Posted on Feb 20, 2019
Charles Dobson III
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Hello,

I am a college senior and I have been thinking seriously about pursuing OTS post-graduation. As of now, I should be a fairly competitive candidate. However, I have stumbled across a potential roadblock. During my freshman year of college, I got an internship working in an infectious disease lab. Given the line of work, I was working with dangerous materials on a continual basis. This has the ability to make one a little neurotic. Given this, I started to be much more conscious about washing my hands. And even started doing so before every meal. The results were great in that I no longer got sick. However, when I went home for winter break, my family thought that I was acting out of line. I tried to explain how my internship had increased my knowledge of infectious disease, and I was simply becoming more aware. They panicked, and being the alarmists they are, they issued an ultimatum: go and see a clinician or we are cutting you out. Of course, I chose to see the clinician. My parents framed it as if I had OCD.

For whatever reason, they did not contact my general practitioner. Instead, they found a random private clinic and I was off to see a family and marriage counselor. He was essentially like: "Okay, we don't know if you have OCD, so we will treat you as if you do until we can determine it." So I went to talk therapy with him for about 3 months. After which, it ended with him saying, "You don't have OCD". However, there was that three-month period in which it was assumed that I did, so as far as treatment goes, I have a history of OCD. This is an automatic DQ for the military. However, my aim was to try and appeal. I thought if I supplied a note that I went there and confirmed it was a misdiagnosis I would be in the clear. However, I can not find the practice of the counselor. Insofar as I can tell, he retired. Given this, I have no way of getting the records. I am not willing to lie at MEPS, but there is no way for me to verifiably explain that I didn't actually have OCD. This has left me in a fairly tough spot. The Air Force is in my dream, but my pathway seems difficult to get here given this circumstance. I would be very appreciative of any insights.
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Responses: 8
Capt Daniel Goodman
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And the advice about your internist/GP is also sound, definitely go and speak with hem as well, and see if they could write anything that could help, or see if the could refer you out to someone they know and/or have worked with and trust, about involving your family further, only you can decide that, obviously, I can only tell you that, though you're obviously, I take it, of age to decide such things for yourself, our family is, always, inextricably, part and parcel of your svc life, that's a given, however you opt to handle it...that being said, you also need to realize, as I've tried to make apparent, svc life rarely goes precisely the way you intend, quite frequently, it seemingly takes on a life all its own, so, it'd help also, so far as you care to relate, even if only generally, the types of work you've done till now, externships, internships, level, bosses you've had, their personalities and/or characteristics, how successful you were, how you got along with others, etc., another thing you need to realize, in any work, any, the bloom tends to wear off the rose real fast, school ends, novelty ends, so, the main upshot to life tends to be, I'm afraid, what type of work can you generally near with, and, if nothing else, at least tolerate, with, hopefully, moderately interesting tasks throughout a work day, I only say that not to be cynical, only to be pragmatic, and realistic, that's all I'm trying to get across, OK? When I managed to escape engineering for doctoral allied health, though I'm total perm disabled now, we shut !y license sevl yrs ago, I found out that treating patients, of which I did a good deal in a very, very long time in residency, during which I became ill, was a long, rough, grueling, repetitive slog, occasionally interesting, however, generally also a quite tedious grind...so, I tell you that to make you aware of reality, ivemjad every kind of boss that walks, talks, and flies, active duty, civil servant, attending clinicians, residency directors, even my own Dad when I was a kid...satisfying a boos, and learning the right way to do it, while maintaining one's sanity, is a quite key facet to human existence, which is why I took the time to explain all of the foregoing to you, OK? As I said, I hope that all helps, I'd be most eager for your further thoughts, as I'd said, whenever you might have time, OK?
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MAJ Byron Oyler
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Reading your comments, you seem a little obsessive here. You have gotten some advice and should run with it.
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Lt Col Charlie Brown
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Go see your GP and explain the problem and get a referral to someone who can evaluate and clear you if you are unable to contact the counselor.
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Charles Dobson III
Charles Dobson III
6 y
As far as that goes, it wouldn't absolve me of the "history of OCD" clause. They could say: "Alright, you don't seem to have OCD now". However, is was still framed as if I did for three months.
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Capt Daniel Goodman
Capt Daniel Goodman
6 y
I perceive your point, and your concern...however, merely because one clinical eval might pose that, might, and I emphasize, might, not necessarily cause that to be locked in...I do agree with the suggestion, as I'd also said in what I'd sent...do everything possible to find the records, in the fashions suggested, then have them thoroughly evald as well as supplemented with new evals...as I'd mentioned, the scenario you described is obv somewhat unusual, try to not focus on what you might perceive as a label, due it, per we, and seek objective, qualified, suitable further clinically opinions, in depth, such that you'd have documentation for further workup that could then be reviews by recruiters, and whom might be able, if you request it, to submit it for higher clinical review...I fathom tour concern, I'd merely suggest that, as I'd said, you not unduly focus on what you're perceiving as a label, per se...further, you'd clearly seem to have time yet, so, were you to try, as I'd also suggested, to go ROTC, UDM PLC, COSTEP, or USCG scholarship, in grad school, and could function well during such training, while doing a masters, PhD, clinical doctorate, or law, as the case might be, I quite honestly think that the higher you climb in the intellectual food chain, as well as demonstrate performance in such a training program simultaneously, that you might well have a more than reasonable chance of getting by this, PROVIDED you realize, as I'd explained, whichever svc might take you, if you opt to go, that you're there to several, NOT be served, always remember, as I'd explained, your personal ambitions are your own, NOT theirs, where you'd wind up is where you'd wind up, your task is to do whatever you're given as conscientiously as you can at all times, and submerge your wishes to those of the organization you might agree to serve, I assure you, long and often bitter hard experience, that, truly, is rule numerous uno, believe and trust what I tell you, I do honestly know whereof I speak in that regard, OK? Imhpe that helps once again, answer whenever you'd want, if you'd care to chat further, OK?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
Capt Daniel Goodman
6 y
Sorry for the typos, I'm on a somewhat querulous tablet with am often problematic keyboard, I hope you got my gist, in Amy event, hopefully....
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