Interesting Story- What are their chances?

[spm47]

The person in this situation had a 2.3 overall GPA at their first University. They transferred and finished with a 3.6 GPA at their new University as a Psych major (undergrad). There is a lot of power to their story. At their previous school this person struggled with opiate addiction. This began with a prescription and ended in a detox program. Their recovery is remarkable with multiple years of sobriety, commitment to NA/AA meetings, sponsorship, weekly volunteering, and speaking through commitments to give back to the addiction community. Volunteer work multiple days a week over that time. A new-found ambition was found through recovery and they excelled greatly in school. During addiction: 2.3 GPA, Post addiction: 3.6 GPA. Cumulative: 3.05 GPA. This persons overall goal is to become a substance abuse psychiatrist, something they would excel greatly at especially after going through this themselves. This person would have an important role in helping saving the lives of those struggling with addiction. Is it a sore subject mentioning addiction? Considering this person does well on their MCAT, does this person have a chance at getting into medical school?

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[Goro]

There are issues with being an ex-addict, to which I'll let my clinical colleagues address.

But come-from-behind stories are so compelling that this would be an attractive candidate.

The person in this situation had a 2.3 overall GPA at their first University. They transferred and finished with a 3.6 GPA at their new University as a Psych major (undergrad). There is a lot of power to their story. At their previous school this person struggled with opiate addiction. This began with a prescription and ended in a detox program. Their recovery is remarkable with multiple years of sobriety, commitment to NA/AA meetings, sponsorship, weekly volunteering, and speaking through commitments to give back to the addiction community. Volunteer work multiple days a week over that time. A new-found ambition was found through recovery and they excelled greatly in school. During addiction: 2.3 GPA, Post addiction: 3.6 GPA. Cumulative: 3.05 GPA. This persons overall goal is to become a substance abuse psychiatrist, something they would excel greatly at especially after going through this themselves. This person would have an important role in helping saving the lives of those struggling with addiction. Is it a sore subject mentioning addiction? Considering this person does well on their MCAT, does this person have a chance at getting into medical school?

 

[LizzyM]

This is a Catch-22. The applicant isn't obligated to report their health history but, on the other hand, the health history contributed to the poor performance. The problem with all of this is whether a person who has had a problem with opiates prior to obtaining a medical license can ever obtain a medical license. A school can admit an applicant, provide an education and a diploma but if the person can't be licensed, then there is a pretty big problem with further post-grad training and with establishment of a medical practice.

I have heard of situations where impaired physicians have been able to work with their state medical society and their state licensing board to have a restricted license and supervision while in recovery but the goal there is to save the career of someone who has developed a problem. If a former addict is seeking a license, there may be less willingness to help someone establish a career that brings with it a DEA number and the ability to write prescriptions for narcotics.

Is there another profession that helps people without the complication of a license to prescribe narcotics? That might be a better choice for someone in this situation.