A closer look at Mental-Health of those in healthcare professions
By: Jonathan Afowark, Grade 11 student at McNally High School
In conjunction with our upcoming event on mental health presented by Dr. Kristen Casey, SciMed in Action will be taking a closer look at the mental health issues that plague the field we represent, medicine. More specifically, the mental health issues that premedical students face in the early days of their careers.
THE STEM FIELD
In a survey of about 4,000 American STEM Ph.D. students conducted in May of 2020 - July 2020, 40% reported symptoms consistent with a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and 37% with major depressive disorder (MDD). These results have seen an increase of 13% and 19% respectively when placed in comparison to a similar study done in 2019 (Langin, 2020).
THE MEDICAL FIELD
The work that comes with being a medical professional is often demanding, especially in a high-pressure environment, such as a hospital or an Emergency Room (ER). Consequently, a medical professional’s mental health is constantly overlooked. In this ever-changing pandemic, it’s become even more compromised. In order to simulate these high-stress situations, doctors in training are required to work 24-hour shifts.
In 2013, the National Steering Committee on Resident Duty Hours released the first comprehensive report on the extent of fatigue's impacts on medical residents. There’s a clear risk of needle accidents and even car accidents on their way home. Now, students are barred from working 24 hours shifts in Quebec and are only permitted to work for 16 ****(National Steering Committee on Resident Duty Hours, 2013).
It has also been shown that the suicide rates of male physicians are 40% higher than the general male population, and the suicide rates of female physicians are 30% higher than the general female population (American Journal of Psychiatry, 1981).
A Look to the future
Researchers in B.C. have already designed technology to monitor fatigue in doctors and medical students, making sure medical students who work under practicing doctors are not overtired and can attend the ER with a healthy mind (Scott Cunningham, 2016). As previously mentioned, medical associations and other groups have restricted premed students' working hours to aid them in their training better. Our work does not end here, however. This is just the first step of many more to come to ensure those that heal us are not neglected and left out of the bigger picture.
More often than not, the mental health of medical students and doctors alike has been neglected; to put it plainly, we see them as tireless robots, who don't need rest or have to deal with anxiety. What most of us forget, however, is that our doctors are human, and just like us, need rest and medical/mental attention. We must not forget that saving lives and the burden of having to tell families they might not see their loved ones again is a life of pressure and anxiety.
Mental health has become an important point of discussion within our communities, and as such, we must always ask ourselves the question,
“How do we help the people that help us?”
Bibliography
“Changes Needed to Reduce Fatigue of Canada's Medical Residents: Report.” CTV News, 27 June 2013, www.ctvnews.ca/health/health-headlines/changes-needed-to-reduce-fatigue-of-canada-s-medical-residents-report-1.1343905.
Cunningham, Scott. “B.C. Researchers Taking Unprecedented Look at Fatigue in the ER.” CTV News, 17 Sept. 2016, vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/b-c-researchers-taking-unprecedented-look-at-fatigue-in-the-er-1.3076643.
Langin, Katie. “As the Pandemic Erodes Grad Student Mental Health, Academics Sound the Alarm.” Science, 4 Sept. 2020, www.sciencemag.org/careers/2020/09/pandemic-erodes-grad-student-mental-health-academics-sound-alarm.
McKenzie-Sutter, Holly. “University Students, Schools Grapple with Mental Health Impacts of Isolation.” CTV News, 1 Oct. 2020, www.ctvnews.ca/health/university-students-schools-grapple-with-mental-health-impacts-of-isolation-1.5128772.
Nature. More than One-Third of Graduate Students Report Being Depressed. 26 Mar. 2018, www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-03803-3.
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