Surviving Medical School

Medical schools damage students in at least two ways. Over 30% are likely to become diagnosable as psychologically disturbed. At the same time students start to lose idealism, humanity and their ability to listen. This paper argues that facing this situation with 'hardiness' can be crucial in maintaining psychological health. Hardiness consists of treating medical school as a challenge, realizing that one has a good deal of control over how one responds to this challenge, and staying closely in contact with why one originally made one's commitment to medicine. These attitudes will have practical implications which may include seeking support groups, working on staff-student committees, maintaining one's general health and supplementing the educational process where necessary.