Help: how much will my medical condition be a negative factor in med schools?

[Amino Acid]

I really need some advice. Here's the situation: I have been gratefully accepted to many fine medical schools and was in the final decision process of where to attend. Medical school and caring for the sick, or other helpless people has been my aspiration for as long as I can remember.

I am also in the process of receiving medical treatment for Hepatitis C which I unfortunately contracted from a blood transfusion when I was a baby. The treatments are debilitating enough without trying to finish up my last semester of undergrad, interview and make final decisions about med school. I should finish treatments at the very end of July, just in time to start med school. My VL may be clear at that point, hopefully, but the true test is if I am clear six months later. Once one has attained a SVR, it rarely comes back after two years. There is also a chance that i will not even clear the virus this first round and have to go for retreatment but I will not know that before having to make a decison about med school.

Recently I have read that med schools test students routinely to ascertain if they have HCV and those testing positive are not allowed to participate in certain procedures. I do not want to be stigmitized or victimized and for this to go on my record. I do not want it to follow me forever.

I am well aware of standard precautions and know I can protect patients from any extremely minimal chance of them contracting the virus from me.

The question is what should I do? Wait until I know for sure the virus is cleared from my system? Go to med school and hope to test negatively and for no one to ever know? Do I have to tell the schools I have been undergoing treatment? Are there any schools that do not test?

I really need some advice as this is tearing me apart.

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[abbaroodle]

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[Paws]

I really need some advice. Here's the situation:

The question is what should I do? Wait until I know for sure the virus is cleared from my system? Go to med school and hope to test negatively and for no one to ever know?

I really need some advice as this is tearing me apart.

Well, I might be wrong but as far as I know HepC is there for good. I don't believe it ever clears from your system. Like the poster said above, I would check this all out with my trusted GP and then see how things look. My school checks for vaccinations, tb and hep B antibodies, which is probably pretty standard.

And please don't lie! maybe "don't ask don't tell," but then you don't want to endanger patients, etc. Go talk to you doctor!!

 

[erin682]

I don't think many schools (if any) check for hep C in the pre-clinical years. You're not really doing anything where you could get a needle stick and be at risk. You certainly need to be open with your health status at the school though. Oh and you shouldn't have to worry about being stigmatized by students. Even if you weren't allowed to participate the other students wouldn't know why unless you told them.

As far as your health and being able to keep up with school work is concerned you'll be able to do it as long as you work hard like you always have. I know a couple of people in my class who have potentially debilitating illnesses (one of which has been having flare-ups) and they do fine. Good luck and don't worry too much.

 

[doc05]

most hep C infections are chronic. rarely is the virus cleared. if you're lucky and treatment is successful, you'll be symptom-free and well enough to do everything normally. as for testing for hepC, I've never heard of it. I suppose every school (or perhaps every state) is different my school only tested for hepB, mmr, varicella titers, etc. don't know what they do when you're starting residency, however.

 

[Amino Acid]

Well, I might be wrong but as far as I know HepC is there for good. I don't believe it ever clears from your system. Like the poster said above, I would check this all out with my trusted GP and then see how things look. My school checks for vaccinations, tb and hep B antibodies, which is probably pretty standard.

And please don't lie! maybe "don't ask don't tell," but then you don't want to endanger patients, etc. Go talk to you doctor!!

You definitely can clear the virus if you're one of the ones whose treatment is successful.

Thanks everyone for your advice. Actually someone PMed me who is now a resident and who went through the treatment himself, and yes he cleared the virus completely!! He assured me it would not impact me in med school.

 

[Museless]

20% of those infected do clear the virus. The other 80% go on to carry it chronically.

We discussed this situation as a hypothetical during an ethics session (because it was run by a gastroenterologist.) He advocated removing oneself from certain procedures to protect the patients, but this would be rare enough that it wouldn't drastically change your pathway through medical school.

Some surgeons who contract hep C do then retire, but this may be because they have cushy disability insurance in place, and don't want to work surgeons' hours anymore.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

20% of those infected do clear the virus. The other 80% go on to carry it chronically.

We discussed this situation as a hypothetical during an ethics session (because it was run by a gastroenterologist.) He advocated removing oneself from certain procedures to protect the patients, but this would be rare enough that it wouldn't drastically change your pathway through medical school.

Some surgeons who contract hep C do then retire, but this may be because they have cushy disability insurance in place, and don't want to work surgeons' hours anymore.

However for some genotypes (2 & 3) the rate of SVR is more like 80% even after it become chronic Hep C, so don't make it sound like no one clears the virus. The more common form genotype 1 has the lower response rate.

Yea some surgeons may retire after many years but what about people just entering med school?