Dear Dr. Wible,
I want to fill you in on what really goes on behind the scenes at my medical school and maybe you can help inform other students about what happens here before they make a huge mistake. If students slip between the cracks of a US med school,
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How long could you drive without dozing off? Maybe 8 hours? Possibly 10? How many hours do you think a long-haul trucker could drive without swerving into your lane? Would you ever want an 80,0000 pound rig coming at you with a guy behind the wheel who hadn’t slept in a day?
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In medicine our motto is first do no harm. Words matter. Choose them wisely. Here are 7 words that shame, blame, and injure people who need our help.
1. Don’t say COMMITTED suicide. Committed implies a crime. Committed rape,
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“Burnout” is a smokescreen for rampant human rights violations in medicine. Am I losing anyone here? Let me break it down.
“Burnout” is a complete mental and physical collapse from overwork. Psychiatrists define it as a job-related dysphoria in an individual without major psychopathy.
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Pamela,
I just lost my study partner this morning to cancer. I love him too much to share everything he went through publicly. Maybe he can live on through your blog.
He was diagnosed with cancer last summer. Had a softball-size tumor taken out of his lung,
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Man collapses at 30,000 feet. Quick, who’s in charge? Hint: it’s not the doctor. Last month, Dr. Tamika Cross was told to sit down when she tried to help an unresponsive man. Why? Apparently the flight attendant was looking for an “actual” medical doctor, not a black woman.
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Cheryl lost her son Sean to suicide in medical school. Just a few months ago. Her only child. Cheryl didn’t know that medical students were at high risk of suicide—until her son was dead. Nobody warned her.
Rhonda lost her daughter Kaitlyn to suicide in medical school.
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Dear Pamela,
You’ll never guess what happened to me today. Hours after the National Day of Solidarity to Prevent Physician Suicide volunteer webpage went live, I received an email stating that I am officially terminated from my psychiatry residency program. On this webpage,
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Doctors who complain about inhumane working conditions are often labeled as “burned out” or “lacking resilience” or even “disruptive.”
Their employers respond by mandating resiliency classes so they can learn mindfulness, deep breathing, or yoga. Victims get instructed in work-life balance, boundaries, and other ways to conform to their workplace abuse.
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Doctor revived after suicide. Here's what he says.
