I have Tourette's Syndrome

[tjl101]

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I have Tourette's Syndrome, and my motor tics are well pronounced. I am in active pursuit of an education in medicine. Does TS itself pose any problems to my capabilities as a medical doctor? I am not worried about associated conditions, such as OCD or anxiety, as I have overcome those. I personally know of one medical professional whom had TS. It was the brother of my adolescent psychiatrist. He was a cardiovascular surgeon, which obviously requires a great deal of finesse. Feel free to ask me any questions.

Happy New Year to anyone reading this. Here is to 2021.

 

[Dral]

If I remember correctly, we are asked to sign off on some statement that is basically an attestation that we have no condition that will prevent us from performing routine duties of our training/job. I remember doing this for med school and for residency. I'm not sure I had to do it for my job or not, but I'm sure there is an analogous thing for that (There is a whole portion that involves credentialing to see patients and for each type of procedure, so I guess that's it).

I'm sure exceptions are made. However, part of it is recognizing self-limits. A blind person is not going to be a radiologist for instance.

If your tics are not prevalent when you are focused (let's say if you are focusing on retracting in the OR, suturing a wound, looking through a microscope), then you will likely not have any issues. However, you should be as truthful as possible.

If you attest that you have nothing that impedes your abilities, but then experience a tic while retracting in the OR resulting in a tear of the patient's tissue/fascia, then that is on you.