Before the mental health talk, let’s know a bit about me. I just scaled through one of the most demanding classes at OAU Medicine and Surgery— Part 4. And I won’t lie that mentally, I was hanging by a thread during the period. Some days, I was hopeful and anxious. On other days, I felt sad and unmotivated, waiting for the class to end.
Fast forward to passing the exams and resuming part 5. In a funny twist of fate, the first week of block lectures was by the Mental Health department. And during the lectures, I wondered, “Here I am trying to save my future patients’ mental health, but who will save mine?”
We medical students push ourselves to the limit. We juggle endless lectures, rotate through different units, and even have to do outside postings. It doesn’t end there. We write numerous exams while striving for perfection in our studies and patient care. However, do we ever consider our mental well-being amidst all these?
The truth is that medical school can be a pressure cooker of stress, anxiety, and burnout. Yet, seeking help for mental health struggles makes people see you differently, like being viewed as “Weak.” It is about time we changed this perception and made seeking mental health support normal for medical students.
SAVING MEDICAL STUDENTS’ MENTAL HEALTH
One way to achieve this is for this great institution to provide free therapy sessions explicitly tailored to medical students. We need a dedicated space where every aspiring doctor can freely discuss their fears, doubts, and struggles without judgment or repercussion. Mind you, we would love it if the designated therapists had no other affiliations with us (no lecturers).
For this program to be a success, it requires institutional support, funding, and a commitment to destigmatizing mental health issues within the medical community. It requires a cultural shift where seeking help is a figure of strength rather than weakness.
So, I pose this question to my fellow medical students: Do you believe free therapy sessions should be available to medical students? How could such a program benefit our mental well-being and academic success? I want your ideas, insights, and recommendations for enhancing mental health services in medical education.
Let’s spark a conversation, challenge the status quo, and seek to establish a more wholesome and encouraging educational atmosphere for upcoming generations of medical professionals. Remember, your mental health matters too. So, let’s help medical students learn and effectively apply coping strategies, build resilience, and cultivate self-care habits to navigate the challenges of medical training.
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