A recent study found that feeling burned out may be associated with increased suicidal thoughts among students in medical school.
The study of about 4,000 students from seven U.S. medical schools showed that about 50 percent of its participants experienced burnout, which the study defines as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and low personal accomplishment.
About 11.2 percent of the students had suicidal thoughts in the past year, according to the study, which was published earlier this month in the Annals of Internal Medicine. In the general U.S. population, the rate is 6.9 percent among people in that age group.
The results may be representative of students in the College of Medicine at UF, said Dr. Lawrence Klima, associate program director for the UF internal medicine residency.
Burnout seems to be related to suicidal thoughts, Klima said. If students can recover from those feelings, they are less likely to have suicidal thoughts.
The findings may help the college target burnout, he said.
The college offers counseling services and workshops on stress and anxiety management at the Office of Student Counseling and Development.
Devin Bustin, a second-year UF medical student, said he recognizes burnout in medical school, but he doesn't know of any incidences of classmates contemplating suicide.
Bustin said medical school is extremely stressful, and he can spend up to 80 hours a week in class and studying.
"It does take over your life because it has to," he said.
Most students handle the pressure well, he said, and they try to find different ways to release stress, such as going to the gym or running.
Claudia Leon, a junior biology major who plans to go to medical school, said the news doesn't faze her.
Having a support system that allows students to do what they need to do without giving them extra responsibilities will be important throughout medical school, Leon said.
"I'm not deterred by a statistic," she said. "It's what I want to do, and I'll handle it as it comes."
