![]() On top of that, physicians are notably reluctant to seek help for any illness, never mind depression. adults and, like anyone else, physicians are not good at recognizing the problem in themselves. In physicians, the presence of depression is at least as common as it is among the general population, that is, 7 percent of U.S. An example from New Hampshire’s application, which, according to a Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law article in 2018, is not consistent with ADA regulations, asks, “Have you ever had any physical, emotional, or mental illness which has impaired or would be likely to impair your ability to practice medicine?” Such questions may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. The medical licensing applications for thirty-two states still contain questions about a history of mental health problems. Many medical professionals fear having a record that shows they sought help-a fear that may be well-founded. It has long been almost taboo among physicians to admit to having a problem, and even today, having depression or another form of mental illness can be talked about in hushed tones. Negative attitudes toward mental illness are particularly concerning to those in a caregiving profession. Increasingly, the profession is looking inward, charting better ways to define and measure such illnesses, evaluating the effect of physicians leaving medicine because of depression and burnout, determining what kinds of supports medical schools and training programs should offer students and trainees, and addressing the persistent stigma of mental illness within the profession and outside of it. “I had this idea that depressed people didn’t do anything, that they sat in a dark room or didn’t get out of bed, so because I was doing so many things, I couldn’t be depressed.” Su ended up leaving medicine after ten years as a surgeon and now speaks publicly about his own mental illness and the importance of destigmatizing such disorders.Įfforts are underway to break through many of the obstacles that impede our understanding of how physicians and physicians in training are affected by mental illness. “My inner voice was incredibly hateful and kind of spiteful so that no matter what I did, it was always negative,” says Su. Leonard Su, a former vascular surgeon in Seattle, probably would not have considered taking such a quiz he was convinced that despite the unrelenting abusive voices in his psyche, he couldn’t be depressed. Nathaniel Morris, a frequent columnist for publications such as the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, has written about depression within the profession. ![]() He sought and received help, with good results, but only after he tearfully admitted to his advisor that he was not okay. Writing in the Washington Post one week before his graduation, Morris wrote of taking a quiz that would tell him if he met the criteria for depression. ![]() While still in medical school, he started writing essays and blog posts for various publications on topics in medicine. Morris, now a resident physician in psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, has more than a professional interest in physician depression. ![]() In fact, some evidence shows that their beliefs and attitudes can be even more negative than those outside of medicine. Research has shown that medical professionals do not differ significantly from the general public in their views of patients with mental illness. Stigma still swirls around mental illness, even within the medical profession. The need to even mention this gave Morris pause. But the real surprise, he wrote in the Wall Street Journal in 2016, came as he was interviewing for residency programs and was assured that psychiatry was respected, just like any other department in their hospitals. The reactions of family and friends to the news that he was going into psychiatry left Nathaniel Morris, MD ’16, with the impression that he was somehow wasting his education. ![]()
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