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Post by Jordan Hood on Jan 13, 2017 17:25:29 GMT -4
Unfortunately the information and research data obtained in this article are not personally astonishing. However, I was unaware that physicians suicide are more than people in any other profession. During my didactic year, many students experienced symptoms of depression due to the constant high level of stress and pressure to succeed. When discussing physician assistant school with individuals who are interested in pursing the profession, I explain that one of the hardest parts of being in school is that life outside of school does not stop. The stressors outside of school such as financial issues, family drama or even sickness/death may occur adding more stress to a student's life. I would recommend for schools to require students to converse with a therapist or counselor at least once a quarter. I believe that requiring students to attend counseling will decrease the prevalence of depression in medical students. Hopefully we will witness continued research and improvement in the depression statistics among medical students.
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Post by tanishajerrick on Jan 14, 2017 2:48:43 GMT -4
The issue of increased suicide rates amongst medical professionals need to me addressed more frequently and discussed openly. This cannot be taken lightly and more avenues for assistance and support needs to be provided for patients with major depressive disorders. It was only last year that the AMSA (American Medical Students Association) members dedicated a day for Suicide Awareness. It was reported that about over 300 physicians commit suicide within one year. It is good to educate them via counselling sessions, therapies, medications, etc which are available for persons suffering with suicidal ideation, however, how will we provide help for those medical students and physicians that honor their pride far above their health? Medical schools, hospitals, clinics, etc need to implement more mandatory psychological classes, events and therapeutic sessions for all. At the same time, the concern of physician burn out or sleep deprivation is of importance and can surely affect one's concentration, lead to missed diagnoses, poor work output and lack of energy.
Great article, thanks for sharing!!!
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Candace Clinton AUA-MS3
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Post by Candace Clinton AUA-MS3 on Jan 15, 2017 22:53:00 GMT -4
Sadly enough, this topic of depression and suicide among the medical community and medical students is becoming increasingly relevant. Thanks to many brave persons who are able to speak up about this topic and honestly shed light on their experiences. I agree with many points in the article, in particular the notion that depression has always been a problem in the medical community. I believe as with any career, there are new heights and new stressors that one faces, but in particular with the medical community, often times we are thrown into situations that expect so much of us. One good point is the entire idea of moving/relocating for residency. With this new stress, many new doctors are away from their support of family, friends, and loved ones. With increasing everyday demands and the anxiety of unknown, residency positions can take a toll on an individual, compounded with lack of sleep and no support from peers. I believe one way to help and improve is by putting more accountability on the residency program directors and the physicians in making sure that there is a safety culture in which one is allowed to cry out for help, or call fowl when stating to feel overwhelmed or burnt out. This way one is held accountable and their residency position or work is not called into jeopardy because one needed assistance in adjusting.
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Post by Nupur Mishra on Jan 16, 2017 0:50:27 GMT -4
Being medical students, I feel this article hits close to home. Halfway through reading, I found this sentence a bit ridiculous: “Though his research does not answer this question, clues can be found in the real life experiences of one medical student.” It sounds as if high risk of mood disorders, or burnouts and poor functioning due to stress is some unknown phenomena in medical field, which is just now being investigated. Maybe, it shows that often people working in medical field, especially medical students don’t voice out their issues. They may be afraid of feeling incompetent, or weak.
It is understandable that this profession is considered noble and evokes a very selfless attitude. But this is something intrinsic, the administration and the professionals themselves shouldn’t indirectly promote a system where everyone must self-sacrifice their own health, mental or otherwise, for the pursuit of a better cause. It undermines the idea of empathy, and compassion, which in itself is often one of the reasons many people choose to study medicine.
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Post by Sirhley Sifontes on Jan 17, 2017 21:32:16 GMT -4
As a medical student one can perfectly relate to this article. However, I was shocked to find out that 26.7% of students reported symptoms of depression but then again the life of a medical student can be very stressful and at times overwhelming. The field we have chosen brings many expectations from our community and family but mostly from ourselves. This profession makes us want to be perfectionist and this along bring many restless days and nights. I believe that all medical students should be required to meet with advisors/therapist to discuss our emotions and all medicals students should encourage our peers to open up about their emotions as well. In addition, what we do for our own mental health can’t be underestimated and one should try to always find time to unwind and “rest our brains”. We should all engage in a healthy life style, which will go, along with our overall mental health.
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Post by Akriti Puri (MS3) on Jan 17, 2017 23:44:43 GMT -4
This article definitely sheds light on one of the major issues within medical schools that is often overlooked. The irony is that the stress that medical students deal with on a daily basis such as the pressure from peers, the competition, the pressure from family, as well as other life stressors leads to many mental health issues that we learn as students; these same issues that we are taught to help our patients cope with. The stigma comes from disregarding the fact that even health care professionals need therapy/counselling. We are too busy focusing on getting ahead and helping others that we forget to take time out for ourselves; to help ourselves. I believe the change that we want to see in the medical community in how we deal with this is to utilize mandatory therapy. Plus especially for us in this profession to not feel ashamed in feeling the way we feel, and to not feel burdened by talking about what is actually important.
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Post by Brice Burke on Jan 18, 2017 17:57:20 GMT -4
This is a systemic problem. The culture of medicine is two faced and the egotistical physicians that need to down grade their peers to make themselves feel better need to get out of the profession. One of the main principals of medicine is 'do no harm', yet the intimidating and unhealthy environment they create is harmful. Two former classmates of mine had serious issues with depression in part due to this issue, and ended up ending their own life. I wish I could speak up about this more, but the consequences of speaking up may be (as mentioned in the article) losing the ability to become a doctor. I am glad this issue is getting some publicity. In my mind it is not getting enough, and it never will get enough until this kind of atrocious behavior ends.
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Post by Michael Bogart on Jan 19, 2017 21:14:00 GMT -4
The topic of "depression in medical students" is something that I feel has gained a lot of attention in recent years. As a medical student I have have noticed depression like symptoms in colleagues & students around me (especially with the extreme work load and late night study hours). What did surprise me about this article was the amount of students that are actually reporting these symptoms and the fact that medical students are 2-5 times more likely to be depressed than the general population. I am glad to see more studies being done about this because I really do not see that much progress being made. I think that with this new research, there needs to be a greater effort on behalf of schools to try and create a more positive and uplifting environment for the students. One where they will not feel overwhelmed every day and the constant pressures and competition of upcoming exams. I often find myself talking with other students about the sacrifices it takes to get through medical school and the toll it takes on a person. I don't think it necessarily has to be like that, the reason being that if you have so many students who are reporting depression and are unhappy, what kind of doctors do we think they will make. If a person is not happy with themselves or what is going on around them how are they expected to truly help heal others. I hope that with this new analysis there will be a strong desire to try and change the environment as it currently stands.
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Post by priyanka on Jan 20, 2017 19:10:20 GMT -4
This article does not surprise me, medicine is a very competitive field and with that its not unheard of to feel hopeless and doubt yourself. However, I was not aware that the numbers were that high, for example “One in 10 experiences suicidal thoughts and 26.7%, with exactly 37,933 of 122,356 total participants reporting symptoms. Additionally I was not surprised to see that medical students experiencing such symptoms do not report it, the article states that only 15.7% see a doctor about their depression. Not just with mental health, but with other health problems medical students do not report them because often they feel like they can’t. I often witness the “suck it up” attitude from attendings and others in the field/ higher up the ladder. Isn’t it ironic, were in a field that helps others with their medical problems but when it comes to our own health we push it off to the side and keep going. I believe that psychotherapy should be accessible to all medical students, whether it’s for depression, anxiety we all need someone to talk to.
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Post by Olivia Onwodi on Jan 23, 2017 18:44:11 GMT -4
I couldn’t agree more with this article. I believe that mental health is definitely over look, and therefore, the amount of people in the general population with mental health disease are underrated. I believe this is more so within the medical profession society. In light of my fellow medical students, I believe we are prone to depression because of the stress and difficulty of successfully passing exams and performing well, as well as the pressure of matching into a residency program to be able to pay back so much student loan after medical school. About a month ago, another student and I took the initiative to conduct a survey on a smaller scale, and we looked at the possibilities of depression among Caribbean medical students. Interestingly enough, our results did not deviate far from the results of 26% seen in the article; our result showed that 25% of our responders fell under the category of depression. I believe that this is an important area that should be explored within medical students, so that they can be properly treated before they end up taking their own lives before getting the chance to graduate medical school.
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Post by Paul Rangitsch on Feb 15, 2017 14:06:31 GMT -4
Almost nobody who read the article was surprised by it, and many have probably heard of this linkage previously. And yet, this isn't some other population we are talking about. It's us. Everyone who submitted a response is in the population who is at a higher risk for depression just because of what area of academia we are currently in. Not one person, not that I would expect someone to admit in a public forum, claimed to be one of these students currently affected by depression. Granted this is a small sample size but, even if this board was larger, I might still expect to see very little discussion about one's own problems and this is very indicative of the culture medical school embodies. There seems to be an unwritten aura that can be felt that as a student learning how to help treat depression (and other illnesses), I can't ask a peer or a professional for treatment myself. If I know how to treat others, I should know how to treat myself is the feeling that occurs and if I don't then how can I be relied on to treat others? This kind of thinking carries over into other areas of medicine as well which is as Amelia stated earlier why there is a stigma that doctors make the worst patients. It almost feels as though you an inferior student/doctor/person just asking for help and I think it needs to be stressed more that anyone can need help, even those who commit their lives to helping others.
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Post by Andrew Johar on Feb 17, 2017 0:41:05 GMT -4
The concept of suffering from depression always seemed so foreign to me, how could someone be so sad that it became an actual disease. The deeper I delved into the field of medicine the more I understood how many conditions are so severe that there is no rhyme or reason for why they happen. The depression that medical students experience is derived from a combination of the immense pressure that is placed on them to succeed. It also has much to do with the nature of the job, which is for all intensive purposes, a depressing state of affairs constantly caring for the sick, especially when we fail at curing patients that are beyond saving. All in all being a medical student is in no way an easy task and certainly not for the faint of heart. The key is to train yourself to focus on the victories, however few, are associated with our profession and let those sustain you.
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