About 15% of the surveyed medical students in the UK have admitted to have considered committing suicide, a result that even the researchers consider as "shocking."
While a physician career is lucrative and rewarding, it can also be very challenging, especially to those who are still in med school. These students have to go through years of grueling processes to ensure they are ready for the profession. These processes can take a toll on the students' mental health.
In a survey conducted by Student BMJ among 1,122 medical students in the UK, around 30% of them had confessed on having a mental health condition. Within this group, a whopping 80% said that they received little or no support for their condition from the medical school. About 15% of them, meanwhile, have thought about committing suicide. Among the general population, at least 23% of adults may develop a mental health condition while 16% of them will think about suicide.
When asked about their lifestyle and habits, the researchers found that 15% of the respondents smoke the while 25% binge drink, much higher than the national percentage. Almost 11% of them had taken illicit drugs while 8.3% had used performance-enhancing drugs to cope with school.
The survey sample is very small compared to the overall number of medical students in the country. Further, the survey depends largely on the response of the students, who were also their readers, which may mean some of the answers may be subject to bias and may be misleading.
While the researchers are aware of these limitations, they also want to stress that medical conditions do happen among medical students and that the results are "concerning."
The researchers also point out the complexity of mental health conditions among students, although they cite two possible reasons for the prevalence: over-competitive environment in medical school and the stigma that is interestingly passed on by senior doctors to the students.
