Is There a Connection Between High Educational Debt and Suicidal Ideation Among Medical Students?
Authors: John D. Yoon, Vineet M. Arora
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2009)

Letters17 February 2009Is There a Connection Between High Educational Debt and Suicidal Ideation Among Medical Students?John D. Yoon, MD and Vineet M. Arora, MD, MAJohn D. Yoon, MDFrom University of Chicago, Chicago IL 60637. and Vineet M. Arora, MD, MAFrom University of Chicago, Chicago IL 60637.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-150-4-200902170-00022 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:We commend Dyrbye and colleagues (1) on their important work linking burnout to suicidal ideation among medical students. To assist educators in addressing this issue, we wondered if there were any observable differences between students who reported "chronic burnout" and those who "recovered from burnout." For example, do more resilient students have marital support or lower educational debt? We also found it especially noteworthy that higher levels of educational debt were associated with increased suicidal ideation in this study (1). It is plausible that high educational debt may act as a chronic stressor, contributing to persistent burnout ...References1. Dyrbye LN, Thomas MR, Massie FS, Power DV, Eacker A, Harper W, et al. Burnout and suicidal ideation among U.S. medical students. Ann Intern Med. 2008;149:334-41. [PMID: 18765703] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Morra DJ, Regehr G, Ginsburg S. Anticipated debt and financial stress in medical students. Med Teach. 2008;30:313-5. [PMID: 18484459] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Dyrbye LN, Thomas MR, Shanafelt TD. Medical student distress: causes, consequences, and proposed solutions. Mayo Clin Proc. 2005;80:1613-22. [PMID: 16342655] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Feudtner C, Christakis DA, Christakis . Do clinical clerks suffer ethical erosion? Students' perceptions of their ethical environment and personal development. Acad Med. 1994;69:670-9. [PMID: 8054117] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Liason Committee on Medical Education. Accreditation standards. Chicago, IL, and Washington, DC: American Medical Assoc and Assoc of American Medical Colleges; 2007. Accessed at www.lcme.org/standard.htm on 5 January 2009. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From University of Chicago, Chicago IL 60637.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoBurnout and Suicidal Ideation among U.S. Medical Students Liselotte N. Dyrbye , Matthew R. Thomas , F. Stanford Massie , David V Power , Anne Eacker , William Harper , Steven Durning , Christine Moutier , Daniel W. Szydlo , Paul J. Novotny , Jeff A. Sloan , and Tait D. Shanafelt Is There a Connection Between High Educational Debt and Suicidal Ideation Among Medical Students? Liselotte N. Dyrbye , Jeff A. Sloan , and Tait D. Shanafelt Metrics Cited ByPhysician Wellness in Surgical Residency 17 February 2009Volume 150, Issue 4Page: 285KeywordsAnxietyConflicts of interestForecastingMedical educationPatients ePublished: 17 February 2009 Issue Published: 17 February 2009 CopyrightCopyright © 2009 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...