Psychiatric Medical History of suicide attempt? Will it get in the way?

[dredredre]

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I'm 20 years old and, as a child, suffered severe child abuse. As a result, I was very damaged and was hospitalized at 14-16 years old a total of 5 times for suicide attempts/suicide ideation. I was also diagnosed with SEVERAL disorders and was put on several medications as well. When I turned 17, my doctor decided to wean me off my medications because my dad believed they were doing more harm than good, and he wanted me to rely on myself rather than medications. So, we did just that, and since then I have been fine. Now I am only on a low dose medication for migraines and anxiety. My current diagnoses are only anxiety, migraines, and PTSD.

The thing is, I already know that I need to sign off my medical records in order to get a medical license. I am pretty much recovered and feel extremely stable. I am thinking about getting those records expunged since they happened while I was a minor. But, in case this doesn't work (I still don't know how to do it), will they hold it against me?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Happy Thoughts]

Hell no it won't. In fact it is one of the most inspiring things one can go through coming from someone who is diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic and at onset looking up suicide methods day after day after day. Stable and living life to the fullest now thanks to 600mg Seroquel and 200mg Zoloft and therapy. It teaches you loyalty, respect, dignity, honesty the list goes on and on. If you don't feel comfortable talking about it don't but really it is nothing to be ashamed of. If a medical school holds a MEDICAL condition against you, ask yourself "Why would I want to attend it anyway?"

 

[deleted480308]

They will absolutely ask themselves if medical school is safe for you. Medical training and physicians have a high suicide rate. You should also do some very frank self evaluation before getting into this. If you are sure, then apply

 

[referee3]

Some secondaries will ask about things like this. I'm not sure how adcoms would view it but I can imagine it may be a red flag.

 

[LizzyM]

Your medical record cannot be expunged like a criminal record. I don't know much about medical licensing but the determination of whether or not you should have a license is based on your current health and whether you can safely practice medicine.

Medical schools do not ask about health histories, hospitalization, etc. Your medical records are protected by federal law (HIPAA) just as your academic records are protected by a different federal law (FERPA). At the point where you are admitted to a med school, you may need to provide a medical history and physical, much as you did to go to college. Knowing of a past medical history can help the school direct you toward preventive services and early detection and treatment if something should start to go wrong during med school.

I would avoid mentioning your childhood as a reason for wanting to go into medicine. If you don't open the door, it can't/won't come up in interviews. If you do put it on your application, you could be grilled about your mental status and your fitness for medicine.

 

[mehc012]

Your medical record cannot be expunged like a criminal record. I don't know much about medical licensing but the determination of whether or not you should have a license is based on your current health and whether you can safely practice medicine.

Medical schools do not ask about health histories, hospitalization, etc. Your medical records are protected by federal law (HIPAA) just as your academic records are protected by a different federal law (FERPA). At the point where you are admitted to a med school, you may need to provide a medical history and physical, much as you did to go to college. Knowing of a past medical history can help the school direct you toward preventive services and early detection and treatment if something should start to go wrong during med school.

I would avoid mentioning your childhood as a reason for wanting to go into medicine. If you don't open the door, it can't/won't come up in interviews. If you do put it on your application, you could be grilled about your mental status and your fitness for medicine.

It's a little more...vague...than a criminal record, though, is it not? If you've never been diagnosed with anything, what do you have that you can put down? You can't just make up your own diagnosis.

And following on that, in a somewhat more philosophical vein...if you can't really put down anything you haven't been diagnosed with, wouldn't requiring reporting of medical issues basically be an encouragement for people to not seek help with certain things? Seems not worth the risk (or the personal privacy invasion, in my book) just to 'steer them towards the right resources'.

 

[Goro]

OP, I strongly urge you not to follow this path unless your therapist is on board. Medical school is a furnace and I've seen it break healthy students.

I'm 20 years old and, as a child, suffered severe child abuse. As a result, I was very damaged and was hospitalized at 14-16 years old a total of 5 times for suicide attempts/suicide ideation. I was also diagnosed with SEVERAL disorders and was put on several medications as well. When I turned 17, my doctor decided to wean me off my medications because my dad believed they were doing more harm than good, and he wanted me to rely on myself rather than medications. So, we did just that, and since then I have been fine. Now I am only on a low dose medication for migraines and anxiety. My current diagnoses are only anxiety, migraines, and PTSD.

The thing is, I already know that I need to sign off my medical records in order to get a medical license. I am pretty much recovered and feel extremely stable. I am thinking about getting those records expunged since they happened while I was a minor. But, in case this doesn't work (I still don't know how to do it), will they hold it against me?

Thanks in advance.

 

[dredredre]

OP, I strongly urge you not to follow this path unless your therapist is on board. Medical school is a furnace and I've seen it break healthy students.

My therapist is absolutely encouraging it.

@LizzyM , My hospital said that I can certainly have my records expunged. I just have to call again and ask them what steps I need to take to do so.

 

[NeuResurgens]

I feel like people who have had suicide attempts can stabilize, but you need to make sure to place enough time between yourself and the last episode to be more confident that a relapse won't occur. This is not speaking from an admissions perspective, but a life perspective. As Goro said, it is risky to go into a stressful career like medicine if you have PTSD and a history of suicide attempts. I would wait until you're a bit older, maybe 24 or 25, before applying to medical school. You don't need to mention this sort of thing in med school applications but adcoms can tell if you're not quite stable, even if you think you are. Take the time to do some productive activities, shadow people to see the stress doctors experience first hand, and then consider it. You need to be absolutely sure that stress won't cause suicide attempts ever again.