you get round to making an application. It is probably not in your own interests, or those of a residency program, to say something on your application which is not true.

How have you been supporting yourself through the last two years? Is there anything in what you have been doing that you can use to support your application for residency, or to build an alternative future career? You mention volunteering in an election office, and if you have been doing while suffering your illnesses it shows that it is a strong interest, and perhaps one you could follow up professionally.

 

[MDgirl2013]

Thank you for your honesty. It's hard to hear but I'd rather know than be unaware. I know that these gaps are big red flags but my dream is to become a doctor and practice as one. I did not take these three years and just drop my studies altogether, I actually spent that time studying and trying to sit for these exams. I tried and tried but my health conditions derailed me.
I hope that maybe if I can get great scores and good contacts perhaps that will help my CV and outweigh the negative gap?

 

[MDgirl2013]

Thank you for your help and time. To be honest I've gone through a lot since I graduated school and I tried to study for these exams alongside of everything. I helped take care of a family member that was diagnosed with GBM and ultimately moved in with them til their time of death. I do not know if that can help on my cv.
If I get great marks on my exams, have contacts that are associated with those teaching hospitals vouch for me will that help me?
There is no way that I will give up becoming a practicing physician. I have the smarts and drive to do it, it's just that the last few years have been the hardest both mentally and physically for me.

What are reasons that are justifiable on a cv for a gap?

 

[mlw03]

Thank you for your honesty. It's hard to hear but I'd rather know than be unaware. I know that these gaps are big red flags but my dream is to become a doctor and practice as one. I did not take these three years and just drop my studies altogether, I actually spent that time studying and trying to sit for these exams. I tried and tried but my health conditions derailed me.
I hope that maybe if I can get great scores and good contacts perhaps that will help my CV and outweigh the negative gap?

I get where you're coming from and commend you for your perseverence and drive. But we'd be lying on here if we told you it's all going to work out great. It might, but the odds are very much against you. Sure, you can hope that solid scores and great LoRs might help, but at the end of the day some PD/program is going to have a take what they'll perceive as a huge risk by ranking you highly, when there are just so many safer applicants out there. I can't answer what a justifiable gap on a CV is - your situation may be considered such by some folks. I would advise against putting personal stuff like "cared for family member with lethal brain tumor" on your CV - it just doesn't belong on that type of document. Personal statement perhaps, not CV.

 

[Top Gun]

I think your best bet would be to try to reassure the programs that your issues are under control and are unlikely to cause any significant problems during residency. You'll need to demonstrate what you have done to address them, and how much you have improved from treatment. The various stresses of residency (long hours, taxing workload, etc...) can really take a toll and are very likely to exacerbate your anxiety or depression. So you're going to have to convince the programs that your psych issues are controlled enough that you will be able to handle residency. Plus, you're an IMG who's been out of school for 2 years. You've got your work cut out for you.

 

[Divine Furor]

While the other posters are right and gaps are a problem, there's no shame in taking time from education or practice for medical reasons. I have two friends who took time off for cancer and Crohn's, and even on chemo and immunosuppressants they still started residency and have done just fine. One was an IMG. It all depends on spin, really, beyond your scores and LOR. I wouldn't dump your diagnoses in an interviewer's lap...I would tell the story of how you came to be ill, what processes you went through to get treated, how you manage your treatments and stay healthy. Etc. It's not weak to overcome illness. I walked into residency and in a month, a friend took me aside and said that I looked like hell--hair loss, weight loss, etc. Turns out I had Graves, an arrythmia, depression (duh)....I got treatment and moved on. If you feel doubtful walking into your interviews, the programs will see your doubt. Be triumphant--that medicine worked for you and you have a special understanding of the suffering you swore to treat, you could be just fine.

 

[dragonfly99]

Don't mention the fibromyalgia because some docs don't believe it is real.
You will need to explain something about your medical issues in your personal statement, but I wouldn't let that dominate your whole personal statement.
I do think you should mention somewhere in your application about taking care of a sick family member - this does give you experience with navigating the medical system, though not with treating patients.

The first thing on your plate is to try to pass your exams, so I would focus on that first, and perhaps trying to find a job that is somehow medically related that you could do part time.

 

[ROBINHO]

U will need to do a lot of explaining...a spin will help.
But u shd start concentrating on wht u have to do starting from now. Saying that u spent the past 12 months writing the exams too isnt gonna help u.
U need to get some observerships/externships or research etc going asap...so that by the time u apply u would have somebody vouching that u have done a hell of a job during the past 12 months