Medical school burnout: How to take care of yourself

The pressures of medical school can have a major impact on students ’ mental health and wellness. A group of medical students recently gathered to discuss these pressures and maintaining mental health during medical school. Learn what an expert had to say about taking care of yourself during medical school and how students are taking their own steps toward improvi ng their own mental health and wellness.“Doctors actually live pretty healthy lives,” Joshua Nathan, MD, said to medical students at the 2016 AMA Annual Meeting. “If you look at the mortality rates, we tend to live at least as long if not longer than other people.” Dr. Nathan is an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry and director of the mood and anxiety disorders program at the University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC).“Where we suffer the most is mental health,” he said. “Depression and anxiety can certainly interfere with being empathetic. We have to talk about mental health and wellness in students without stigmatizing it.”Barriers to mental health: From the student perspective“What are the barriers that you guys face?” Dr. Nathan asked, opening the session to conversation. “What are the challenges to your mental health?”“Part of it is stigma,” one student said. “The other part is time. One of my roommates was struggling with mental health issues and she was seeing someone, but when she got to third year she didn’t really have time to continue seeing this person and so she re...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news