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Abstract
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Current and future health-care workers suffer burnout and poor mental health, in what is a global crisis with no clear resolution in sight.1
In the UK, student depression and poor wellbeing remains a problem of common discussion, without, however, the involvement of the collective population affected.
The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) Student Council aims to supplement opportunities in medical education by inviting participation from students across England and the Republic of Ireland. A student policy initiative was established to ensure better representation of student opinions in UK health and education policy.
In an attempt to address this conundrum, the RSM Student Council invited medical students across England and Ireland through the RSM mailing list and social media channels to discuss mental health in medical schools. Drawing inspiration from experts in the field, delivering keynote lectures and through a series of four productive workshops over 2 days, 62 students (33 [53%] female, 29 [47%] male) identified the paramount barriers in mental wellbeing and proposed innovative and achievable suggestions to overcome these barriers.
First, the issue of paucity of accessible data on student mental health was raised. Discussions emphasised the role of data in the development and evaluation of effective supportive strategies, while calling attention to medical schools to encourage transparent and anonymised publication of mental health and wellbeing data for students, confidentially. The data could be stratified categorically on the basis of factors such as, but not limited to, age, gender, and ethnicity. Caution needs to be taken, however, when handling data from minorities, which runs the risk of identification of individual students, therefore potentially compromising confidentiality.
Another important barrier thwarting help-seeking behaviours in the medical school environment is the stigma surrounding mental health. Medical schools should encourage a culture where student wellbeing is prioritised, burnout is acknowledged, and stigma is challenged.
Potential ramifications following the disclosure of mental health problems to the General Medical Council were also noted. Students agreed that medical schools should develop appropriate systems to support them in the event of disclosure to the General Medical Council. Additionally, data on the outcomes of disclosing mental health problems to professional bodies should be made available to students.
The disparity in accessibility to, quality, and provision of support services to students depending on the location of each placement might isolate some student groups and further discourage help seeking. Medical curricula in the UK encourage students to attend clinical rotations in various hospitals, often located in distant geographical areas, which are isolated from main university campuses. However, student support and welfare services are often located on central campuses, leading to difficulties in accessing such services when students are placed in unfamiliar settings. Potential solutions to this barrier would be the use of online platforms, together with regular pastoral care training ...
Language: en |