Tag: in-training mental health week

Miguel Galán de Juana Miguel Galán de Juana (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid


I am a 6th year Medical Student at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, with a passion for medical education & digital health. During my first few years as a medical student, I participated in student representation, both at a local (university) and national level, which led me to my interest in healthcare advocacy & leadership. I have a very active presence on social media, particularly Twitter (@mgalandejuana).




Poker Face: When Patients Are Dealt Terrible Hands (2016)

Like poker, medicine has certain rules — patterns of clinical symptoms and lab findings each correlating with a specific spectrum of prognoses that vary in likelihood, the differential diagnosis. Physicians are like seasoned card players, trained to maintain composure and incorporate numerous variables into logical, calculated decisions at what seems like a “dealer’s table” of outcomes. Sometimes, we hedge our bets that the patient will self-resolve, so we elect not to treat; other times, we act conservatively with a battery of tests and pre-emptive therapy.

Widening the Discussion of Mental Health in Medical School and Beyond

A fellow student writer recently wrote that she wondered if depression were “just part of life as a medical student.” One of her professors had given a lecture on depression asking students to “think of how many people we knew with the signs of depression listed on his lecture slide” — excluding medical students of course, “because you’ve all got some of these.” There is something so terribly and inherently wrong with that statement.

Adventure #1: Not Your Mother’s Yoga Class

It should be no surprise that when I asked my fellow medical students their suggestions for ways to de-stress, one of the first answers I heard from all of them was: “Yoga.” I should admit that I have always been a bit skeptical of yoga — I enjoyed cardio-based workouts far more. However, after doing some research, I found a study by Bansal et al. which found that medical students in India who did yoga every day for just one month showed significant improvements in both their general and mental wellbeing.

Introduction to in-Training Mental Health Week 2016: A Letter from the Editor-in-Chief

My medical school, Indiana University, is one of the largest in the country with over 300 students in each graduating class. Sadly, each year it seems we lose one of our classmates to suicide. The surprising part? These numbers might be lower than the national average. In the United States, approximately 300 to 400 physicians commit suicide each year. A 2009 study in Academic Medicine reported that 12 percent of medical students had major depression and nearly six percent experienced suicide ideation. To visualize these numbers, in my class alone, statistically, 18 students have experienced suicide ideation and approximately 36 have major depression.

Resilience in Medical Education: Defining Burnout and How Role Models Can Help

Medical school is a notoriously challenging experience during which students undergo tremendous personal change and professional growth. Though the stressors that come along with this are varied and unique to each student’s context and experience, they may be categorized within a few common themes. Harvard psychiatrist Raymond Laurie has previously described the concept of “role strain” with respect to negotiating relationships with their families, friends, partners, peers, attending physicians and patients. Additionally, with regard to students’ concept of themselves, individuals who have high achievement may be challenged in new ways both intellectually and emotionally.

Rae Dong Rae Dong (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai


Rae Dong is a second year MD student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Prior to medical school, Rae studied philosophy and economics at Duke, and worked in global health strategy and management consulting. She is passionate about the intersection of medicine with business to improve health outcomes locally and globally.