Medical students and suicide

Life

During his second year of study, Tom (a pseudonym) regularly thought about killing himself and the freedom that this would bring. But the fourth year, UK based, medical student says he remained determined not to do it.

Tom represents the one in 10 medical students who experience suicidal thoughts, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of depression, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation among medical students published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) at the end of 2016, which reviewed over 200 studies in 43 countries.1

Tom hit rock bottom with ongoing depression in his second year and faced problems professionally because of his “lack of enthusiasm” in clinical skills teaching sessions. He also became aware that psychological issues, stemming from his childhood with a violent alcoholic father, were starting to surface.

“I thought about death daily, but luckily my innate stubbornness not to give in, and a promise I made to myself of never doing it, took precedence,” says Tom, who was among students to respond to a survey about medical student health conducted by Student BMJ in 2015.2

He says he did not receive adequate support from his university, but a network of friends and family, and the right combination of drugs from his GP, helped him to recover.