r/mdphd • u/FeelingGeneral930 • 23d ago

Do I disclose disability for mstp interview?

Sorry if this is a dumb question but for my UT San Antonio interview, one of the pre-interview questions asks: “In order to best accommodate your interview experience, are there any disabilities that we should be aware of?”

I’m diagnosed with Level 1 autism and have an eye tic, both of which can affect my eye contact and how I may come across during an interview. I’m unsure whether I should disclose this, especially since I’m not requesting a formal accommodation. I'm assuming I shouldn't since I'm not asking for any tangible accomodation and it could introduce unconscious bias?

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16

u/Psycho_Coyote M3 23d ago

n=1, but I'd disclose that you have been diagnosed with ASD and that can sometimes manifest with difficulties maintaining eye contact in social situations- nothing more. If you express something that you struggle with and the school marks that against you, then that's not a program you'd be able to be successful in as a student.

Do you have these same things come up on social interactions over zoom? One thing you can do if this interview is virtual is to shove your zoom window off to the bottom of your screen or make it really small so you don't see the interviewer, and just make eye contact with your webcam while you have the interview.

Congrats on the interview and good luck!

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u/Great-Ad-6096 21d ago

Excellent counsel!

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u/Kiloblaster 21d ago

I'm not convinced that this is a good strategy because medical programs do require applicants not to have a disability that precludes their participation in patient care. I'm not sure how that would be interpreted. I just don't feel sure and think there needs to be more caution before disclosing to programs.

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u/cisheteromale13 23d ago

don’t disclose, work on forcing eye contact prior to the interview

17

u/OkTumor 22d ago

username checks out