Neglecting Our Own: Well-Being Disparities in Sexual Minority Medical Students

By: Andrés F. Sciolla, MD Dr. Sciolla is an associate professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, co-director of the Doctoring 2 course at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, and medical director of a community mental health clinic, the Northgate Point Regional Support Team, in Sacramento, California. He graduated from the University of Chile School of Medicine and is a board-certified psychiatrist. When it comes to psychological distress, individuals who aspire to a career in medicine are a queer lot. At matriculation, the average medical student has lower rates of burnout and depression symptoms and higher quality-of-life scores than the average age-matched college graduate.1 As medical education progresses, however, this initial advantage is gradually lost and depression and burnout rates increase significantly above those in the general population.2 What happens to the nonaverage medical students, to students who start medical school at a psychosocial disadvantage? Przedworski and her colleagues have identified one group of students deserving a close follow-up: the 5% of medical students in their sample who identified as bisexual, homosexual, or other (sexual orientation). Using data from the Medical Student Cognitive Habits and Growth Evaluation (CHANGE) Study, the authors found substantially elevated rates of depressive and anxiety symptoms and decreased levels of self-rated health. The differ...
Source: Academic Medicine Blog - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Tags: Featured Guest Perspective medical student wellness psychological well-being self-rated health sexual and gender minorities Source Type: blogs