Do you have to divulge medical info to med schools?

[lost__in__space]

I have a pretty rare hand condition (genetic too...many of the women on my mom's side has it, but i'm the worst) that requires physiotherapy........and I have it in check because I do physio (expensive may I add!) but untreated, my hands shake (not tremor...not that big of a shake but it is noticable). When treated, they are much much better, with minimal shakes but sometimes depending on the situation, they may act up just a bit...especially when i'm stressed out. I've actually always been worried about this. Do I have to divulge this info when applying to med school or once I'm in? What if I think I'm not cut out for surgery but would be great for another specialty because I'm worried my shakes might compromise my technique....is there any time that I might be penalized even though I know myself and that I won't specialize in surgery? There is a pretty invasive surgery to help this condition as well that I might consider later on...but once again that'll be another big step because it's not under OHIP of course due to its rarity and I'll need it done in the US.

[bustylegs]

Hi:

 

I don't think you have to inform medschool of your medical condition, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I do remember, and I think it is in the OMSAS website's FAQ (or U of T FAQ?), there's a question in regards to people with disability and whether these applicants are eligible to apply to medical school. I believe there is a list of tasks that all applicants must be able to perform, but I have not looked at it.

 

On another note, even shaky hands can be great surgeon hands. Check out this video below:

 

http://www.ualberta.ca/~dcollins/transfer.html

 

The above link is taken from a thread in another folder of this forum:

 

http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19328

 

Best of luck!

[lost__in__space]

Hi:

 

I don't think you have to inform medschool of your medical condition, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

I do remember, and I think it is in the OMSAS website's FAQ (or U of T FAQ?), there's a question in regards to people with disability and whether these applicants are eligible to apply to medical school. I believe there is a list of tasks that all applicants must be able to perform, but I have not looked at it.

 

On another note, even shaky hands can be great surgeon hands. Check out this video below:

 

http://www.ualberta.ca/~dcollins/transfer.html

 

The above link is taken from a thread in another folder of this forum:

 

http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19328

 

Best of luck!

 

I've read about him in Dr. Oliver Sacks' book :-)

[young_n_ambitious]

Hey,

I tried viewing the video on the website posted....I could hear the stuff but I wasn't able to view anything. Is there any software required to view it coz I have viewed .avi files before but this seems to be an exception.

Thanks

[Gadzillar]

There's a well known surgeon at Calgary who has (from what I've been told) worked through and overcome a similar medical condition. As long as you can perform all the necessary functions of a physician, it doesn't matter what your medical history is. I have never been asked about my medical history, with the exception of my immunization status. The only times it has come up is with disability insurance and getting coverage for a line of credit.

[lost__in__space]

Hey,

I tried viewing the video on the website posted....I could hear the stuff but I wasn't able to view anything. Is there any software required to view it coz I have viewed .avi files before but this seems to be an exception.

Thanks

 

 

just download it to your desktop and it should run fine from there, it didnt show me on the website as well!

[lost__in__space]

and thanks for all the replies :-) i've been living with this condition for 9 years now and i have it pretty much under control, it just acts up when doing new tasks and i'm nervous but if it's a learned task, i'm fine, or when i do my physio once a week, i'm 85% of what a normal person is in my opinion :-)