ADHD In Med School [Can You Succeed In Med School If You Have ADHD?]

Are you aware of how prevalent ADHD in med school is? Despite the stigma around ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, people having learning disabilities can actually become remarkably competent physicians.

Well, in this blog, we will discuss how students with ADHD can succeed in medical school!

ADHD In Med School: Is It Common?

There is a pervasive belief that if you have ADHD, you can not get into med school, let alone become a successful physician. But that is just an overlooked assumption.

A 2016 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study states that 3% of med students have disabilities; inside of that percentage, nearly 34% battle with ADHD. Given the statistics, your existing or future medic might as well have ADHD.

In fact, the study also proposes that the prevalence of various learning disabilities among med students is at an all-time high.

How Does ADHD Affect A Med Student’s Academic Performance?

ADHD can manifest in various life areas — relationships, schools, and work. For instance, regarding academic performance, ADHD can negatively affect your readiness for learning.

There is a significant correlation between low grades and a lower adversity quotient. Furthermore, ADHD individuals score an average of nine points lower on most commercial intelligent quotient (IQ) exams.

However, having ADHD also has a positive association between ADHD treatments and increased education productivity.

With proper resources, including campus services, optimal learning environments, medical school application assistance, and tutoring, ADHD med students can thrive academically.

5 Challenges Of ADHD Students In Med School

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects your ability to focus, take exams, and manage your time effectively. Such issues can hinder your med school success.

Let me show you the areas where most ADHD students struggle and how they can control them.

Organization

If you know someone with ADHD, you probably know how their rooms can be disorganized or messy. And their heads are cluttered too — missing deadlines, not meeting school demands, or forgetting school work.

A 2018 study said ADHD patients had working memory deficits, which could be a red flag trait for a med student. I mean, how can you possibly fix your review schedule?

Tips To Improve Organization:

• Follow a specific routine
• Use a traditional or digital calendar for scheduling
• Break large tasks into smaller ones
• Leave reminder notes on your phone or computer

Distractibility

Like most programs, one of the most essential attributes of a medical student is their ability to focus. Unfortunately, students with ADHD can not just block out trivial distractions to concentrate on relevant matters.

Tips To Defeat Distractions:

• When at a lecture, try to sit in front
• Maintain eye contact in discussions to focus on your other person’s thoughts
• Keep a notebook and write down your diverting ideas instead of blurting them out
• Listen to music or use fidgets

Time Management

For folks with ADHD, time seems to be amorphous. They are unaware of it.

You have an edge in med school if you can handle your time effectively. However, despite having trouble staying organized and focusing, ADHD students also find time management formidable.

Try finding a good tracker to help you overcome time blocks while keeping your day organized. This can help you accomplish more tasks and stay productive.

Tips To Create A Better Time Management System:

• Schedule your day backward
• Use visual timers
• Reward yourself with tiny breaks
• Set alarms on your mobile

Impulsivity

ADHD patients often give in to their urges easily. The inability to control your impulses can create outbursts of anger, negatively impacting your classmates and colleagues — even yourself.

Practice mindfulness if you must. Being mindful, though challenging for ADHD folks, can help them be more present in the room or during a particular project or activity.

Tips To Overcome Being Impulsive:

• Avoid risky situations as much as you can
• Normalize slip-ups, but make amends afterward
• Create time buffers
• Script how you should handle a class

Workflow Productivity

An ADHD patient has low dopamine levels. If the task seems dull to an ADHD med student, they will go hypo-focus  — they can not concentrate on something even if they want to.

If you have a classmate with the same condition, you’ll see how they circle back and start over whenever they get distracted. They often take up to five rounds to complete their tasks.

Tips To Be More Productive:

• Avoid multitasking — work on intervals instead
• Do braindumps as much as possible
• Find the right productivity app to help you
• Set up a comfortable study area

How To Deal With ADHD In Your Premed

We all got our learning styles — what works for you may not work for me. For some ADHD premed students, how they learn depends mainly on a little bit of every style. 

For instance, audiobooks may be great for studying psychology but not general chemistry. Some ADHD students prefer to write everything down in subjects like biochemistry.

Try different study approaches every day and see what works better for you. If one resonates with you, keep going.

Adding ADHD In Essays And Personal Statements

The secret to writing engaging diversity essays is always to keep it personal. Don’t overemphasize!

Be careful in putting anything that could pose a red flag in your application. You probably wonder if you should mention your ADHD in your interviews and personal statement. 

Although we are all rooting for inclusivity, your health condition is none of the med school’s business. No one is obliging you to discuss your ADHD experience.

If you wish to put your condition in your essay, you might as well add how you are self-aware and conscious. You can describe how your ADHD experiences may have motivated you to apply to med school. 

You may also connect your ventures with numerous clinical activities and extracurriculars, including how it may have encouraged you to participate in a particular research or student activity.

Keep going as long as you explain and show personal development and adaptive qualities. You’re definitely on the right track. 

In addition, the number of med students with ADHD has increased annually since 2014. With this information, any med school admission officer would not categorize you as dumb or crazy.

The committee in charge is probably more interested in what you have learned despite your illness. So try to avoid using your ADHD to justify subpar educational performance.

I mean, you passed premed, right? The big question now is how to flourish in med school if you’re an ADHD patient.

How To Get Into Med School With ADHD

The road map to med school success can be daunting, confusing, and challenging. Let me show you where to focus and how to adjust your scholarly materials accordingly to your ADHD condition.

Tip #1 Increase Your GPA And MCAT Scores

When you are a med student, you must study hard. If you have ADHD, you must exert extra effort to review and increase your grades and MCAT scores.

But do not push yourself too much. You might fuel yourself with antidepressants just to pass your tests and cope with your terrible mood swings.

The viable options to increase your grades are as follows:

• Optimize your class schedule
• Jot down notes in class
• Ask for recorded lectures for a later review session
• Create or join a study group
• Hire a tutor for courses you’re struggling with

Tip #2 Use Flashcards In Reviewing

Sometimes reading the material isn’t enough to familiarize and memorize them. Flashcards, however, can be extremely helpful if you want to review topics quickly and efficiently.

There are numerous flashcard apps you can download online. Make sure to find one that has add-ons that can spice up your review experience, contributing to a more fun and playful way of reviewing. 

Try Anki and check out this post: Keys To Studying With Anki [Med School Tips]

Tip #3 Find The Appropriate Study Routine 

Like any typical med student, the key to success in med school is finding the perfect study routine to help you get into work mode constantly.

Aside from that, you must discover the right environment. Most ADHD med students prefer studying alone because their brains don’t work well when they chat with others. 

Can You Succeed In Med School If You Have ADHD?

Of course! Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD can still get remarkable grades and accomplish their goals.

However, some ADHD med students may typically get delayed compared to other regular med students due to their condition. But that does not mean they will not succeed and become excellent doctors.

Over the years, there have been many brilliant, high-achieving med scholars struggling with ADHD who have topped the boards.

On top of that, a once ADHD patient, Dr. Robert C. Young, even founded a clinic that offers medical favors in Dallas and surrounding counties.

6 Tips To Thrive While Diagnosed With ADHD

Med students with ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder can actually use some of their strange qualities to their advantage. Here are some tips ADHD tips you may try:

Tip #1 Use ADHD To Multitask

An average person can easily get stressed or overwhelmed when handling numerous tasks simultaneously. On the other hand, ADHD med students tend to thrive in these situations.

In today’s medical workplace, that gives you the upper hand.

Tip #2 From Getting Easily Distracted, Turn Them Into Mental Agility

Your condition makes you a non-linear thinker. It means you are more creative than your classmates.

You can think fast and jump from one thought to another while developing unexpected ideas. Although it can be distracting on your end, it can also make you an innovator.

Tip #3 Consider Your All-Time High Energy As A Positive Trait

Hyperactivity can disrupt a lecture, but it does not have to be a hundred percent negative trait. For example, an ADHD student’s abundant energy is an excellent characteristic to keep them awake while studying.

Tip #4 Set Up A Fake Deadline To Get You In The Zone

ADHD med students work satisfactorily under high stress. They can stay calm under pressure.

Setting up false deadlines for your review session or tasks increases the pressure, keeping you more focused and productive. It should not surprise you how people with ADHD thrive in the stock market or the medical field.

Tip #5 Teach If You Have Issues In Learning

Whether in med school or high school, studying can be challenging if you do not have other methods to back you up. Plus, with your condition, your learning concern can double.

One way to fix this issue is by teaching others. You may join or create your own little study group.

Tip #6 Ask For Assistance From A Mental Health Professional

Always work with a trained mental professional for effective treatment. Without expert help, your ADHD can cause self-doubt, adding to academic difficulties and stress.

Take advantage of free information online. It is an excellent starting point.

After all, personalized support is what you need. What worked on one patient may not work well with your case.

Neurodivergent folks’ brains can be highly chaotic. It’s apparent that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) med students are excellent in some things and can be bad at others.

However, that does not necessarily mean they can’t become successful medical professionals.

The key is to treat your ADHD diagnosis as a gift. Instead of seeing it as a weight that can pull you down, look at your condition as something that can help you prosper in your chosen career. 

If you have enjoyed this post, how about reading some of our other blogs for more relevant med school content?

• How To Focus In A Boring Lecture In Med School
• 10 Best Focus Apps [To Help You Focus When Studying]
• 10 Tips On How To Memorize For Medical School
• Should I Go To Medical School? [How To Know If It’s Right For Me]
• How To Make A Study Schedule For Step 1 [Step-By-Step]
• When Should I Start UWorld For Step 2 CK?
• Best Monitor For Medical School

Until the next one my friend…