Few years back, an American journal JAMA – Journal of the American Medical Association suggested that – around 21% to 43% medical students suffer depression. This depression among the students is a combined result of both psychological stress and physiological stress and it varies at different levels of consciousness. Stresses are caused due to sleeping disorders and heavy workloads. At time, the medical students have packed schedules with administrative works and clerical responsibilities.
Their clerical responsibilities include health support to a large number of patients. Prior to that, they do not receive adequate support from their medical professors. This condition for learning keeps them far away from any self development and professional growth.
How personal stress affects medical students?
Since our childhood days, we have heard that serving others is a noble work and we have seen doctors perform this holistic duty every day of their life. However, have we ever thought who serves them?
Being a medical professional is all about - ‘sacrificing’. Doctors sacrifice their personal choices, family times, friendships, relationships and what not. They learn the ‘law of sacrificing’ in their medical colleges or universities. In their college days, they face difficult situations related to family, friends, relationships, finance. Many of the doctors are overloaded with educational debts, for which they spend years of compromise after completion of education. They work days and nights to support their family and paying debts.
Do they have holidays? No! Like police and soldiers, farmers and news reporters – they don’t have any holidays. They spend a major portion of their life in treating patients. In other words, they are devoted. This training for spending 24*7 in the hospital-cabins, operation theaters, diagnostic centers and chambers are given to them during their education. Long before becoming a specialist, they realize that they have entered into a profession that has no breaks.
What should be the remedy for the medical students’ development?
Stress among the medical students is a subject of global concern and early measures are required to curb the harmful effects of stress. In the current, there are methods that can measure up to what extent a student can handle mental stress.
Medical students need healthy diet and they need to do regular exercises in order to maintain an optimum medical fitness.
Do you agree that doctors are good communicators? Even if we make memes of their bad handwriting, you have to agree that they are superb communicators – both oral and written. This is due to their practice communication during their 3rd year of education with the fourth year students. Communication somewhat keeps them alive and their mind virtually stays away from depression.
There are medical schools that provide specialist consultations to students from time to time so that they do not deviate themselves from the actual purpose of medical education.
There are support groups in many medical colleges and universities that help the students go through the rough patches smoothly. In these groups the students often make friends that stay with them for many years in their professional journey and support them throughout.
Other ways to counterattack the depression and stress among the medical students include relaxation trainings, counter negative thoughts, mentoring programs, imagery uses during relaxation etc. It is important that we maintain the health – physical and mental of our medical students. Because in them lie our fates.
