Depression Is Rampant In The Medical Field

“If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night. FINE is what you say”, says Eleanor Oliphant, an antiheroine in the book Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

Depression is rampant in the medical field. A couple years ago we lost a co-resident from it

Our program was shaken to the core. In order to prevent future events, new changes like wellness programs were introduced. These programs are a good step.

But we need more than that! We need to keep our ears and eyes open on our colleagues

When people say they are fine, they may not be fine! we have to pay attention to more cues:

1. Do they have changes in the way they interact with you and other staff?
2. do they isolate themselves?
3. Did they stop doing fun things?
4. Are they self-medicating with alcohol?
5. Do they get angry or sad quickly over small things?

Ask more questions. If you are concerned, escalate it!

A co-worker once told me, physicians are the first to offer help and the last to seek help

What that means to the rest of us, is that we need to identify co-workers in trouble and make sure they get help:

• Cover them for appointments to see the therapist or psychiatrist
• Cover their calls and shifts if someone needs to step away from work for a bit

Aside from changing the system, we all need to work together to make sure everyone needs help

Tons of Physicians on social media have led this cause and written some great posts that everyone should read!