As future healthcare professionals, I would feel comfortable in believing that one of our top goals is to “help as many people as possible”. But what about ourselves?
During these stressful and traumatizing months (especially during this COVID-19 pandemic), it can often feel like a losing battle when your efforts to become the best doctor/nurse/assistant possible for your patients doesn’t seem enough. Burnout is a real thing in the medical community: long working hours, little sleep, crushing financial debt, the list goes on and on…. The most depressing aspect about this type of working environment is a physician’s belief that suicide is the answer, but even more so is the idea that seeking help is viewed as a sign of weakness.
Instead, asking for help shouldn’t be penalized. Mental health shouldn’t be underestimated. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, and healthcare workers make up a large percentage of that population (physicians take their own lives at twice the rate of the general population). Working in the healthcare community will often put us in close proximity with other like-minded individuals, and its important to recognize, even critical, that we pay attention to others with compassion and empathy when things may not be in the best position. Beyond the working environment, a big component to avoid burnout is to also partake in activities that help keep your mood elevated and positive. Daily journaling, exercise, hanging out with friends are just a few of the ways that I like to preoccupy my time with—and I’m just a graduate student trying to get my Master’s degree!
Livingston, D. J. (2020, September 30). Physician Suicide; Here is How We Prevent the Tragic Loss of Doctors and Nurses. Medium. https://elemental.medium.com/physician-suicide-here-is-how-we-prevent-the-tragic-loss-of-doctors-and-nurses-fd77afa13382
Dutheil, F., Aubert, C., Pereira, B., Dambrun, M., Moustafa, F., Mermillod, M., Baker, J. S., Trousselard, M., Lesage, F.-X., & Navel, V. (2019). Suicide among physicians and health-care workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE, 14(12). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226361
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