It is a common phenomenon that a person who has a deep interest in something starts to mimic the experiences that are related to it.  This happens especially to medical students who end up worrying that they have the same illnesses they're learning about. In Nepal, a study was to figure out how common this "Medical student syndrome" is and what makes it worse.

    For medical students, this condition could be tricky. They study in tough conditions and have high levels of stress.  There are three types of stress in medical education: cognitive, emotional, and physical (The Medical Education Development Unit 2001)  at some point in medical school 92% of students across the UK experience stress and in New Zealand between 1990 and 1996 10 students actually took their own lives. (  Australia& New Zealand Rural Health Journal, 1996)   This is a serious issue!

     Life for these students is a roller coaster ride. They spend long hours studying complex topics. If they aren't careful, the weight of their studies will make them develop some of the symptoms of the diseases they're learning about.  They also do patient encounters that are critically important but can sometimes be overwhelming

    This is a good problem to study, but nurses have a syndrome too.  Nurse's syndrome is more common in younger nurses who are under-aged and overworked? . With this syndrome, nurses end up having symptoms of the strains on their patients' condition that they're taking care of.  But is it more common than Medical studen syndrome?  How should it be relieved?

    One thing is clear! ! ! ! These two syndromes are not new issues.  They have been around for many years.  The worry is how severe they are and what those who study them should do about it.  First, health educators and doctors need to take note of this, so they can take proper steps to solve the problem.

    There are multiple options for helping students and nurses out of this situation.  Teachers can go out of their way to make sure students know that this isn't unusual and that everyone goes through it.  They should push for regular check-ups to identify and manage symptoms early.  They can also teach students how to cope with stress, patience and mitigate the issue as much as possible.

    This phenomenon is not just about the students and their well-being, it's also making it harder for the field of medicine in terms of the public's view of doctors and students who get ill.  Students and nurses might think doctors are crazy when all the time they are saying something.

    Its also important to note that identifying these syndromes and their prevalence in the student and nurse population can help in ensuring that the medical professionals we are training and using are stable.  This is practically helpful.

    It may also be of interest to ask what people view when looking at the field of medicine.  Do they really know what goes on?  Medicine is a costly endeavor and many mistakes could be avoided with a bit more emphasis on mental health.

The curiosity of medical students isn't just in the books

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