Doctor with a criminal record.

cagie

I want to study medicine but i have a criminal record, its not just 1 but more like 17,18,22 maybe more, firstly im not proud of my past, over the last 5 years ive changed and not been in trouble nor do i drink or take drugs. im 24 and have more than enough points to get in, none of my charges relate in any way to sexual abuse or anything like that, most of them are for assault both GBH, ABH and also drunken disorderly and two for drugs offenses and also driving without a license tax ect. i know your probably thinking you wouldn't want to be treated by me but people can and do change. have i any hope at all of getting in. I was given a place in biomedical science last year but deferred it. All but 3 of my convictions were before i turned 18 does this make a difference or will they all be disclosed?

Victor

You could probably study fine, but find that you have problems graduating or getting work. Its likely to be hard for someone with drug convictions to be them given a licence to prescribe drugs. I'm not sayings its "no", but its obviously more difficult.

Your best bet it probably to talk to the relevant regulators - I presume the Medical Council.

etymon

you should pay 6.35 and apply for your criminal record under the Freedom of Information Act (forms in any Garda station). Then you can see what you are dealing with. Some offences committed while you are under 18 are not recorded and juveniles are dealt with in a different way.
However I am not sure what employment forms would ask you to fill out. Disclosing your criminal record is not the same as ethically disclosing all criminal convictions, some of which may not have been recorded. I suppose it would be up to you to decide what level of honesty to choose.
Check with the Medical Council. It would be a shame if stuff you have put in the past comes back to haunt you when you obviously want to make a fresh start.

MicraBoy

Garda Vetting is part of the application process (see cao.ie) so I very much doubt it.

It doesn't actually say what is acceptable or not so you may well have to check with the HEA or the college admissions to see what is ok or not.

chanste

cagie wrote: »

I want to study medicine but i have a criminal record, its not just 1 but more like 17,18,22 maybe more, firstly im not proud of my past, over the last 5 years ive changed and not been in trouble nor do i drink or take drugs. im 24 and have more than enough points to get in, none of my charges relate in any way to sexual abuse or anything like that, most of them are for assault both GBH, ABH and also drunken disorderly and two for drugs offenses and also driving without a license tax ect. i know your probably thinking you wouldn't want to be treated by me but people can and do change. have i any hope at all of getting in. I was given a place in biomedical science last year but deferred it. All but 3 of my convictions were before i turned 18 does this make a difference or will they all be disclosed?

I think you should do the biomedical science degree anyway, it would be very useful and may open other doors which you haven't as yet considered. Then if you are still interested go sit the GAMSAT and if you have secured the points and been offered a place then worry about it. I would say take it; By that stage a significant amount of time will have passed and IMO you will have a reasonable chance of securing an internship somewhere, if you manage to get yourself good grades and just as importantly good character references during your internship, then you should be able to make yourself some kind of career, though that said, it will probably be like climbing a ladder with a large weight on your back.

If you end up in a predicament where you have qualified and have not secured a job, apply for positions abroad, at least for long enough to gain experience which may overcome some of the legitimate bias against you.

Best of luck, I believe in 2nd chances.

WesternNight

chanste wrote: »

Best of luck, I believe in 2nd chances.

its not just 1 but more like 17,18,22 maybe more

I think he's asking for a 23rd chance, or thereabouts.

There's no harm trying, but I'd say the odds are stacked against you I'm afraid.

Don Keypunch

Only you know the answer the this question, would you be happy with a family member of yours being treated by someone with a similar background as yourself? I do believe in senond chance, I was very lazy and unmotivated throughout most of college but pulled it together in final year and with a bit of luck aswell got a 2i, but tbh I would have taken a 2ii considering the work I did in comparison to some of my classmates. But thats the way things work out.

RealJohn

No offence mate but I really hope they wouldn't even consider granting you a licence to practice medicine.

I'd have no problem with a doctor who has one or two minor convictions in his or her past but when you're talking about in excess of 20 convictions including ones for assault and drugs offences, I'd say a high stress job which involves interacting with the public for long hours every day is the last place you should be.

You say you've sorted yourself out over the last 5 years and that's commendable but the stress of the early years of being a doctor could well send you back down that path in my opinion.

By all means, go for the biomedical science if you want to work in a health related field but I wouldn't recommend you do medicine, even if they allow you to.
Best of luck, regardless of how it turns out.

FarmerGreen

I have a cunning plan cagie.
You have a background of drugs and violence.
GBH+ABH thats kewl.
And now you know how to take people apart, you want to put them back together again.
Totally unsuitable for general practice, but.
Just the person the British Army are looking for.
Trauma surgeons are in great demand, give them a call.
When youve finished your trip you can go back home and be an instructor ,or maybe
A+E on a saturday night, no problem, after that amount of experience.
Sounds like one hell of a career.

smolt99

Hi Guys

Just looking at the last post relating to the student possibly applying for medicine. I am also concerned about a disclousure I have on my Garda vetting that was completed for a course I finshed recently. I have a non conviction (Probation Act) for threathning Abusive Behaviuor and intoxication in a public place. I hope to work with people who have intellectual disabilties.
Does anyone know will this disclosure on my record harm my chances of getting a job or entering third level education as a mature student in the future. I am 31 and the incident happend six years ago.

dissed doc

smolt99 wrote: »

Hi Guys

Just looking at the last post relating to the student possibly applying for medicine. I am also concerned about a disclousure I have on my Garda vetting that was completed for a course I finshed recently. I have a non conviction (Probation Act) for threathning Abusive Behaviuor and intoxication in a public place. I hope to work with people who have intellectual disabilties.
Does anyone know will this disclosure on my record harm my chances of getting a job or entering third level education as a mature student in the future. I am 31 and the incident happend six years ago.

Call the medical council and ask them if you can be registered with such an offence. You will always have to declare it on the Garda vetting forms, etc. . Then, it's up to the employer.

You have to declare everything and the circumstances usually. If you have great grades and have great references from consultants, etc., and your offence was 12 years earlier (by the time you graduate) I can't imagine it would be a major problem.

1oneoffposter1

Sorry for dragging up an old thread but I have a similar query.

I've been looking at the GAMSAT exams, and am strongly considering taking them next March, yet, sadly, I have two convictions (without fine) on record, both arising from the one incident back in 2010 when I was 20. One is for section 2 assault, and the other is a public order offence (threatening and abusive behavior).

This seems like an automatic disqualification for me, but given that both charges were not as a result of an arrest, instead they were charges arising from counter accusations made against me after I reported a vicious assault for which I was hospitalised (the other person was up on assault causing harm). The person who assaulted me never reported the incident and had the benefit of ten weeks before making their initial statement. Sadly, despite never striking or attempting to strike another person, I have this on my record should I ever be vetted.

Given that I was never arrested, and never faced any other charges in my life (indeed I'd have a clean record if I wasn't in effect punished by the gards for reporting my broken nose from a headbutt), does anyone think that I would have a realistic case to plea in-front of a university admissions board upon vetting, or indeed, further down the line, the medical council etc.

I kills me that this assault conviction means that I'm viewed in the eyes of officialdom as a threat to others, simply for my worst crime to have broken up a fight.

Thanks,