Surviving Medical School

Started by freakofnature
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freakofnature

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I have a bit of an odd question... As of now I am ready to apply to medical school, I have an excellent GPA, a decent MCAT score and more health care experience than most and I feel that I stand a superb chance of getting in. I have only one concern, my health. I am a type one diabetic. What is the possibility that I would be able to successfully complete medical school/residency in good health, or at all? I have exceptional control of my diabetes and I have never had a problem in my undergraduate degree but, medical school is a different story. I’ve never really thought about it until now. I know what I want but it’s important to be realistic. What do you think? Is it possible for a type one diabetic to succeed in this profession? Is there such a thing as a healthy physician with diabetes? Please be candid.
 
I don't see any reason why you couldn't do it. As long as you prioritize your own health over what some irate attending wants, you'll be fine. It might be a bit of an inconvenience during long surgeries and procedures, but that's probably the most significant problem you'll encounter.
 
freakofnature said:
I have a bit of an odd question... As of now I am ready to apply to medical school, I have an excellent GPA, a decent MCAT score and more health care experience than most and I feel that I stand a superb chance of getting in. I have only one concern, my health. I am a type one diabetic. What is the possibility that I would be able to successfully complete medical school/residency in good health, or at all? I have exceptional control of my diabetes and I have never had a problem in my undergraduate degree but, medical school is a different story. I’ve never really thought about it until now. I know what I want but it’s important to be realistic. What do you think? Is it possible for a type one diabetic to succeed in this profession? Is there such a thing as a healthy physician with diabetes? Please be candid.
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There are a number of diabetic students (both type I and type II) in my class, and I've met quite a few physicians who are diabetics as well. There's no reason why you can't have good control of your diabetes in medical school or even in residency.

One of my buddies in my class is a type I diabetic, and he had pretty crappy glycemic control...I think A1c was around 9. After being exposed to all the complications of diabetes, and seeing patients who had neglected their disease, he was motivated to take care of himself. Long story short, he finally started taking care of himself, and his A1c is back down to 6 or so.

There's no reason why you can't eat right, work out, and take care of yourself. There is always time...don't believe all the negativity and horror stories out there.
 
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Hopefully no one will take this post as me diminishing how difficult medical school is...I'm not a med student yet and I don't underestimate the workload...but I do know that most schools don't require you to actually go to class the first 2 years, so as long as you can handle marathon study sessions, you will probably be okay in that regard. You'll be home a LOT, and I'm sure that will make the disease easier to cope with. 3rd year is supposed to be the hardest, and you will be running around the hospital like crazy, but 4th year is supposed to be the easiest.
 
I think you should be great- I have worked with Type I diabetes and I think if you are ok bringing your supplies with you to class/lab you should be fine. The faculty here (and I assume at any school) is very accomadating so if your sugars are low and you need to step out of the lab to take a reading or take a glucose tab/sugar/etc you should be fine. Not sure if you take shots or use a pump but the pump might work better for while you are in school since you will find yourself in the library/study rooms at odd hours of day so it could be harder to do insulin shots.

I am going through with 2 endocrine diseases (PCOS and Hypothyroidism). I had PCOS when I started but got diagnosed with the thyroid stuff during the middle of the first year- the faculty really rallied behind me to get me a specialist in town, help with study techniques since I was exhausted, etc.

Go for it! Follow your dreams and while the road might be a lil tougher it is totally doable!
 
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