Pre-med students need our support. The high suicide rates tells as much

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The last time I sat in the waiting room looking at the pictures of doctors hanging on the wall, I probably hadn’t thought about everything that came up to such a portrait. It’s been a while, but that’s not the whole picture. The road to medical school is a long, grueling process, and it certainly comes at a cost.

This is evident in the high suicide rate among medical students and on the track.a study A study conducted at the University of California, San Diego showed that pre-med students were twice as likely to be classified as “severely depressed” or suicidal. But you hardly need to look to California to find the reality of that research. Check out your nearest organic chemistry class or bird library study room to see how seriously this statistic is impacting your campus.

This reality is neither inevitable nor unavoidable, it is simply ignored by universities and advisors. Ignoring a problem like this leaves us unable to cope with its scale. Sure, the stress of heavy workload and competition is important in and of itself, but the thought of applying to medical school adds a new level of stress. Coursework with extracurricular activities, volunteer work, and research creates immense juggling.

“The competition to get into a top-tier medical school is fierce. It can seem like your entire future depends on it.do no harmis a film about mental health issues experienced by doctors. “Your classmates need you to fail in order to succeed. It’s a brutal culture that few people understand and can feel very isolated.”

These situations can obviously be stressful, but with the help of your university and advisors, you should be able to overcome them and thrive despite them. is not so forgiving.

Makena Graham, a medical student at SU, Rebecca Lee Prehealth Societyshe said she had a “love-hate relationship” with pre-health advice.

“If your application is near perfect or not perfect, they will discourage you from applying,” she said. When you say it, there’s a sense that you might not get into medical school, and your future is ruined.”

Kaitlyn Marcotrigiano, a medical student at SU, said the university isn’t focused on creating a “well-balanced candidate” and that “they just want you to check the boxes.” I was.

“I never feel like I’m doing enough,” said Marco Trigiano.

Before entering medical school, becoming a doctor was my only way of life and my dream for the future. No other life is fully satisfying, no other passion for me. But like many people, I’m not a perfect premed student. I was told that a C in organic chemistry or the lack of a perfect extracurricular schedule would keep me from the only future I could accept.

Dr. Pamela Wimble, a medical suicide prevention activist, said: The toll it takes on their health. The medical education system selects those who are willing to submit to abuse. ”

This stress and depression won’t suddenly go away after graduation. It will carry you to the next stage of life.According to the American Medical Students Association, medical students should Commit suicide at a rate three times higher than other members of the same age group. In concert, medical schools provide additional stressors that culminate in those that already exist.

To say that SU’s pre-medical culture is competitive is a gross minimization. The competition is relentless and seemingly endless. As we are forced into isolation, we can try to live up to the expectations placed on us. These four-year pre-medical requirements have been meticulously crafted to fit the perfect medical school application.

Our efforts and struggles are being overruled by our advisors. You need support, reciprocity, and an understanding that you don’t have to be the perfect applicant. SU and its advisors have vulnerable people in their hands. Marco Trigiano believes the solution to the problem begins with schools recognizing that “not all paths to medical school are the same.” The “perfect pre-med student” is nobody’s reality, it’s simply impossible. It is counterproductive and completely harmful for our university to have such expectations in pre-medical students.

The portrait you see in the waiting room is deceptively simple. Behind that frame are years of isolation, despair and doubt. Not all of us fit in a frame. Your future doctor is dying.

Caden Denslow is a Pre-med track social work major. His column is published every other week.he can be reached at [email protected].