Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Impact of Mental Illness Disclosure in Applying for Residency

  • Empirical Report
  • Published:
Academic Psychiatry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

Medical students have higher rates of depression than age-matched peers. Given the societal stigma against mental illness, students with depression often seek guidance on disclosing this in residency applications. This study aimed to answer whether disclosing a mental illness during the residency application process affects an applicant’s success in the National Resident Matching Program. The authors hypothesized candidates disclosing mental illness would receive fewer interviews and would be ranked lower than those disclosing physical illness.

Methods

The authors randomized program directors from residencies accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to receive one of two surveys. Both surveys included similar demographic information and three applicant vignettes, varying only in presence and type of illness disclosed (major depression or diabetes mellitus). The authors analyzed data using the Generalized Estimating Equation method for ordinal logistic regression.

Results

Out of 3838 ACGME residency programs, 596 responded (16.9%). A total of 380 (10.7%) program directors (survey 1, n = 204, 5.3%; survey 2, n = 176, 4.6%) completed the survey. Applicants who disclosed a history of depression had higher odds of being in a lower category of receiving an invitation (OR = 3.60, p < .001 for a “perfect” applicant, OR = 2.39, p < .001 for a “good” applicant with leave of absence) and a lower category for match ranking (OR = 1.94, p = .01 for a perfect applicant, OR = 2.30, p < .001 for a good applicant with leave of absence) compared with the candidate who disclosed a history of diabetes. However, strong applicants who disclosed depression still fared better in the application process than an average applicant without disclosed illness (OR = 0.13, p < .001 for invite and OR = 0.04, p < .001 for rank).

Conclusion

Disclosing depression during the residency application process puts an applicant at a notable, however not insurmountable, disadvantage compared with applicants who do not disclose mental illness.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Dyrbye LN, West CP, Steele D, Boone S, Tan L, Sloan J, et al. Burnout among U.S. medical students, residents, and early career physicians relative to the general U.S. population. Acad Med 2014. 2014;89(3):443–51.

  2. Mata DA, Ramos MA, Bansal N, Khan R, Guille C, Di Angelantonio E, et al. (2015). Prevalence of depression and depressive symptoms among resident physicians a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2015;314(22):2373–83.

  3. Rotenstein LS, Ramos MA, Torre M, Segal JB, Peluso MJ, Guille C, et al. Prevalence of depression, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation among medical students: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2016. 2016;316(21):2214–36.

  4. Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2016). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: results from the 2015 national survey on drug use and health (HHS Publication No. SMA 16–4984, NSDUH Series H-51). Retrieved from http://www.samhsa.gov/data/. Accessed 09 June 2017.

  5. Ellison ML, Russinova Z, MacDonald-Wilson KL, Lyass A. Patterns and correlates of workplace disclosure among professionals and managers with psychiatric conditions. J Vocat Rehabil 2003. 2003;18(1):3–13.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Luciano A, Meara E. Employment status of people with mental illness: national survey data from 2009 and 2010. Psychiatr Serv 2014. 2014;65(10):1201–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Dalgin RS, Bellini J. Invisible disability disclosure in an employment interview: impact on employers’ hiring decisions and views of employability. Rehabil Couns Bull 2008. 2008;52(1):6–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Lasalvia A, Zoppei S, Bortel TV, Bonetto C, Cristofalo D, Whalbeck K, et al. Global pattern of experienced and anticipated discrimination reported by people with major depressive disorder: a cross-sectional survey. Lancet. 2013. 2013;381:55–62.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Mara Pheister, Rachel M. Peters & Marika I. Wrzosek

Authors
  1. Mara Pheister
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rachel M. Peters
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marika I. Wrzosek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mara Pheister.

Ethics declarations

Disclosure

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Pheister, M., Peters, R.M. & Wrzosek, M.I. The Impact of Mental Illness Disclosure in Applying for Residency. Acad Psychiatry 44, 554–561 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-020-01227-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-020-01227-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation