misdemeanors and now in med school?
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We had a guy like that here at school. When the school did a background check on everyone, they found out and it wasn't on his application. Needless to say, he's not around anymore.
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Same here, guy from the class above, got the boot between first and second year for leaving stuff out of his application. I think he's cleaning bathrooms in a local fast food joint now, trying to pay off his loans 
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I know a guy at Penn that had two - one was like a fake ID and another was a minor in possession. HE put it on his apps though, and didn't have a problem getting in. Apparently at one school the program director shook his hand and said - "you had a fake, I had one of those too".
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Why don't they do the background check before school starts, and avoid this sort of thing?Originally posted by Buck Strong
Same here, guy from the class above, got the boot between first and second year for leaving stuff out of his application. I think he's cleaning bathrooms in a local fast food joint now, trying to pay off his loans
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to the OP...my friend and i got cited for consumption of alcohol in public when we were 21. he's in dental school and i'm in med school. i don't know if he listed it on his applications, but i did on all of mine that asked about stuff like that, otherwise i didn't volunteer that info. it was never brought up by any of the schools after disclosing it. i don't believe it hindered my application.
by the way, why do you ask? what did you or a "friend" do?
by the way, why do you ask? what did you or a "friend" do?
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I was actually kidding about mine. I meant to post another post after mine, but I kind of forgot. I donno anybody who did or didn't get a misdimeanor at my school. The subject never really came up.
D
Dr.Linus
I have seen most schools asking if you have a felony. There is a big difference. I don't think you have to mention your misdemeanors if they are asking for felonies.
That is my $.02.
That is my $.02.
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actually, i remember most of my secondaries (when they did ask about it) when applying to med school asked "have you ever been convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation?" but you're also right, i do remember a few specifically only asking about felonies. i guess it depends on the school.
again, to the OP, what did you do that makes you ask such a question?
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Might be a good idea to have a lawyer work on getting any unpleasant run-ins with johnny law taken care of (expunged). Generally, I think they have to be five yrs old. Legally, I think you are within your rights to claim something never happened if asked after something has been expunged.
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What would be the point otherwise?
If it's expunged from your record, there's no way to prove it ever took place.
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There are ways, you can't expect to get a job w/ the FBI with an expunged felony. I wonder, purely theoretically, if someone got a felony expunged would they be able to pass the screens for residencies etc. I hear they are pretty thorough.
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I plead guilty to a misdemeanor when arrested doing civil disobedience. Got ARD, which is a common judgement on 1st offenders. Means my record is expunged if I didn't get in trouble over the next 6 months.
While I'm not ashamed of being arrested, I don't report it b/c it has been expunged. Have had background checks done on me and I'm clean.
Run ins with the law may or may not have an affect on your future. Depends on whether your crimes are in the past or not. Drug and alcohol offenses are misdemeanors, but unless you get sober you are headed for worse trouble. Anybody who gets a DUI is a dangerous individual and needs professional help. Med students who get DUI's and don't get sober become doctors hooked on drugs.
Addiction is a disease that tells you that you don't have a problem. Anybody getting behind the wheel over the legal limit probably would pick up a stethoscope or a scalpel after a few drinks or pills (esp. speed) and think nothing of it.
There are plenty of docs in recovery, who are great physicians and decent people. Some of them may even may be your docs. Unfortunately, there are the active addicts out there too & what they do under the influence is truly shocking.
Didn't mean to get on a soapbox, but run ins with the law are among the commonest bottoms among addicts. Any med students with DUIs should face reality now while they are alive.
Cleo
While I'm not ashamed of being arrested, I don't report it b/c it has been expunged. Have had background checks done on me and I'm clean.
Run ins with the law may or may not have an affect on your future. Depends on whether your crimes are in the past or not. Drug and alcohol offenses are misdemeanors, but unless you get sober you are headed for worse trouble. Anybody who gets a DUI is a dangerous individual and needs professional help. Med students who get DUI's and don't get sober become doctors hooked on drugs.
Addiction is a disease that tells you that you don't have a problem. Anybody getting behind the wheel over the legal limit probably would pick up a stethoscope or a scalpel after a few drinks or pills (esp. speed) and think nothing of it.
There are plenty of docs in recovery, who are great physicians and decent people. Some of them may even may be your docs. Unfortunately, there are the active addicts out there too & what they do under the influence is truly shocking.
Didn't mean to get on a soapbox, but run ins with the law are among the commonest bottoms among addicts. Any med students with DUIs should face reality now while they are alive.
Cleo
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Originally posted by Buck Strong
Same here, guy from the class above, got the boot between first and second year for leaving stuff out of his application. I think he's cleaning bathrooms in a local fast food joint now, trying to pay off his loans
Huh? They waited that long to do a background check?
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Quote "Med students who get DUI's and don't get sober become doctors hooked on drugs."
Huh? where did this come from. this leap of logic is ridiculous. while i agree that if a med student has a drug or alcohol problem they should seek help, it is ridiculous to suggest that this individual has a life of drug addiction ahead.
Huh? where did this come from. this leap of logic is ridiculous. while i agree that if a med student has a drug or alcohol problem they should seek help, it is ridiculous to suggest that this individual has a life of drug addiction ahead.
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The OP posted a long thread in pre-allo. I think that he ran into a house (or something) with his car, abandoned the scene of accident and when stopped by the police refused to take the breathalyzer (he is under 21 i think).
Even if an attorney gets involved this is a serious mess. There are laws and arrests that are stupid or minor. There are some that noone will care about. Yet i think that this is a case where the whole issue speaks volumes about the moral standards of the poster. Reckless driving would have been fine. Reckless driving along with fleeing the scene of an accident makes matters much much worse. I suggested to the OP that if i were him i would never touch alcochol again in my life and seek treatment and he has no intention of doing that.
I think the OP has a huge uphill battle waiting for him.
Even if an attorney gets involved this is a serious mess. There are laws and arrests that are stupid or minor. There are some that noone will care about. Yet i think that this is a case where the whole issue speaks volumes about the moral standards of the poster. Reckless driving would have been fine. Reckless driving along with fleeing the scene of an accident makes matters much much worse. I suggested to the OP that if i were him i would never touch alcochol again in my life and seek treatment and he has no intention of doing that.
I think the OP has a huge uphill battle waiting for him.
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tezzie, thanks for the clarification. that certainly sheds new light on the situation. a misdemeanor in and of itself is no big deal. but as you mentioned, in this situation it reflects on one's character, something medical schools are acutely interested in.
N
njbmd
Hi there,
Before you breathe a sigh of relief, most residencies will request a background check before you start. You can be all matched, moved and still not have a job. This happened to a couple of folks who were slated to start internship with me. They were there one day and gone the next. Make sure that you know the legal implications of your "misdemeanors" before you apply for residency.
njbmd
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Lighten up a little. Sounds like a load of MADD propaganda to me.
Everybody makes mistakes.
Getting a single DUI doesn't make you a drunk any more than one thanksgiving dinner a year makes you obese.
My best friend is a year ahead of me in med school and he got a DUI. With all of the crap he is going through to get his taken care of, I don't believe it will ever happen again.
He is not a drunk; he rarely even drinks. He has never been in any kind of trouble with the law. The only reason he even got in trouble is because his alcohol content was .002 over some arbitrary number set forth by the law.
Please check yourself before you hand out judgements, soapboxer
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But minor in possession and disorderly aren't misdemeanors, at least in pennsylvania. they're summary offenses, which is less than a misdemeanor. I got a disorderly (actually, a MIP but the magistrate converted it to a DC so I wouldn't lose my license) when I was 18. is this not the case in other states?
Some med schools and residencies ask; if they do you should tell.
A friend of mine (seriously!)was charged with underage drinking at a bar, but still got into med school without a problem, but was asked about it. She was honest, has done great and she is interviewing for residency as am I. Wants to do ortho and so far it hasn't come up in the residency interviews.
It may put a little extra pressure on you, but if it was minor and a one time deal, most people will chalk it up to being young and making a dumb mistake. The important thing is that you learn from it and it isn't a pattern!
A friend of mine (seriously!)was charged with underage drinking at a bar, but still got into med school without a problem, but was asked about it. She was honest, has done great and she is interviewing for residency as am I. Wants to do ortho and so far it hasn't come up in the residency interviews.
It may put a little extra pressure on you, but if it was minor and a one time deal, most people will chalk it up to being young and making a dumb mistake. The important thing is that you learn from it and it isn't a pattern!
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Wow, I am not sure that it's very cool of you to disclose this PARTIAL info to the allo forum. I know that they could find this if they searched the pre-allo form, but I think if the OP wanted this forum to know he could have told them himself. And if you really wanted them to know, you could have told them the whole story instead of only adding the parts that make the OP look really bad. Yeah, he fled the scene but he said it was only because he was right next to his house, and he ran home to get his parents. And he said he didn't refuse to take the breathylizer, he just wasn't blowing hard enough (I know that he could have been doing this on purpose so he wouldn't get a DUI).
I guess I am just sensitive to this because my best friend (yeah, it's really my best friend) is all stressed out right now because of her misdemeanor. She made a mistake and got caught and I don't think it makes her any less of a person because of it. I have seen tons of my peers do the same things that she did, but not get caught, and still judge her for it. Just my opinion
