Writing about personal mental illness in ERAS personal statement

[JoseyCali123]

thoughts?

lets say you wrote about overcoming your own mental illness and how it impacted you towards psychiatry

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[WisNeuro]

When it comes to writing about personal experiences with mental illness, it can be very powerful in a personal statement context. Problem is, very few people can do it well. I'm in a relatively different area (Psychology/Neuropsychology) but I'd say about 5% of the people that attempt to do this, do it well. You can ask here about psychiatry, but I would wager that a minority of individuals who try to do so, succeed in doing it well in a positive manner for application purposes.

 

[Ironspy]

This has been asked many times and answered. You can use the search function for detailed answers.

Briefly: no. Just don't. It's a bad idea.

 

[st2205]

The personal statement is more about assessing your potential floor rather than your ceiling. Think of it more like a sensitive test to rule out out something bad, rather than a specific test that rules in something good. Except in some rare circumstance, the personal statement isn’t giving a ton of traction relative to the rest of the application. Obviously, this interpretation will vary from reviewer to reviewer, but so will some of the disparate views regarding whatever you write.

 

[BiscoDisco]

Do not do this. do not pass go. Do not collect 200 dollars.

 

[NickNaylor]

I agree with @WisNeuro in that it's something that can potentially be meaningful, but the key is in the execution. In general, I would recommend avoiding a disclosure like this unless it's impossible to do so (e.g., you had to take a leave of absence, work suffered immensely as a result of mental health issues, etc.), and even then I would get some feedback about your personal statement to make sure that it reads like you're wanting it to read.

 

[deleted480308]

Imagine you are hiring a sherpa to carry your stuff up a mountain. One of the applicants for the sherpa job includes a very well written essay about their multiple bouts of altitude sickness, back problems and knee surgeries.

There is a lot of risk with almost no real payoff potential

 

[Monocles]

OP DO NOT do this.

A discussion with my old med school PD -- a lot of programs actively try to screen out people with MH issues. At the end of the day hospitals need cheap labour... if there's a high chance of a worker having mental breakdowns and thus aren't able to produce, then they are seen as an economic liability to the hospital/program.

This sounds awful coming from the field of psychiatry, but do your best to hide ANY mental health issues on the interview trial.

 

[Goro]

Imagine you are hiring a sherpa to carry your stuff up a mountain. One of the applicants for the sherpa job includes a very well written essay about their multiple bouts of altitude sickness, back problems and knee surgeries.

There is a lot of risk with almost no real payoff potential

You made me lough out loud with this one!

 

[Mass Effect]

I don't know. I revealed a chronic potentially debilitating health issue on both med school apps and residency apps. People commented on it at multiple interviews. I don't think it held me back. That said, it depends on the mental health issue. You had a problem with anxiety? Sure. You're suffering from schizophrenia? I probably wouldn't.

 

[siliso]

No. Do not. You shouldn’t need to reference this if it’s been adequately treated and overcome - you have other accomplishments and distinctions to reference without highlighting potential risks.

 

[FlowRate]

I don't know. I revealed a chronic potentially debilitating health issue on both med school apps and residency apps. People commented on it at multiple interviews. I don't think it held me back. That said, it depends on the mental health issue. You had a problem with anxiety? Sure. You're suffering from schizophrenia? I probably wouldn't.

IMO there's a difference between "I have X physical issue with no forseeable limitations thanks to treatment" and pretty much any honest version of a MH diagnosis disclosure of similar potential severity. The simple reason is that any sufficiently severe MH diagnosis also comes with a comparatively high likelihood of recurrence. And if it's not that severe, then why mention it? It's not endearing and just signals potential to be overly identified with your patients.

 

[whopper]

Although it's illegal and unethical, some programs will nail you for having a mental health problem toss you out from consideration. It's not right but it happens and there's no way you will be able to prove they did it.

I've mentioned this before. Students applying to residency have asked me what to do. I tell them, of course you have to admit to it if they ask about it on the application, but I also tell them what I mentioned above-you admit to it, unfairly or not they will possibly toss you out, then tell them I don't got a good answer of what they really should do vs what I'm supposed to tell them to do.

If you, however, don't tell them, and you are caught in a lie that is serious too. Lying on an application is illegal although most places won't get the law involved, but it also pretty much leaves you potentially defenseless if your health problem acts up and you need time off or other things from the program because it's hurting your ability to do your job.

 

[deleted480308]

Although it's illegal and unethical, some programs will nail you for having a mental health problem toss you out from consideration. It's not right but it happens and there's no way you will be able to prove they did it.

I've mentioned this before. Students applying to residency have asked me what to do. I tell them, of course you have to admit to it if they ask about it on the application, but I also tell them what I mentioned above-you admit to it, unfairly or not they will possibly toss you out, then tell them I don't got a good answer of what they really should do vs what I'm supposed to tell them to do.

If you, however, don't tell them, and you are caught in a lie that is serious too. Lying on an application is illegal although most places won't get the law involved, but it also pretty much leaves you potentially defenseless if your health problem acts up and you need time off or other things from the program because it's hurting your ability to do your job.

Unethical? To screen a known risk factor regarding work performance and program completion?

 

[QofQuimica]

Bad idea. As noted above, don’t ever lie on an app. But don’t go out of your way to volunteer extra info either. This kind of unsolicited admission is almost certainly going to hurt you more than it helps.

 

[siliso]

Nobody is going to ask you about medical conditions outside of whether you can meet the technical standards on your application to school/residency. For licensure you will in some states be asked and a serious persistent type mental illness (bipolar, schizophrenia) could be a problem. If your problem is depression or anxiety, you and 20-40% of other applicants (probably more in psych even) can join the club. It’s not even interesting or uncommon to be worth writing.

 

[clausewitz2]

I don't know. I revealed a chronic potentially debilitating health issue on both med school apps and residency apps. People commented on it at multiple interviews. I don't think it held me back. That said, it depends on the mental health issue. You had a problem with anxiety? Sure. You're suffering from schizophrenia? I probably wouldn't.

Our PD has said on more than one occasion that he assumes all applicants have a diagnosable anxiety disorder of some kind. This is only a little bit of a joke.

More to the point, whereas I can think of a few clinical psychology programs that might actively welcome applicants with lived experience of SMI, if you are applying to psychiatry best to keep stumm.

 

[DRG23]

I matched this year and I disclosed my mental health history in my personal statement. It was the major catalyst that lead me to choosing psychiatry and I would've felt disingenuous if I hadn't mentioned it. Granted, I ended up matching pretty low on my rank list, but whether that was due to my disclosing is impossible to know. Just offering an alternate perspective.

 

[whopper]

Unethical? To screen a known risk factor regarding work performance and program completion?

It is so if the person is being treated for it and can otherwise work, but is not being given as much as a chance vs someone who never had a mental health disorder.

Bear in mind psychiatrists are supposed to help to defuse the stigma against the mentally ill by opposing employers that would not hire someone with a mental health disorder that could otherwise work.

The unethical part is where many programs are likely not even giving the applicant a fair chance despite that the person's mental health problem is being effectively treated.

I matched this year and I disclosed my mental health history in my personal statement. It was the major catalyst that lead me to choosing psychiatry and I would've felt disingenuous if I hadn't mentioned it. Granted, I ended up matching pretty low on my rank list, but whether that was due to my disclosing is impossible to know. Just offering an alternate perspective.

Good for you for doing what you believed in. Did it affect you? Like you said, I don't know, and we may never know. It is a risky move.

 

[DRG23]

Good for you for doing what you believed in. Did it affect you? Like you said, I don't know, and we may never know. It is a risky move.

Yeah, it's hard to tell how things would've been had I not disclosed. I did end up falling down my rank list, but at the same time I was offered interviews in the first place so it's not like I got screened out.

If I could do it again, I wouldn't change anything, but I can understand why people would be hesitant to disclose. I would just warn anyone who does mention it in their PS to be prepared to talk about it on interviews (for reference, I talked about it on every interview I went on, because it was such a significant part of my journey to psych, but only one interviewer ever questioned my decision to disclose).

 

[deleted480308]

It is so if the person is being treated for it and can otherwise work, but is not being given as much as a chance vs someone who never had a mental health disorder.

Bear in mind psychiatrists are supposed to help to defuse the stigma against the mentally ill by opposing employers that would not hire someone with a mental health disorder that could otherwise work.

The unethical part is where many programs are likely not even giving the applicant a fair chance despite that the person's mental health problem is being effectively treated.



Good for you for doing what you believed in. Did it affect you? Like you said, I don't know, and we may never know. It is a risky move.

You seem to be implying the same odds of finishing, not needing time off, and not having problems when comparing people with certain illnesses and people without

I don’t think the odds are the same.

That’s why I suggest not disclosing if you can do so honestly because any logical program would need to consider one group higher risk than the other

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

Ethics, fairness, stigma.... These are job interviews. If you interviewed for a job at Starbucks as a barista, you wouldn't talk about your depression. Like all job interviews, the applicant is also sizing up the job to see if it is a good fit, but don't lead with this attitude.

Applicant: "I understand that you have call. How can you assure that clinical duties are not precluding your educational mission?"
Program Director's internal dialogue: "Next!"

 

[FlowRate]

The unethical part is where many programs are likely not even giving the applicant a fair chance despite that the person's mental health problem is being effectively treated.

As I was trying to say in my earlier post, but I'll reiterate more bluntly now, there's no reason to disclose if it has been effectively treated.

 

[splik]

Well you would be in good company with the other hundred applicants who have the same idea if you did, as it is one of the six personal statements in psychiatry but as mentioned above it does tend to have the potential to backfire. The way to think about info in your PS - is this something that you want all the faculty and co-residents to know? (because they will be reading your PS and interviewing you or ranking etc). So bear that in mind.

My advice for personal statements is the keep it boring. Tell us about what excites you about a career in psychiatry, what your career goals are, any relevant past experiences (e.g. volunteering, clinical experiences, research, teaching, past career), and what you are looking for in a residency program. The clarity of the writing and quality of written communication are just as, if not more, important than the content. Use lots of action words, convey lots of enthusiasm, and have a generally positive tone, even if there are some more sombre parts to your story. No one wants to read a depressing PS.

And especially for IMGs, make sure that the English good - spelling, punctuation, grammar, correct use of idioms. And don't put anything like "I am honored to apply to your esteemed residency program" which a lot of foreign grads seem to have learned from somewhere.

Also remember doctors are horrible people and will judge you for being sick. Probably best to avoid mentioning any illness (mental or physical) unless it is unavoidable. An alternative perspective, is you may not want to match at a program that would judge you so. However, as psychiatry is somewhat more competitive than in the past, I am not sure I would advise all but the most stellar applicants to carry that attitude.

 

[whopper]

, there's no reason to disclose if it has been effectively treated.

Not if in doing so you're lying on the application. Many applications state something to the effect of "do you suffer" and/or "have you suffered" from an illness that could affect your job.

Also you wrote the word "treated" as if it's past tense. Several disorders are in remission because they're still being treated and the person is expected to remain in treatment. Some have it worded "are in you treatment." Also if a program knows one of their residents has health concerns, if they are doing the right thing (correctly many people pointed out they may not do the right thing), they might be proactive and have things in place for that resident that are very helpful should the disorder relapse.

As written above, and this is good advice.

Bad idea. As noted above, don’t ever lie on an app. But don’t go out of your way to volunteer extra info either. This kind of unsolicited admission is almost certainly going to hurt you more than it helps.

 

[FlowRate]

Not if in doing so you're lying on the application. Many applications state something to the effect of "do you suffer" and/or "have you suffered" from an illness that could affect your job.

We are talking about writing about personal mental illness in ERAS personal statements, aren't we? There is no such question requiring you to divulge your health information in your personal statement.

If you are effectively treated then you should be able to answer in the affirmative that you have the technical standards necessary to do your job. If you need disability accommodations, that comes after you're hired, because they are reasonable accommodations that enable you to meet those technical standards.

 

[whopper]

There is no such question requiring you to divulge your health information in your personal statement.

I haven't done an ERAS recently so if you have seen the last application and your information is accurate then you are correct in regards to the personal statement itself.

 

[Stagg737]

I haven't done an ERAS recently so if you have seen the last application and your information is accurate then you are correct in regards to the personal statement itself.

There is no obligation to disclose mental illness (or any illness) on ERAS unless you're requesting/requiring accommodations.

 

[lyla]

Don’t do it. You’re not going to standout in a good way.