Question about match

[eforest]

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I'm worried about my ability to match- the story is, I have a longstanding psychiatric illness which was well controlled on meds. Third year of medical school, I got very depressed and left in the middle of my third rotation. I took the rest of the year off and worked- and now I'm back completing third year like any other "normal" med student. The problem is there is no way to cover this up or hide it, so the dean suggested that when I interview, I go for a more transparent approach- brushing on the fact I took time off for psychiatric reasons.

I'm worried that this will make me barely match-able and that program directors will shy away from me because of concerns over my ability to finish residency.

 

[ihearttimgunn]

I don't see any reason to tell them any details. You had some serious medical problems which required you to take some time off. Luckily, with the help of your physician, you recovered and are now able to work again, as you will have proven by doing well in the rest of your 3rd year and your sub-I. Psychiatric disease = disease. Testicular cancer also = disease. MS = disease. They have no right to know the details of your illness, and are not allowed to ask, as long as you can honestly answer the question on your application as to whether there is anything that would interfere with your ability to complete a residency.

Edited to add: Just PM'ed you.

 

[eforest]

Sure, technically I'm not forced to reveal details about my past during an interview- but the thing is, I left DURING third year, and took a long time off. It's obvious there's an issue- hence the dean suggested that I might have to say a little bit about what happened (not getting into the nitty-gritty details of course)

My application has this major flag and I am still worried about my ability to match.

 

[IndyXRT]

Sure, technically I'm not forced to reveal details about my past during an interview- but the thing is, I left DURING third year, and took a long time off. It's obvious there's an issue- hence the dean suggested that I might have to say a little bit about what happened (not getting into the nitty-gritty details of course)

My application has this major flag and I am still worried about my ability to match.

I would recommend to address it, with as few details as possible, in your personal statement. It will invite fewer questions than bringing it up as a topic of conversation on interview day, and you will have plenty of time to mull over how you want to phrase things.

 

[SoCuteMD]

I think one of the biggest factors will be what field you are going into. Any idea yet?

 

[ihearttimgunn]

I totally understand, I would be in my nature to be nervous too, and I don't blame you. That being said, depending on what specialty you want, I still don't think it has to be a particularly big deal, whether you address it in your personal statement or not. People take time off for a variety of reasons, even in the middle of third year. A classmate of mine had to go deal with some family problems; another was seriously injured in the middle of the year. Sometimes people just need to take a bit of time to take stock of their lives and think about if medicine is what they really want to do. I agree with SoCuteMD that it's specialty that is the biggest factor. If you are looking for a mellow specialty like peds, psych, FP - people have been known to get into great programs with multiple Fs on their transcripts, which has got to be a lot worse than taking time off for health reasons, especially if this is the only big red flag on your application. On the other hand, if your illness caused you to, say, swing a punch at an attending and you were disciplined or you got yourself arrested or something like that, you will have to be prepared to explain everything.
Maybe aPD has more specific advice?

 

[BlondeDocteur]

The dean cannot lie about why you took time off, and will most likely list on your MSPE that you withdrew mid-third year for "medical leave." The reason for the leave is absolutely private, protected health information but as with everything else, employment law will be thrown out the window when you interview. They will most likely ask (HIPAA be damned!), and the intention will be to find out "will eforest have the same problems in residency?"

It sounds like the answer to that question is NO. You're doing well now that you're back on the wards, handling the stresses of the clinical year. The fact that you have had a (stable) mood disorder for years, have graduated from college and gone this far in medical school with no other red flags speaks volumes to your ability to handle residency. I don't mean you should disclose all of this to residency PDs by any means-- but you should have a lot of confidence in yourself.

Bottom line: addressing the fact that you took time off for medical reasons is inescapable. How much information you choose to reveal is up to you, and I would use any questions about it to your advantage-- stress your good performance in third/fourth year, your interest in your speciality, etc.

 

[Doowai]

I am just curious if you took care of the problem yourself, or if it became problematic enough to someone (school, family, police, neighbors) that you were forced to seek help. It certainly bodes much better if you recognized a problem and sought help - its actually arguable then how much of a problem it is. If you were sort of forced to seek help because of being a big problem to someone, its a bit more of a problem I think. But I don't know for sure - I am just talking theoretically.

I would try and interview in locations you will have a group of friends and family (if you get along with family), and make sure the PD knows you will be in a supportive environment - if you decide to tell or if they decide to ask. I would avoid interviewing in Alaska for example if all your family and friends live in Florida.

Just my opinion.

Best of luck