personal life

[MacGFlow]

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hallo everyone. i haven't been active on this website since i was interviewing for med school 3 years ago, but i just rediscovered what a wonderful source of information it is.

my apologies if this question has been asked a dozen times over:

so, i'm not sure how ubiquitous this opinion is...if it's dated or not...but i have read/heard (as in the house of dreams and glass) that psychiatry interviews can be intense; that is, more so than interviews for other specialties. exactly how personal do interviewers usually get? do they try to pick you apart? find your weaknesses? expose emotions? i ask because i have a number of items to my life which could tarnish people's opinions of me if i were to be direct and honest (ie. i have undergone psychiatric treatment before, and i am gay.)

it seems silly to have to address a question like this in the year 2007 and all considering how far along discrimination legistlation has come, but people are definitely biased, and the medical profession, as a whole, is still pretty conservative. so, do i have cause for worry if i tell the truth as i feel i should? how bad would i look if i simply said i would prefer not to discuss my personal life with them?

 

[Adam_K]

hallo everyone. i haven't been active on this website since i was interviewing for med school 3 years ago, but i just rediscovered what a wonderful source of information it is.

my apologies if this question has been asked a dozen times over:

so, i'm not sure how ubiquitous this opinion is...if it's dated or not...but i have read/heard (as in the house of dreams and glass) that psychiatry interviews can be intense; that is, more so than interviews for other specialties. exactly how personal do interviewers usually get? do they try to pick you apart? find your weaknesses? expose emotions? i ask because i have a number of items to my life which could tarnish people's opinions of me if i were to be direct and honest (ie. i have undergone psychiatric treatment before, and i am gay.)

it seems silly to have to address a question like this in the year 2007 and all considering how far along discrimination legistlation has come, but people are definitely biased, and the medical profession, as a whole, is still pretty conservative. so, do i have cause for worry if i tell the truth as i feel i should? how bad would i look if i simply said i would prefer not to discuss my personal life with them?

You might find this recent thread useful.

 

[maranatha]

My experience was that only a couple of interviewers asked me personal questions. The only sort of high pressure interview I had was ironically at the program I matched at. To be honest, the few "probing interviews" I had turned out to be my favorite of the whole application process. I wouldn't sweat it at all. The truth is that you can answer as much or as little about your personal life as you choose. Beside, it is none of their business to inquire about your sexual orientation. However, I would venture to say that of all specialities, it would be psychiatry that would be the best open and non-judgemental. At least one would hope so....

Best of luck!

 

[Doc Samson]

Asking about sexual orientation or directly asking if you have ever been in psychiatric treatment are both reportable match violations. Of course, there are lots of ways that interviewers can try to gather this information without directly asking the question.
That said, in my experience, openly gay candidates have a slight advantage in that they are seen as bringing more diversity to the program, but bear in mind that that's in the People's Republic of Massachusetts.

 

[PsychMD2100]

Did your mental health treatment make it into your med school record in any way? Or was it discreet and off the record? What was your diagnosis during therapy?

If it's in your med school record, then you'll have to address it. The personal statement is probably the best place to do it.

After my experiences on the interview trail, I didn't find them asking too many personal questions. That being said, I haven't undergone any mental health treatment, although I would be the first to seek it if I developed a problem. If they do ask you, it's entirely up to you to decide how much you're going to share.

Remember, they're all psychiatrists and they've probably heard almost every conceivable problem out there. It's unlikely that you'll say anything that shocks them.

Moreover, assuming you're academically qualified and your mental health diagnosis is relatively minor, you may not want to be a part of an institution that stigmatizes mental illness or alternative lifestyles. Check out UCSF which has a sophisticated psychiatry program that focuses on GLBT concerns among other things.

 

[MacGFlow]

your replies we comforting -- thank you.

actually, my mental health records are part of my school record. i attended counseling services at my school and i'm pretty sure my diagnosis was depression, or perhaps dysthymia. i made the dean of student affairs aware of my situation because i needed some time off to handle some family/financial/parental issues and i had to move to a new place. needless to say, at the time all that was a lot to handle during my surgery rotation. so i requested two rotations off, and then i requested an extension on the leave so i could participate in a summer internship in humanism in medicine. they granted both requests. i was made to write a formal letter requesting a leave of absence, and i know that that is now part of my permanent record. it will delay my graduation by one year as a consequence; and i expect to have to address it in interviews. i don't have a problem with that.

and i just hope other aspects of my personal life are not asked about. they were not when i was interviewing for medical school. i won't lie and i can't help but feel as though my telling them it's none of their business will have a negative effect on their opinion of me. i suppose if that's the case, there's nothing i can do about it.

 

[PsychMD2100]

Since it's part of your record, the worst thing that you can do now is try to cover it up or not address it openly. Psychiatry is very much a field that values being forthcoming about your past.

If your diagnosis was depression/dysthymia, then that shouldn't be much of a problem. I can't tell you how many doctors I know--both inside and outside of psych--that have had the same diagnosis. Many of them had to be on meds for a while and now they are doing just fine.

Another thing that can help you is finding some strong letter writers that confront your leave of absence head on.

In addition to being open about your leave of absence in your personal statement, the letters writers will play a big role in corroborating your story and reassuring potential psych programs that you're ready for residency.

The very best writers will be psychiatrists that know you well and take an interest in your case. By writing a personal letter addressing your leave of absence, they will be endorsing your candidacy both personally and professionally. Make sure you give them all a copy of your personal statement before they write their letters. When a selection committee reviews your ERAS file, they'll see a comprehensive explanation of what happened and how that is now a part of the past.

 

[MacGFlow]

thanks yes, that's a good idea. unfortunately, i already had my psychiatry rotation before this all happened and so any letters those psychiatrists write on my behalf concerning my leave will be based on what i have told them. i could request that my treating psychiatrist (or the psychologist for that matter) write a letter for me. i think he would do it, though he's not a professor and has never seen my performance. i don't believe that's the kind of letter residency programs want, though. perhaps i'll make an appointment to speak with one of the psychs i worked with and let them know what's up with me; maybe then it won't be so bad when i ask them for a letter...