newbie and somewhat different...

[EW1779]

Hey everyone, I have been reading all the posts on this site, and eveyone seems so supportive......it's a pleasant change from the typical pre-med atmosphere.
I have a couple of issues that I would like some input on.......first of all, I am not your typical med school hopeful. Not by far....I'm gay. I don't usually announce my sexuality like this, I don't want it to become my identity. But I can't help being exceptionally nervous as my interviews approach. (I got interviews at Einstein and Stony Brook a couple of weeks ago, and last Friday I got Rochester and UVa!! I didn't think I would get any.) I am not sure how to appraoch these kinds of issues if they are broached in an interview, and I am finding out that more and more people are being asked hot they feel about gay/lesbian issues. I realize that medicine is an age old profession, and can be very conservative. I am sure there are some that are reading this that thing homosexuals should not be doctors. I am unsure, and my interview at Rochester is October 11th. It's my first choice, and I don't want to blow it. But I feel that I should be true to myself as well.

I hope I have not offended anyone, I just want to know if there are any other aspiring physicians out there that might be in the same position. Even if you are not gay, and there is a 90% chance that you aren't, I would like to know how you feel.

That issue aside, I just want to thank everyone for making this site what it is. It's a great resource and I for one am thankful for it. Everone onjoy the rest of the weekend, and I hope the interview invites keep on rolling in for everyone.

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[Cobragirl]

You asked a very valid question...and as for me, I don't think there's anything wrong with being a gay doctor. If anything, it's akin to being a "minority" student, and I think maybe the "conservative" profession might need a few more doctors that can truly understand what gay/lesbian patients might be going through both physically AND emotionally. In my EPC class we actually read about several cases where "straight" docs just ommited pap smears and VD portions of gynecological exams on lesbian patients because they just assumed there was no need (as if lesbians can't get cervical cancer and venereal diseases like the rest of us).

As for getting through your interviews...for one, your personal sexual preference should NOT be brought up (by the interviewers). Quite frankly, it's none of their business and considered an "illegal" question (just like asking a straight woman how many partners she's had). If an ETHICAL question comes up however (would you work with AIDS patients), all you have to do is answer truthfully...and again, there is no need to divulge your status as gay.

Frankly, your sexual preference could be held against you if you were to get some "old school" conservative interviewer (despite the fact that it would be illegal to do so), so if I were you, I would just stay mum about it. Interviews are very subjective, and if you got a conservative who found out you were gay, it would be quite easy for him/her to make up some other reason for their disinterest in you attending their school...and it would be extremely hard for you to prove otherwise.

Congratulations on your interviews and good luck!

 

[leorl]

echoing. If a school rejects you on the basis of being gay, not only is that illegal, but that school is beneath you. It's not even worthy of your consideration. I'm not gay. If a school asked my thoughts on gays in medicine or gay patients or what not, and rejected me on the basis that I see nothing wrong with it, then that school is beneath me as well. It would actually be insulting to get accepted into a place where people's minds are so narrow, backwards and outdated. But honestly, I don't know why questions of that nature would come up. I haven't been through the interviewing process, but that sort of questions isn't asked for employment or any other reason, so there's no warrant for it being asked in other professional settings.

 

[EW1779]

Thanks for your kind words guys. It means alot, and of course gives me confidence going into what may well be the most intesne experiences of my life.

What stage are you guys at in the game??

 

[mophead]

Just wanted to put a plug in for not being *totally* closeted. At my med school, part of our diversity training during orientation was on sexual orientation, and we had several docs sitting on a panel, telling us they hadn't experienced much discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. One of my PBL instructors (a family practice doc) is an out lesbian. A good friend of mine applied to med school having worked for a gay organization. She put that work experience on all her apps and is now at a top med school. I saw at least one fellow applicant on my interview tours wearing a rainbow pin.

Sexual partners and significant others probably won't come up during interviews, but sexual orientation is more than just who you've gone to bed with. It's important for all of us future doctors to recognize the "non-heterosexual alternative".

Now back to biochemistry.

 

[djmd]

I agree with Cobragirl.
I think it is your best interest to keep quiet on the subject, it may not be right but that doesn't mean that someone can't reject you for that and make it seem like something else...

I definately would not bring it up.
I don't know what I recommend if they ask (it may be illegal to ask, but calling someone on it is not going to win many friends at a school)

-S-

 

[Winged Scapula]

FYI: We have had a few discussions here on the very same topic. You might find a search to be of some use.

best of luck to you.