Let's talk about the parts of medical school that you don't see on instagram - the struggles, things that happen behind the scenes, and some of the things that medical students are feeling almost everyday (speaking for myself but I'm confident that others feel/have felt this way before as well). Medical school is not easy and it can be very monotonous. While it is an extreme honor and privilege to train to be a doctor, the struggles and challenges of medical school should not be minimized or swept under the rug. That is one of the reasons why physician burnout, suicide, and depression rates are so high. We need to begin taking care of ourselves BEFORE we feel completely run down and burnt out.
Something that I tend to do myself is minimize my own struggles and the things I have overcome once they are finished and in the past. But we are not honoring or respecting ourselves if we do this. We need to acknowledge our struggles, be proud of ourselves for overcoming them, and do our best to support the next generation of doctors/trainees. Just because you made it through something, doesn't mean that others should as a right of passage. We need to support each other in all ways, because the vigor and intensity of medical school training/residencies/careers kills hundreds of physicians by suicide every year. Is the rigor training worth it at that point?
In my opinion, no. I'd love to hear your thoughts on some of the struggles I discuss in this video! Let me know if you can relate to any of my points!
May is Mental Health Awareness Month - please do your best to take care of yourself everyday, and ask for help if you need it.
Best,
Rachel xoxox
27 сен 2024
