passion deficiency syndrome

He had locked himself in a room in the hospital, placed a large needle in his vein and injected himself with a drug that so effectively paralyzed his muscles he was unable to breathe.

Or call for help.

This was from a NYT article about Medical student distress, burnout, and risk of suicide.  In my opinion, it is the people that embark down the long road of practicing medicine for the wrong reasons who will find themselves in this position.

In Hungary, a first year medical student was asking me about doctor salaries in the U.S.  His dream is to come to America after medical school to practice since doctors in the U.S. are well paid and highly respected compared to other parts of the world.  I told him that the U.S. is a great place to live and to work, but if he was planning on becoming a doctor purely to gain money and respect, he should reevaluate his choices... especially being that he was only a few weeks into 10+ yrs of school and training before a life filled with practicing medicine.

I am not a doctor. I am not a resident. I am not a medical student. But, I want to be. I told this young first year student that I don't want to pursue this path in order to seek wealth or respect.  I told him that I wanted to be a doctor because I learned through trial and error in university that the one thing that I am most passionate about in this world is the human body.  Being a doctor will let me continuously learn and work with my passion while providing two positive outcomes: my self fulfillment as a byproduct of bettering a patient's health.

This young student looked at me as if he had never heard such nonsense in his life. Then he said, "You will be a good doctor."  It made me happy to hear, even if it was only the endorsement of an 18 year old Korean kid that I had gotten.

The above article tries to figure out the problem that is leading to medical professionals having unstable mental states.  To me its quite evident that these 'burner outers' who become distressed and depressed in life have chosen to pursue a career for the wrong reasons. Whether its medicine or being an astronaut, there has to be passion. DUH.

BA-out