QUOTED: Leave of absence

[NotAProgDirector]

I took a leave of absence during my first year of medical school, because I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a doctor badly enough to endure the stress and depression I was experiencing. At this point, I'm not sure whether I want to go back or not. My question is, if I do decide to return to medical school, is my leave of absence going to prevent me from getting a decent residency--especially if I am honest about the reasons for my leave of absence?

If you return to medical school, get good grades / evaluations, and don't have any further leaves of absence, then yes you should do fine. If you try for a very competitive field you may run into some trouble. Many students take a leave of absence for all sorts of reasons, and as long as the issue is addressed, unlikely to recur, and you perform well in medical school, there should be no problem.

Exactly how open to be about your reasons is debatable. Personally, I suggest you tell the truth about the ambivalence about medicine -- as long as you can tell a convincing story that you've decided that medicine is what you want to do. Whether you want to talk about your depression is more debatable, as this is something that certainly could recur in residency and may make some programs shy away from you. You have the right to simply say you took a leave for personal reasons, and it's illegal (theoretically) for programs to inquire further -- however, when this happens to me I tend to assume the worst.

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[Doodledog]

posted in f/u

Please further explain the following:

"If you try for a very competitive field you may run into some trouble."

Do you mean that a LOA, in general, will be a negative? So, even if all else if fine, a personal LOA, for ANY REASON, will be a negative on record and will be grounds for not being considered by, let's say dermatology residencies, even if FULLY EXPLAINED? Is there any way to get around the negative effects of an LOA? What reasons for a personal LOA are considered permissible?

Sorry, just wanted to add to the previous question:

What runs through a program director's mind when they see a personal LOA? Is it comparable to failing the USMLE? How bad is it exactly, even given it being fully explained, productive, etc.?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

There isn't a simple answer.

First, let's differentiate between an LOA for another degree -- an MBA, or an MPH, or a major research fellowship, or something else like that -- and an LOA for other reasons (medical, personal, etc). The first is not a negative at all, and often a positive.

Other LOA's can be seen as a negative. For example, you mention that your LOA was because you were having second thoughts about medicine. If I'm a PD in a competitive field that takes 5 years to train, and I only take 1-2 per year, the last thing I want is someone who after 1-2 years changes their mind. I can't easily hire someone into a PGY-3 position, so I'm stuck and I "wasted" my resources on you.

Also, in a competitive field, I'd have 50+ applications for each spot, maybe even 100+ applications. I have to choose whom I will review. Board scores, LOA's, etc all become fodder for choosing whom goes in the "B" pile. That's the nature of the beast.

You stressed "Fully explained". I think PD's will be looking for "Fully resolved and unlikely to recur".

In the situation you describe, this would be tough. 1st year of medical school is tough. So is internship. I'm trying to avoid taking people who might burn out half way through. Sounds like you burned out after one year of medical school. That would make me nervous. You'd need to prove to me that you've really committed to this, and that you can handle the workload.

 

[jaxw5f]

In this case, I understand that from only knowing he is a 1st year in limbo and questioning return, I respect your response... however, it bothers me that anyone that returns to medical school and performs above average after a LOA for ANY reason should have any difficulty attaining a residency spot in ANY field - if these PDs and others that have never taken an LOA knew how much perserverence and personal strength it takes to return after something terrible enough to cause a LOA in someone that was obviously gifted in the first place or they never would have been accepted to medical school...
it is unfair - but then again, life isn't fair...
-So, be careful all those considering a LOA bc unfortunately, no matter what the med school may tell you - (they just want the rest of your tuition) - you will NOT be playing in the same ball field as your fellow NON-LOA classmates when competing for residency no matter what the case.
Be forewarned...but don't let this deter you if this is what you want, I just wish someone, ANYONE, would have been honest enough with me right from the start that this would be the case - everyone said the same things I read above "everything should be ok as long as you do well from then on out and encounter no other problems" -bull...
Good Luck!!