Battling despair and depression in medical school

Long hours, bullying, lack of support make a difficult programme tougher for medical students. They hope for clear guidelines from the NMC

- Atul Krishna

Following recurring incidents of suicides among medical students and young doctors, the National Medical Commission's (NMC) anti-ragging cell, in April 2024, formed a 15-member national task force on the mental health and well-being of medical students. This was at the behest of various student and doctors' associations regarding mental health in the medical education space.

The task force is conducting an anonymous online survey among medical students and young doctors to learn more about the issue. They are to submit a report by May 31.

Although students' associations welcome the steps, they insist on a more structured approach to looking after students' mental health. A big priority, they say, is dealing with the "toxic workplace" created by senior doctors and faculty. They also said that most of the onus falls on medical colleges which remain a place of "exploitation".

Increase in suicides

Suicide rates among medical students have been increasing over the past few years. The NMC, in reply to RTI activist Vivek Pandey's queries in February 2024, said that 119 medical students have died by suicide in the past five years across 512 government medical colleges. This includes 64 undergraduate students and 55 postgraduate students. The NMC also said that over 1,100 medical students also dropped out of college during this time frame. 

The National Human Rights Commission India (NHRC), in a meeting held on April 25, even called attention to the "long working hours and continuous shifts, lack of proper restrooms, hygiene, lack of rest" of doctors. Medical interns and postgraduate doctors are often forced to work for 16-18 hours a day which, depending on the department they are working in, can even stretch to 48 hours of continuous work without sleep.