HELP: Suspended from clinical rotations pending psych eval

[serendipity424]

Hi SDN community, I am a fourth year medical student at an osteopathic medical school in USA who is in need of some urgent help.
Yesterday, I got temporarily suspended from clinical rotations pending a psychology/psychiatric assessment. BG story: I am an average student in school (no failures, passed all my shelf exams, Step1 230, COMLEX1 560, pending Step2/Level2CE/Level2PE exam scores). However, I have had 4 preceptors in my third year of medical school indicating they were "concerned about me being a physician" in my clinical evaluations. I reflected that this may be due to me being nervous with them since they were men with a bright yet overconfident (even cocky personality). I had some minor childhood trauma with my dad who also had this personality and was verbally abused by him as a teenager, which makes me underperform in this setting. I told my school this at a "Student Progress Committee" meeting with ~12 faculty members but could not stop crying all of the sudden in the middle of talking about my dad. This may have made them afraid I was emotionally unstable/crazy and a danger to patients. I have no past psychiatric or medical history and am content in my life/not suicidal. I believe this psych assessment is so unnecessary but I can see how it is necessary from my school's perspective.
I have my most important audition rotation coming up next Monday, which I may not be able to go to anymore and am devastated.
What I need help is: What is the fastest and cheapest way I can get my psychology/psychiatric assessment done- who can I contact?
Also, what is the best way I can handle my situation so I can graduate medical school on time? I cannot afford to take another year due to financial challenges.
Thank you so much for your time. Any advice at all would be very helpful.

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[Chibucks15]

I don’t feel this is the correct place to ask advice on this journey. I wish you the best

 

[wonko]

What is the fastest and cheapest way I can get my psychology/psychiatric assessment done- who can I contact?

The committee that asked you to undergo it will point you to either an agency or a required accreditation/certification standard for the eval. Good luck with this rather difficult situation!

 

[keolu hills]

You could try the counseling center at your school.

 

[siliso]

If multiple people are worried that you can’t hack it as a physician, there’s a bigger problem than just being nervous. Many or most people are nervous on rotations at times. It will be important to clearly understand and acknowledge what the problems that have been raised really are (I can’t tell from your post). I do know that it is nearly always better for your future prospects to acknowledge a problem and show that you are addressing - perhaps by contacting your student mental health services - it than to minimize or reject the existence of the problem.

 

[Mass Effect]

So, I'm going to give some advice based on what I've seen and read about people in your shoes. I have questions and advice:

1. What was the nature of the concern of the attendings? What types of things concerned them?

2. When you speak about abuse during a committee meeting and start crying, it raises concern that those issues are not yet resolved and that, perhaps, you could be dealing with something bigger than just underperformance. Things like PTSD can affect how you perform and if attendings are concerned you shouldn't be a physician, I can see why your school wants a psych eval. Whether or not that's good for you is debatable.

3. In some of these cases, schools require a specific person/agency to do the evaluation. I'm going to be completely honest with you, but in some cases, they will refer to physician health programs. Depending on your state, this may not be in your best interest and if that's the case, I would absolutely consult an attorney, NOT to sue (calm down, SDN enthusiasts who are about to jump down my throat for suggesting this), but to learn what your rights are. Consultations are usually free and even if they're not, I would pay to learn your rights in this type of situation. See this thread to learn why:

Residents sent to Physicians Health Programs (PHP) or Sham Psych Evals to push them out of residency

I wanted to get the community opinion on this news story in my city. Apparently, local hospitals are using the Physicians Health Program to push out doctors with disabilities or who may make a patient safety claim. Physicians with no addiction issues were being forced into 60-90 days of...

forums.studentdoctor.net

4. Think about the ramifications of a psych eval and don't sign anything lightly. Some licensing applications will always ask if you were forced to have one and if it was unfavorable, you'll have to disclose that. Again, research this topic. I don't blame your school for being concerned, but you need to have all the information to appropriately protect yourself and make sure the psych eval is legit and objective.

 

[CidHighwind]

I was with you until you mentioned that you broke down and cried during the committee. If you do have psych issues that require treatment, it will be better to get it taken care of now than in residency.

 

[ciestar]

I was with you until you mentioned that you broke down and cried during the committee. If you do have psych issues that require treatment, it will be better to get it taken care of now than in residency.

I mean, being unable to perform when your supervisor has certain qualities is not good. Even as a resident you could have to precept with or work on a team with someone as OP describes.

OP, I in no way dismiss your feelings. I have struggles talking with alcoholics as this brings up some very bad memories for me. That said, I am able to compartmentalize and not let it get to me while performing clinical duties. You doing this on the wards and during a committee meeting just says you have unresolved issues. You cannot start a career and potentially jeopardize patient care unable to work with certain attendings, or even patients, that remind you of your father. Your situation really sucks, but you have demonstrated multiple times already you really struggle with this and it is for the best you’re evaluted to make sure you can even handle residency.

 

[austintr]

OP, I'm not an expert in this matter and I have no real personal experience here, but here's what I think:

Jump through the school's hoops because you have to if you wanna graduate. It sounds like you're generally pretty well-balanced in life with some issues that could use therapy or the assistance of a psychiatrist. You'll probably do very well at your eval because you're dealing with someone that is a professional in that realm.

Get it done and graduate and never look back. Things may get harder in residency but it will all eventually be in the rearview and you can be your own boss (depending on field, of course).

Lastly, you may want to remove your post because seeking input can be a great thing or a very bad thing if your identity is revealed and someone on down the way finds this post. The internet is forever, I'm afraid.

Best of luck to you, I'm confident that things will turn out well!

 

[Medic741]

Hey it sounds like you’re having a really rough time and that’s ok! You might shift perspective that your school is really acting in your best interest by getting you the help needed to succeed in medicine.

Per the advice above you might really benefit from self-referring and taking a LOA on your own — ask your school if they’re willing to work with you so you don’t have a mandatory referred on your record.