From teen drug user to long-term recovery to recovery advocate to medical school to suicide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Physicians are human and you will find plenty of doctors who use drugs. I know someone who climbed out of that hole. I dare anyone in that industry to contradict me.

It's terribly hypocritical to have denied this talented young woman a chance to have a brilliant career in the medical field. She had left the drugs behind. It's unbelievable that she was ostracized for mistakes she made as a teen. Seriously disappointing.

The problem is she was up against students without prison records. She had a 7 year prison term. The medical programs are going to choose the students without the history of using drugs and alcohol even if she had been clean for awhile.
Sadly the other problem was that she went public and spoke publicly about her history of using. This is clearly a case where she should have kept her personal history of using drugs and alcohol private.

I agree with the other poster. She could still have parlayed her skills into a pretty decent career. There is a giant need for prison doctors and always jobs for researchers etc.

[Anonymous]

This is why those in recovery are encouraged to keep their former histories of using confidential.

Sadly our society still stigmatizes drug addiction and alcoholism and stigmatizes those in recovery.

[Anonymous]

The fact that she killed herself supports medicine's decision not to train her.

Her dream was dashed but she was still very much employable. She wasn't going to be penniless for life. There are forums on Studentdoctors.net and elsewhere full of people who have MDs but for many reasons can't complete a residency.

Many, many people have BIG dreams dashed in life and don't kill themselves. They are infertile, they lose a child, they lose multiple children, they become paralyzed, they have marriages end, they lose dream jobs, they lose homes, they lose all of the above at the same time.
And yet they don't end their lives. They pick up and they move on.

[Anonymous]

I think some people are getting too focused on a tree and missing the forest.

The issue out there is not about one tragic individual's story, but the overall culture of 'no screwing up' that exists in some fields. This is relevant to most on DCUM, especially as it relates to those parents who are trying to guide teens through the time of experimentation and temptations. This is one area where, apparently, screw up once and you're are done, or funneled into another line of work. I'm sure their are many others as well.

It's tricky because a) you want to keep your kid from falling down this path where mistakes will cost them and b) you also don't want them to say "well, I'm so far down the path their is no coming back". I think that is why this story is posted in the Teens forum rather than the Careers or Health or News forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Physicians are human and you will find plenty of doctors who use drugs. I know someone who climbed out of that hole. I dare anyone in that industry to contradict me.

It's terribly hypocritical to have denied this talented young woman a chance to have a brilliant career in the medical field. She had left the drugs behind. It's unbelievable that she was ostracized for mistakes she made as a teen. Seriously disappointing.

She left the drugs behind but seems as though she had some mental issues going on. We all have dreams that will never ever happen but we don’t take our lives.

Agree. Sad.
It's just a job in the end and not worth killing yourself over. Even if you are working at 7/11.

Working at 7/11 is honest labor, don't knock it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like she still could have been an MD just not in a specialty that she wanted. How tragic that she could not see that.

I agree. She could have tried to match into an internal medicine or family medicine spot (less competitive). Some rural programs are quite easy to get into. Very sad.

[Anonymous]

Bad choice of career. Sad no one counseled her about it.

[Anonymous]

It's a really sad story. A young woman with so much potential, who fought so hard to overcome a rough start in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Physicians are human and you will find plenty of doctors who use drugs. I know someone who climbed out of that hole. I dare anyone in that industry to contradict me.

It's terribly hypocritical to have denied this talented young woman a chance to have a brilliant career in the medical field. She had left the drugs behind. It's unbelievable that she was ostracized for mistakes she made as a teen. Seriously disappointing.

She left the drugs behind but seems as though she had some mental issues going on. We all have dreams that will never ever happen but we don’t take our lives.

Agree. Sad.
It's just a job in the end and not worth killing yourself over. Even if you are working at 7/11.

Working at 7/11 is honest labor, don't knock it.

I respect the heck out of folks working at the 7/11 and grocery stores particularly now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like she still could have been an MD just not in a specialty that she wanted. How tragic that she could not see that.

I agree. She could have tried to match into an internal medicine or family medicine spot (less competitive). Some rural programs are quite easy to get into. Very sad.

There is such a shortage of doctors in rural areas it is very sad she wasn't encouraged to seek out a program there or a family medicine spot. In rural areas of Maryland alone there are extreme doctor shortages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think some people are getting too focused on a tree and missing the forest.

The issue out there is not about one tragic individual's story, but the overall culture of 'no screwing up' that exists in some fields. This is relevant to most on DCUM, especially as it relates to those parents who are trying to guide teens through the time of experimentation and temptations. This is one area where, apparently, screw up once and you're are done, or funneled into another line of work. I'm sure their are many others as well.

It's tricky because a) you want to keep your kid from falling down this path where mistakes will cost them and b) you also don't want them to say "well, I'm so far down the path their is no coming back". I think that is why this story is posted in the Teens forum rather than the Careers or Health or News forum.

You realize that when you're a doctor, screwing up means other people losing their lives. That is why its such an unforgiving environment - its for the greater good. It's 100% right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Medical professionals who experience addiction often have to choose between treatment of their careers because of the ability to prescribe drugs. It happens to people mid-career as well.

These are the stories our preteens need to hear. Len Bias scared the crap out of me as a teen.

You know, you're not the first person to tell me that (Len Bias). It seems to have hit a certain generation of 1980s kids like a sternum punch. That he could go so easily was frightening. I've seen drug counsellors tell his story to kids even today.

My husband is 40 and never tried the (abundant, would have been free) cocaine at his college even one time because of Len Bias.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Physicians are human and you will find plenty of doctors who use drugs. I know someone who climbed out of that hole. I dare anyone in that industry to contradict me.

It's terribly hypocritical to have denied this talented young woman a chance to have a brilliant career in the medical field. She had left the drugs behind. It's unbelievable that she was ostracized for mistakes she made as a teen. Seriously disappointing.

She left the drugs behind but seems as though she had some mental issues going on. We all have dreams that will never ever happen but we don’t take our lives.

Agree. Sad.
It's just a job in the end and not worth killing yourself over. Even if you are working at 7/11.

Working at 7/11 is honest labor, don't knock it.

I did not knock it. Are you low IQ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Physicians are human and you will find plenty of doctors who use drugs. I know someone who climbed out of that hole. I dare anyone in that industry to contradict me.

It's terribly hypocritical to have denied this talented young woman a chance to have a brilliant career in the medical field. She had left the drugs behind. It's unbelievable that she was ostracized for mistakes she made as a teen. Seriously disappointing.

She left the drugs behind but seems as though she had some mental issues going on. We all have dreams that will never ever happen but we don’t take our lives.

Agree. Sad.
It's just a job in the end and not worth killing yourself over. Even if you are working at 7/11.

Working at 7/11 is honest labor, don't knock it.

I did not knock it. Are you low IQ?

NP - you said “even if” you work at 7/11. That implies that it it less than other jobs. Talk about low IQ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think some people are getting too focused on a tree and missing the forest.

The issue out there is not about one tragic individual's story, but the overall culture of 'no screwing up' that exists in some fields. This is relevant to most on DCUM, especially as it relates to those parents who are trying to guide teens through the time of experimentation and temptations. This is one area where, apparently, screw up once and you're are done, or funneled into another line of work. I'm sure their are many others as well.

It's tricky because a) you want to keep your kid from falling down this path where mistakes will cost them and b) you also don't want them to say "well, I'm so far down the path their is no coming back". I think that is why this story is posted in the Teens forum rather than the Careers or Health or News forum.

You realize that when you're a doctor, screwing up means other people losing their lives. That is why its such an unforgiving environment - its for the greater good. It's 100% right.

Np: in this case, I would not say she screwed up once. It seems like a series of screw-ups and agree with another poster that she should have been counseled in what her option were, realistically, going to be.