Caring for Medical Students as Patients

Contributions and Sacrifices of Medical Students and Health Care Workers With Family Responsibilities Deserve Our Attention and Respect

“…My own early empirical work suggests that among physicians-in-training, addressing personal health needs, including reproductive health needs, and caring for family can inspire a lifetime of dedicated, compassionate patient care practices. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] As noted by Callahan and Salazar, 5 personal health experiences can lead to appreciation and empathy for the patient experience. More worrisome are the systematic data and narratives illustrating how medical training can be disruptive of personal and family relationships of health care professionals.…”

The medical student as a patient: attitudes towards involvement in the quality and safety of health care

“…Research suggests that analogous to trained doctors, medical students may face significant barriers in seeking health care [27–31]. Fears of being perceived as uncommitted or weak by fellow colleagues and supervisors may lead to the avoidance of taking time off from studies to address health concerns [29–31]. There is also a strong cultural ethos among students against taking sick leave because it creates extra work and responsibility for their peers [32,33].…”

“Physician Wellness” as Published in Academic Psychiatry

“…Many deeply moving narrative accounts of physicians' experiences with personal illness substantiate this observation [14][15][16][17]. Moreover, many hypothesis-driven empirical studies have determined that having at least some experience as a patient strengthens the priority placed on communication and compassionate practices of resident physicians, for example [18][19][20][21].…”