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  • October 18, 2005 at 11:13 am #22915
    medeski7
    Participant

    Hi there,
    I have a wonderful girlfriend whom I am trying to assist in looking at med schools. When she was young, say 19 years old, she got a felony in regard to a controlled substance. I believe the charge was “accomidation” in that she accomidated someone who was trafficking, i.e. gave him a ride to a sale. She is older now, gets great grades (I believe a 3.8) and is going for the presidency of an honors fraternity. Is she going to be barred from entering med school? Right now we are considering TN. Are other states better? Any help is appreciated.

    Thank you.

    October 18, 2005 at 10:21 pm #30354
    yokelridesagain
    Participant

    You need an attorney.

    She needs to get this off of her record, or at least placed in some kind of legal limbo where she doesn’t have to disclose it.

    This is going to require a legal proceeding and possibly a substantial wait. And she better not EVER do anything else even slightly illegal, particularly as regards controlled substances.

    Don’t mean to be harsh, but long story short there are more than enough people who want to be doctors without admitting convicted felons to medical school.

    Physician-resident

    October 25, 2005 at 8:28 pm #30381
    jwc97
    Participant

    While in college, I received two minor misdemeanor offences for underage drinking. I cannot expunge these or hide these offenses. Will this influence or impact my ability to be accepted?

    October 25, 2005 at 9:20 pm #30382
    yokelridesagain
    Participant

    Impact? Sure, it’s probably not going to help.

    Unlike a felony conviction, however, it’s not a bar to getting a medical license. So, it’s not at the same level of problem as the situation mentioned above.

    Still, if I was on a medical school admissions committee and saw two convictions related to substance use, I would certainly bring that up with the applicant.

    October 26, 2005 at 8:35 am #30386
    jwc97
    Participant

    I understand.

    I am going to vent for a minute… :)
    That’s BS if a medical school doesn’t want to accept me or a health system doesn’t want to hire me because I drank before I was 21 years old (i.e. something that happened 10 plus years in the past). I am not trying to make excuses for my mistakes, but I guess I am very frustrated. My excuse is that I don’t have a drinking problem and I don’t drink very often. As a result, you can easily tell when I have had drink or two because I never drink. 99.9999% of my life I always played by the rules.

    Okay, I am done venting… Thank you for listening.

    In conclusion, I am a non-traditional student who is looking to complete med school prerequisites over the next 2.5 years while working fulltime (I start taking classes this winter). I have worked in IT for the past 4 years and have moved up very fast in a large company. Should I even bother with med school knowing that medical schools and health systems may reject me?

    Thank you for your help!

    October 27, 2005 at 12:48 am #30393
    yokelridesagain
    Participant

    Oh yes, I remember your post on another board.

    All I meant to say was, if I saw substance related convictions I would ask about it. It’s not that prior substance use or abuse in particular is a bar to medical education; even if you spent two years in rehab they can’t legally hold it against you as long as you don’t have a criminal record and–most importantly–as long as you’re clean.

    If all of this happened a decade ago and you have had no further run-ins with the law, the more likely it is that it isn’t going to be a major problem.

    Hopefully, two MIPs in the nineties won’t make the average screener think that you’re some kind of closet alcoholic.

    Whether or not you should apply is a personal decision. The major question remaining on your application is your MCAT score, which could have a substantial impact on your chances.

    If you have the time and motivation to dedicate to the application process–particularly if you’re willing to do extra post-graduate work if necessary–you should stand a reasonable chance.

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