prior misdemeanors and ERAS/NRMP

[rformd_student]

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Hi everyone,
I had a question regarding the ERAS/NRMP process. Does anyone who has gone through the process in their 4th year recall if the ERAS application contained any questions pertaining to previous criminal records/arrests? If so, was the question limited to felonies or did it ask about misdemeanors as well?

I know that upon completing the NRMP Match and accepting a position in a residency, a background check is almost always required due to patient contact and access to the hospital environment. My specific concern is if a decade-old misdemeanor conviction will hinder my chances of getting a good residency match by appearing on the ERAS portion of the process.

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!
A reformed 2nd year med student

 

[lf777]

Hi

What matters are the felonies. Otherwise don't worry.

good luck
lf

 

[aliraja]

Just don't let it slip - I made the mistake of mentioning the incident with the gerbil and the cross-dressing Lithuanian during one of my interviews...

As an aside, don't go to your interviews drunk.

 

[2ndyear]

I have heard (from someone in the know) that most crimes involving alcohol/drugs are generally not that big a deal for physicians. Most states have pretty extensive programs for addicted physicians and medical students and people get licenses all the time so long as they complete treatment and remain in some follow up program. I don't know the specifics of your past legal involvement, but if they are substance related then just show reform and you should be fine.

 

[aliraja]

I have heard (from someone in the know) that most crimes involving alcohol/drugs are generally not that big a deal for physicians. Most states have pretty extensive programs for addicted physicians and medical students and people get licenses all the time so long as they complete treatment and remain in some follow up program. I don't know the specifics of your past legal involvement, but if they are substance related then just show reform and you should be fine.

OR, and I mean this in all seriousness, if it's a misdemeanor, treated, and in your past, DON'T MENTION IT. When it comes down to you or another candidate who as the exact same application MINUS the dugs/EtOH, which one is the program director going to choose?

Honesty is great as long as it's relevant... if you (or your wife) are pregnant and the delivery/post-partum time will necessitate time off during your internship, you should be up front. If you're getting married and need time for a honeymoon, tell them. If you have some sort of disability that would require special circumstances the ADA states that you don't have to tell anyone - but it'd be nice to do so anyway. If there's anything at all in your past, present, or future that is going to require that the program director, faculty, or your fellow interns change a single thing about their lives to accomodate you, tell them. But for pete's sake - if the misdemeanor is in your past and you're over it and it's been treated and forgotten, DO NOT give anyone a reason to bias themselves against you.

 

[rformd_student]

Thanks for the replies. Of course, Aliraja, I agree that if it doesn't come up I shouldn't volunteer that kind of info. But my concern was if a specific direct question appears on the ERAS application for residency, in which case I would have to answer truthfully.

In response to 2ndYear, the offense was, in fact, a substance abuse-related offense and I successfully completed the court-ordered sentence. My probation was discharged 6 mos early for good behavior and I even obtained an expungement from the court, which effectively strikes the offense from the record. However, the only areas that an expungement order does not hold up is in, you guessed it, professional licensing or government-related positions. They are very explicit about that at the time you are granted the expungement. Hence, my original post....

Well, from what I'm gathering, it seems that the consensus is that I don't need to worry too much because: 1. it was a misdemeanor, and 2. it was substance-related with rehab measures taken.

But does anyone remember if such a question actually appears on the ERAS? Any 4th years out there who've gone through the match?
Thanks again!

 

[johnd]

Pretty sure it only asks about felonies

 

[Apollyon]

ERAS/NRMP isn't so big of a problem, but, depending on the state medical board, some are EXPLICIT - for example, Texas asks about ANY arrest in the past 10 years. Pennsylvania and Ohio also have comprehensive applications (North Carolina's is less robust, to be kind). However, I don't know if Penn and TX have training licenses (Ohio and NC do).

The Texas app says being honest is best, because being arrested/convicted is not an automatic block. However, if you don't disclose it, that is much more serious.

 

[2ndyear]

I can't recall exactly what ERAS asks for with regard to crime, though it could be misdemeanors punishable by jail time and felonies. Your expungement is a whole new issue and I am not qualified to comment on that and whether you need to disclose that on ERAS or not. In fact when you do apply via ERAS it would probably be best to consult the services of a lawyer to go over everything with regards to your situation. If you do indeed have to disclose it on ERAS then do so with full disclosure. Even comment on it in your personal statement if need be. Just don't withhold info without explicit legal advise telling you to do so as not telling is worse. Same goes for applying for licenses (which I am doing right now). They said it's a crime to not tell things on that application. Here is a link that might give you some hope, I'd check to see if your state has one of these and you should probably contact them as well to see what advise they have too:
http://www.hprp.org/topics/bnfts.html

 

[rformd_student]

Thanks again for the info. I really appreciate it and I feel much more at ease. I take my professional obligation very seriously and would never knowingly lie on an application. It's good to know that past offenses don't outright disqualify people from moving forward in their career. God bless the USA! In other countries, situations such as this effectively end one's career.
Reformed, and sober, med student

 

[gaslady]

I would be more worried about the licensing process once you match than ERAS. Some states will ask questions on the application that would reveal your history. This kind of thing shows up on backgroud check. Just because you disclose it in your application doesn't mean that your program will find out about it.
Anyway the consequences of lieing or omitting on your application are great. You risk having your license be resticted. You definitly would have to report this on on all future applications. I know someone who did this, then the medical board found about it. They restricted the person's license and now everyone knows about it. Had he disclosed the infomation to begin with his license likely wouldn't have been restricted and it would not have been circulated in our medical society newsletter that he used to have a substance abuse problem. Be very careful about omissions because you risk scarring your medical career before it even gets started.
In reply to someone's comment about substance abuse not being a big deal for licensure, that's not necessarily true. If you've reformed and are honest about it, then you won't have a problem getting a license and residency. But if you lie about it then when they do find out about it, they will take this as a sign that you are still at risk of repeating your past behaviors.
All I'm saying is don't offer the information if it's not requested but don't lie about it when it is.

 

[rformd_student]

Yes, I'm aware that almost all residencies will do a complete background check at the outset of the residency. Also, the state medical boards will obviously do a complete background check. That's something that I'll have to deal with as it comes.

Oddly enough, I'm not as concerned with that because the precendent seems to be that misdemeanors won't prevent applicants from starting their residency or from obtaining a license. I also feel very fortunate to have received the expungement from the court. My main concern was if it would prevent me from getting a good residency in the first place. I know that the Match process is competitive and when push comes to shove there will be many qualified applicants for each available position. Having to disclose my criminal record at that stage of the process is not something that I look forward to, but if need be, I will be honest and forthright. After all, that's what professionalism is all about.

All I can say is thank God it wasn't a felony!

 

[aliraja]

All I'm saying is don't offer the information if it's not requested but don't lie about it when it is.

I think that's a great upshot. I just don't want rformd_student to walk in and bias them unnecessarily against him/her.

 

[rformd_student]

Yep, I totally agree.

 

[avendesora]

(North Carolina's is less robust, to be kind).

Less robust? I had to list everything including traffic tickets!!. I didn't even remember what YEAR my last ticket was in, but I still had to list it. Fingerprints, letters of reference... Friends staying in Ohio didn't have to do any of this crap. It was harder than my ERAS app!

 

[Seaglass]

Yeah, when I did my NC app I had to list every activity and job since high school, every ticket including the county it happened in. It was a bitch. My Pennsylvania friends had 1 page to fill out.

C

 

[Apollyon]

Less robust? I had to list everything including traffic tickets!!. I didn't even remember what YEAR my last ticket was in, but I still had to list it. Fingerprints, letters of reference... Friends staying in Ohio didn't have to do any of this crap. It was harder than my ERAS app!

What I meant was the application is crap, written half-assed at the last minute sort of stuff. It looks like someone looked at another state's app, and ripped it off (cheaply).

 

[Seaglass]

Oh yeah, definitely.

 

[avendesora]

What I meant was the application is crap, written half-assed at the last minute sort of stuff. It looks like someone looked at another state's app, and ripped it off (cheaply).

Now THAT I would agree with !! 🙄

 

[njbmd]

Hi there,
Some residency programs require a police background check. UVa is one of them. Your misdemeanors will show up and resolution of these will show up too. ERAS doesn't require reporting of non-felonies. (I got arrested during a couple of my protests but the charges were dropped.) These showed up on my police background check and my residency director laughed.

njbmd 🙂

 

[jakstat33]

What services do potential employers use for background checks, and are there any websites that offer this service so we can see what is on our record. (identity theft is bad, really bad)

 

[docmojo]

As a US-IMG I can tell you that other countries require a record search when applying for a visa. I had to have one done in my home state through the State Police when I applied for a Visa to go to Dominica. I guess you could do one at your state's police site. If you lived in state X then go to State X's police website and initiate a search on your own (probably for a fee). They should give you hits on whatever is on your record. Good Luck.

 

[rformd_student]

Thanks for the answers everyone,

To njbmd, thanks for the info on the ERAS questions. Yeah, I'm fairly certain that most residency programs will do a background check *after* you've matched in their program (i.e. before you start working at their hospital). My specific question was if ERAS asked on their app. Thanks for the info, that helps a lot.

To jakstat, to answer your question about who actual performs the background checks, I'm guessing that it varies from state to state BUT it definitely won't be one of those rinky-dink companies on the internet.

Before I started medical school I worked in another field of healthcare field(an allied healthcare profession). When I applied for that license in California I was required to go to a local police department and go through a LiveScan procedure where they take your prints digitally and run it through DOJ and FBI computers. That translates to local, state, and federal level databases. I passed all that, so that's good. The Board that endorses my license is under the same "umbrella" that oversees the CA Medical Board (i.e. Consumer Affairs).

So, my point is, if the CA govt wants an applicant for an allied health professions license to go through a LiveScan background check up to the federal level, you can bet that they'll require at least that much for a Physicians and Surgeons License. CA ain't no joke....