Quoted: Substance abuse history and medical school application

[Doodledog]

Posted for a member

Does the application for medical school ask you if you have ever been treated for substance abuse? Is there a time limit?

Right after college I injured foot severly and was prescribed pain medication. At that time I had a number of events occur that caused me a great deal of emotional pain. I abused the pain medication to numb this pain. 4 months later I start waking up in the morning feeling sick unless I take the medication...I do some research and realize I am in big trouble.

Same day, I call my doc and am in an inpatient stablization program for a couple days. After which I am refered to a doctor for Suboxone treatment. During my program I saw my doctor often, as well as, a psychologist. I never missed and appt, never failed a drug test, and have never relapsed from the day I called for help. Eventually, I tapered off the Suboxone and was technically done with treatment. However, I continued occassional meetings with both doctors to chart my progress and asked for random drug screens to have a record.

I have been clean for almost 2 years. And have done great.

I always wanted to go into medicine. I actually gave it up to start a family with a person who left me for someone else, and had been cheating throughout our entire relationship. (the events that caused me great emotional pain)

Through the process of my treatment program I grew in so many ways. I feel like a completely different person. And I want more than anything, to return to my pursuit of medicine. I am planning to begin a program to complete my pre-req science courses, prepare for the MCAT, and gain volunteer and clinical experience.

But I decided, I need to bite the bullet and get some concrete answers on what I am required to discuss about my past, and how it will effect my chances of becoming an MD.

I am looking for honesty and accuracy please. And at the same time, a bit of compassion. This is my dream, and I have realized this it is the only thing I will be happy doing with my life. So like I said, I need the honest truth...but I have reviewed some of these threads and seen a lot of pre-meds that are only interested in tearing down their competition. I am not interested in that non-sense. I'd prefer responses from people that have concrete knowledge.

Thank you for your advice. Take care.

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[phospho]

Posted for a member

I have been through the application process, and no one asked me anything about substance abuse. I guess it might vary from school to school, but I did not personally see it, even though I applied to a wide range of programs. Obviously, they are big on criminal activities and academic violations; however, I do not recall any questions about substance abuse (assuming it's not documented in anything you submit to them).

Also, even if they do ask, I still wouldn't disclose. I'm assuming you don't have it mentioned in a criminal file or academic transcript, so it's impossible for them to know. It would only hurt you. I'm not saying you should be dishonest; however, as you probably know, US medical schools have become extremely competitive to get into, so volunteering any negative information about yourself (that you don't "need" to volunteer) will give them a reason to throw away your application. Doctors are held to very high standards when it comes to substance abuse, so giving away information that may indicate "weakness" on your part could potentially be detrimental to you as a future matriculant anywhere.

I guess other people may argue that since doctors are held to these high standards, future doctors are morally obligated to fully disclose any information that the admissions committees might find as something worth taking into consideration. However, I personally disagree with that.

Admission to medical school (in my opinion) is a heartless process. You've obviously grown up and put your problems behind you. Use that as a personal motivator, but keep it to yourself

I wish you the very best of luck!