Medical Programs Better Able to Accommodate Those with Mental Illness

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Confused Post Med

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This is a real thread. Does anyone know of any MD programs that are in a more flexible format, less mandatory class attendance, block testing, minimal testing, to accommodate someone with bouts of bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, depression? This can be a program in the US or internationally. I honestly think the best format would be distance learning but I know that's not realistic. I just have alot of trouble with the eight hours + a day studying hard sciences. Things that involve person to person interaction are fine. i.e., clinicals will be less of a clash than the basic science years. Help
 
This is a real thread. Does anyone know of any MD programs that are in a more flexible format, less mandatory class attendance, block testing, minimal testing, to accommodate someone with bouts of bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, depression? This can be a program in the US or internationally. I honestly think the best format would be distance learning but I know that's not realistic. I just have alot of trouble with the eight hours + a day studying hard sciences. Things that involve person to person interaction are fine. i.e., clinicals will be less of a clash than the basic science years. Help
While there are more flexible medical schools in terms of preclinical class attendance and regular school exams (Yale comes to mind), it's really besides the point. Medical training is rigorous and demanding, so even if you have some flexibility with class attendance and exams, you will still have to learn the same amount of stuff as anyone else, which, if you plan on graduating on time, still means hours and hours of studying every day. Then, forgive my bluntness, buy you're naive in your expectation that clinical rotations will be easier for you. Clinical rotations are harder than preclinical studying for most people because you have to balance long hours at the hospital with book studying - yes, you'll still have to do a whole lot of studying, it's not just about interacting with patients. In addition to this, clinical rotations are stressful for most students because they're the lowest on the totem poll and have to navigate the politics of their hospital teams etc. As a result of clinical rotation pressures, some people develop depression for the first time in their life or have a recurrence if they've had depression before. Lack of sleep that you're pretty much guaranteed to experience during at least some of the rotations can lead to a relapse of pretty much any mental disorder, notably bipolar. And I'm not even talking about residency training where there is a lot less flexibility and tolerance of people requesting a lot of sick time or lower responsibilities.

In other words, finding a medical school with a flexible preclinical curriculum is not going to help you because things only get harder and a lot more inflexible. First and foremost, you need to make sure you can keep your mental illnesses under control, so you can perform at a level expected from a medical student. Work with your psychiatrist on this. If you have a good relationship with your psychiatrist, you may bring up your desire to go into medicine and see what advice they can give you. Finally, it's possible that you're not fit for medical training - and it's ok, many people aren't, and there are plenty of great things to do other than medicine.

Update: I wrote this before reading your two other threads. I still stand but what I wrote with one significant correction: since you'very already failed out of two schools, it's clear that you can't handle medical school. I'm sorry but I agree with those who suggest that you take an MPH and/or PhD route.
 
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While there are more flexible medical schools in terms of preclinical class attendance and regular school exams (Yale comes to mind), it's really besides the point. Medical training is rigorous and demanding, so even if you have some flexibility with class attendance and exams, you will still have to learn the same amount of stuff as anyone else, which, if you plan on graduating on time, still means hours and hours of studying every day. Then, forgive my bluntness, buy you're naive in your expectation that clinical rotations will be easier for you. Clinical rotations are harder than preclinical studying for most people because you have to balance long hours at the hospital with book studying - yes, you'll still have to do a whole lot of studying, it's not just about interacting with patients. In addition to this, clinical rotations are stressful for most students because they're the lowest on the totem poll and have to navigate the politics of their hospital teams etc. As a result of clinical rotation pressures, some people develop depression for the first time in their life or have a recurrence if they've had depression before. Lack of sleep that you're pretty much guaranteed to experience during at least some of the rotations can lead to a relapse of pretty much any mental disorder, notably bipolar. And I'm not even talking about residency training where there is a lot less flexibility and tolerance of people requesting a lot of sick time or lower responsibilities.

In other words, finding a medical school with a flexible preclinical curriculum is not going to help you because things only get harder and a lot more inflexible. First and foremost, you need to make sure you can keep your mental illnesses under control, so you can perform at a level expected from a medical student. Work with your psychiatrist on this. If you have a good relationship with your psychiatrist, you may bring up your desire to go into medicine and see what advice they can give you. Finally, it's possible that you're not fit for medical training - and it's ok, many people aren't, and there are plenty of great things to do other than medicine.

Update: I wrote this before reading your two other threads. I still stand but what I wrote with one significant correction: since you'very already failed out of two schools, it's clear that you can't handle medical school. I'm sorry but I agree with those who suggest that you take an MPH and/or PhD route.

Thank you for your thoughtful reply.
 
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