How to protect myself with mental illness diagnosis as a med student? CARMS + licensing.

[MilwaukeeProtocol]

Hey everyone,

First year med student here, recently diagnosed with psychosis. My psychiatrist recommended I seek some accommodations from my school for being able to do exams/evaluations alone + with more time. However, doing so would require telling my university about my diagnosis, and I'm worried about the future ramifications of doing that, especially for CARMS.

Does anyone know if I have to disclose these things when applying for residency? Or anywhere else? Really don't want to end up unmatched because of this, especially if I eventually get better.

I know I'll have to disclose mental illness for licensing, but does anyone know how I can protect myself on that front so don't get screwed by this way down the line? Really don't want to end up with practice restrictions, for example.

Thanks!

[dragoncat]

I have not had to do anything like this so I don't even know if this is possible: 

See if you can get a note/letter from your psychiatrist or family doctor stating that you will need accommodations for medical reasons without actually stating what the diagnosis or condition is. You school cannot force you to disclose that I believe. 

As for Carms, I would withhold from mentioning that anywhere in your application. Depending on your school, your MSPR may state that you were provided with accommodations but again, they are not allowed to disclose why or what the reasons were. 

If you need to continue to have accommodations in residency, I suggest you have a chat with you program director AFTER you match (and as close to your start date as possible). Once you match, the contract is legally binding both ways. They are bound to take you into the program at that point. 

All the best! 

 

PS: please get life and disability insurance if you don't already have it to protect yourself financially!!

[SpeakWhite]

On 4/11/2023 at 2:47 PM, MilwaukeeProtocol said:

I know I'll have to disclose mental illness for licensing, but does anyone know how I can protect myself on that front so don't get screwed by this way down the line? Really don't want to end up with practice restrictions, for example.

In addition to the advice given above, any time you are asked to disclose or declare your health information, take your time to carefully read what is being asked, and answer exactly what is required, nothing more, nothing less, completely accurately. The devil is really in the details so don't hesitate to ask for specific advice from an uninvolved third party.

The body you have to be the most forthcoming with are the provincial colleges/licensing bodies, and usually that happens after acceptance into residency. Usually, you'll have to disclose chronic or active psychiatric issues that interfere with your ability to practice, so make sure you know what your psychiatrist's opinion is regarding your condition so you can answer accurately. However, you should check now if there is any obligation to proactively disclose as a medical student (in some provinces, one must disclose chronic blood-borne infections as soon as possible, for example).

Mental illness itself is much more likely to affect your ability to practice, rather than any licensing restrictions due to it, so the best you can do is to treat it optimally.

[MilwaukeeProtocol]

On 4/12/2023 at 12:51 PM, dragoncat said:

I have not had to do anything like this so I don't even know if this is possible: 

See if you can get a note/letter from your psychiatrist or family doctor stating that you will need accommodations for medical reasons without actually stating what the diagnosis or condition is. You school cannot force you to disclose that I believe. 

As for Carms, I would withhold from mentioning that anywhere in your application. Depending on your school, your MSPR may state that you were provided with accommodations but again, they are not allowed to disclose why or what the reasons were. 

If you need to continue to have accommodations in residency, I suggest you have a chat with you program director AFTER you match (and as close to your start date as possible). Once you match, the contract is legally binding both ways. They are bound to take you into the program at that point. 

All the best! 

 

PS: please get life and disability insurance if you don't already have it to protect yourself financially!!

Thanks for the tips. I ended up doing what you suggested and am making sure that only the need for accommodations will be disclosed. Unfortunately, I still need to tell my school about my diagnosis, but I can limit that information to staying exclusively with my school’s “handicapped” student office. 
 

Will also try to keep it off my CARMS application. Interesting that needing accommodations might stay on my MSPR, but I’d rather have that than fail a bunch of classes/rotations. 
 

Lastly, thanks for the tip about residency accommodations (didn’t know those existed) and insurance. Will look into both!

[MilwaukeeProtocol]

On 4/13/2023 at 11:33 PM, SpeakWhite said:

In addition to the advice given above, any time you are asked to disclose or declare your health information, take your time to carefully read what is being asked, and answer exactly what is required, nothing more, nothing less, completely accurately. The devil is really in the details so don't hesitate to ask for specific advice from an uninvolved third party.

The body you have to be the most forthcoming with are the provincial colleges/licensing bodies, and usually that happens after acceptance into residency. Usually, you'll have to disclose chronic or active psychiatric issues that interfere with your ability to practice, so make sure you know what your psychiatrist's opinion is regarding your condition so you can answer accurately. However, you should check now if there is any obligation to proactively disclose as a medical student (in some provinces, one must disclose chronic blood-borne infections as soon as possible, for example).

Mental illness itself is much more likely to affect your ability to practice, rather than any licensing restrictions due to it, so the best you can do is to treat it optimally.

Thanks for the info. Will definitely ask for my psychiatrist’s opinion on my ability to practice. And I’ll definitely try to prioritize treatment over fears of future licensing or other hurdles. That’s a very good point.