The first source we will be reviewing is from Jennifer Adaeze Okwerekwu but is more of a personal journal of how becoming a doctor has taken a toll on her mental health. She starts by saying that practicing medicine requires discipline, dedication, and sacrifice and that is truly not compatible with social and emotional needs as humans. She cites an example in her own life. A fellow resident in another program said after a long and stressful day simply pulled over on the highway to just cry, as she didn’t want to cry and drive at the same time. This is just an isolated example of the materialized effects of simply being a physician. 400 physicians die by suicide each year. As the medical profession stars, this directly leads to an increase in burnout and depression. The signs and symptoms are all around. Another friend had a terrible residency experience that taught her how strong and confident she could be. Being a physician allows people to learn from adversity and grow as a result of the challenges they face. However, these experiences still makes many question how much more she could have blossomed as a physician if this growth was driven by support, not survival. From this perspective medicine is best and worst thing: survived extremes of loneliness, anger, humiliation, or sadness, but, in the end, you reap the benefits of simply being a doctor.
The next source we will look at is from the opinion column of the New York Times, attempting to answer the question, “Why Do Doctors Commit Suicide?”. The piece starts with an example of 2 medical residents in second month of residency training in 2 different programs that jumped to their deaths in NYC. But, the most important takeaway is that these 2 started with the same enthusiasm for healing as everyone else. The fatigue, emotional exhaustion, and crippling self-doubt they experience at the start of their residencies was too overwhelming. The statistics on physician suicide are dreadful. Physicians are more than twice as likely to kill themselves as non physicians and female physicians 3 times more likely than male counterparts. Young physicians are more vulnerable, with 9.4% of fourth year medical students and interns reported having suicidal thoughts in previous 2 weeks. Hospitals and residency programs recognize the toll residency takes on the mental stability. Efforts and steps are being taken. In 2003. work hours were capped at 80 hours a week. Many hospitals offer confidential counseling services to cope with stress. Despite these efforts, people can still fall through cracks. The social social isolation, substance abuse, and other aspects of medical culture might push troubled residents beyond their reserves of emotional resilience. Even though society recognizes that these emotional tolls come in conjunction with medicine, there is still a strange machismo that pervades medicine. The pressure to project intellectual, emotional and physical prowess, causing many to masquerade as strong and untroubled professionals. This prevents most from being able to identify colleagues in trouble. We can see a darker aspect of the identity of a doctor. These sources actually reveal something further about what specific emotions are attached to this identity. We can see that doctors have to find an effective way to deal with the stress and death that they are surrounded by in just their workplace. This blog specifically aids the understanding of the purpose of this blog, as it becomes clear that people who want to be doctors should be fully aware of what they are getting themselves involved in. CHECK OUT THE STUDIES: https://www.statnews.com/2016/09/19/mental-health-doctor-residency/ https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/opinion/why-do-doctors-commit-suicide.html
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorFeel free to contact me using the contact page! |