Here’s the punchline: it isn’t going to get better by itself.
Ignoring how miserable and stressed you feel because “that’s medicine” or because of how terrified you are of disappointing those whom you love…isn’t going to make the problem go away.
The longer you walk on this journey without changing anything…the closer you get to the fate of the Doctors profiled in Dr Pamela Wible’s book Physician Suicide Letters — Answered.
Ah, but I’m different. They were weak/ unmotivated/insert diminishing adjective here.
No they weren’t.
They were just like you. Smart men and women who wanted to make a difference…but they ended up being broken by the system they’d dedicated themselves to serve.
That’s why 1 in every 4 Medics is reported as being severely depressed.
That’s why Doctors have the highest suicide rate of all professions.
And that’s why 400 qualified physicians commit suicide every year in the US.
Just a little more than 1 suicide every day.
Or to put it into perspective, 400 is about the size of a 1st year medical class.
So imagine 400 students crowding into a lecture hall on their first day of term…and then simultaneously slitting their wrists or blowing their brains out.
Yes, that’s a graphic image.
But the statistics show that this is exactly what’s happening…just protracted over a longer period of time.
What the numbers don’t show, however, is the number of Medics who don’t commit suicide…but are living lives of “quiet desperation”.
Doing their job, going through the motions, keeping the health care system ticking along…
Saving every life except their own, and never tapping into the full potential of who they were created to be.
That’s the ultimate suicide.
No, it isn’t Med School’s “fault” (not really).
Yes, you need to pay attention to how miserable you’re feeling…and commit to doing something about it.
Reading this blog is a step in the right direction.
This is a taster from Escape Velocity: a personalised email course that guides medics step-by-step in how to successfully make the transition from being stuck in medical school…to living a life of happiness, freedom and fulfilment. Admission is by invitation-only. Click here to apply for your FREE invite.