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

[Anonymous]

This was an incredibly sad story making it's way around the medical twitter community today, and worth a bit of a read.

https://griceconnect.com/2020/04/21/leigh-sundem-md-georgia-southern-memorial-scholarship-fund/

Leigh Sundem made some bad choices in middle school. Drug and alcohol abuse leading her to the point she ran into a police car while driving and was sent to an intensive two-year addiction treatment. She worked fast-food jobs and dreamed of something bigger. She spoke on CSPAN about her journey and gave speeches to others about recovery. She went to college, summa cum laude, blew away her MCATS, and got into medical school with a desire to become an orthopedic surgeon. But when the time came for matching, no program would admit her given her drug history. Undaunted she tried again the next match, this time for emergency medicine, but again she was denied. Last March she tried a third time but was turned down again. After that, she took her own life.

A memorial fund for scholarships to other deserving students has been set up in her name. https://www.gofundme.com/f/leigh-sundem-memorial-scholarship-fund

While I too think this is an example of a system that is far too rigid, I felt the need to share this story as there many people here who scoff at the idea of "this is going down on your permanent record". For many careers, what you do as a teenager can have an impact on your future plans.

[Anonymous]

Wow. How incredibly sad.

In my experience, residency programs are looking for reasons to eliminate candidates, because there are so many who are qualified. Unfortunately, this is an easy one - history of drug use and abuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. How incredibly sad.

In my experience, residency programs are looking for reasons to eliminate candidates, because there are so many who are qualified. Unfortunately, this is an easy one - history of drug use and abuse.

This. Plus that drug use was connected strongly to depression. That's quite a cross to bear and not desirable in the medical field either.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. How incredibly sad.

In my experience, residency programs are looking for reasons to eliminate candidates, because there are so many who are qualified. Unfortunately, this is an easy one - history of drug use and abuse.

This. Plus that drug use was connected strongly to depression. That's quite a cross to bear and not desirable in the medical field either.

Agree. Especially considering how things ended.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[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.

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Sadly, some decisions people make have life long consequences. No amount of hard work can erase it.

[Anonymous]

Medicine has always been very unforgiving of drug or alcohol use which makes sense given that physicians have incredible access to drugs. What happened to this girl is not unique.
The fact that she killed herself sadly supports medicine's decision not to train her. There are many people who attend medical school and can't complete residency training for a variety of reasons (addiction, financial, academic).
They go on to use their MD without doing a residency (research, pharmaceutical work , etc). These people have table their dreams, shift directions and make it work. They don't decided to end it all.

Also, given that she completed an internship year (first year of residency) means she was eligible to work as an attending MD in a variety of situations including working in the prison system. It may not have been her dream but she
was definitely employable as a practicing physician.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for posting. None of this is surprising, honestly.

[Anonymous]

If her addictions were while she was a teen, her records should have been sealed.

I hate that we do not give people second chances once they have served their sentence, or gone through recovery.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like she was open and public about her former addiction and recovery.