Well-being and burnout in medical students: challenges and solutions

Medicine (like many others) can be an extremely stressful profession. The pressures faced by clinicians are often related to 'life and death' situations that can lead to high levels of stress and distress. Students and trainees in a variety of allied health professions face similar pressures related to study or work environments. The practice of medicine continuously evolves and changes, and so too do the pressures. If the correct support is not accessible, this can result in burnout. Medical students are generally at a vulnerable stage in life (18-24 years) when they are more likely to develop mental health problems. A recent focus on the mental health and well-being of medical students has highlighted various worrying trends with a series of studies from around the world highlighting surprisingly high rates of stress and burnout among medical students, and fairly similar contributory factors. Despite the challenge of defining and measuring burnout, these studies indicate an urgent need for changes in methods of teaching, alongside rapid access to support. In this editorial, we make some proposals that could help the next generation of doctors to look after themselves and their patients. Medical schools have a moral and ethical obligation to ensure the well-being of their students in these stressful times.