Shirley Schipper

High prevalence of depression in medical residents: the sad reality of medical training

Commentary on: Mata DA, Ramos MA, Bansal N, et al. Prevalence of depression and depressive symptoms among resident physicians: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA 2015;314:2373–83.[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3] Residents and medical students experience long hours, challenging training schedules and sometimes difficult work environments. Similar to other professions, such as law,1 nursing and dentistry, there is a high prevalence of depression and symptoms of depression2 in medicine. Although depression is common in the general population, depression in healthcare workers is potentially more concerning in terms of effect on decision-making and patient safety.3 This study aims to estimate rates of depression or depressive symptoms in physicians in training, also known as resident physicians. This study was a systematic review and meta-analysis of peer-reviewed studies on depression and symptoms of depression in interns or resident physicians as assessed by validated questionnaires … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DJAMA%26rft.volume%253D314%26rft.spage%253D2373%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1001%252Fjama.2015.15845%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F26647259%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1001/jama.2015.15845&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=26647259&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febmed%2F21%2F3%2F118.atom