A new survey has found that around 20% of UK medical students are contemplating leaving university due to poor mental health, while approximately 40% have experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression.
Medical students from nine institutions across the UK participated in the online survey between November 2020 and February 2021, followed by a second round between February and May 2021. Nearly 800 students responded initially, with around 407 completing the follow-up questionnaire, which assessed their mental health and likelihood of leaving medical school. The findings revealed that more than half of respondents suffered from insomnia, over a third experienced emotional exhaustion, and four in ten showed symptoms of anxiety or depression.
The study, published in BMJ Open and funded by the British Medical Association (BMA), highlights growing concerns about the mental well-being of future doctors.
“These worrying findings line up with what we hear from our fellow medical students every day,” Ria Bansal and Akshata Valsangkar, welfare deputy chairs of the BMA medical students committee, said in a statement.
“No one should feel so stressed, and under such great pressure from studying to be a doctor that they experience serious symptoms of poor mental health.”
Financial pressures are also taking a toll, with a separate BMA survey of 3,500 medical students revealing that over 40% had considered pausing their studies or leaving medicine altogether due to economic struggles.
Beyond mental health concerns, the latest survey found that six in ten medical students reported hazardous drinking habits, and more than half displayed symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Those suffering from conditions like insomnia were more likely to express an intention to drop out.
“The findings of this study suggest that medical students’ mental health is an important contributor to students dropping out and reinforces the importance of supporting students at medical school,” the study authors from University College London and Erasmus University Rotterdam wrote.
Milou Silkens, an assistant professor at the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management and one of the study’s authors, emphasized the importance of creating supportive environments in medical schools.
“Medical schools can use these findings to work towards more supportive learning environments for medical students that destigmatise mental ill-health symptoms and seeking help to alleviate such symptoms,” she told Euronews Health.
The study also warns of the wider implications of students leaving medical school, particularly as global healthcare systems face a shortage of doctors. A 2020 estimate suggested that by 2030, EU countries and the UK could face a shortfall of 4.1 million healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses.
In response to ongoing concerns, the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe office recently launched a survey to assess the mental health and working conditions of healthcare professionals, acknowledging that these factors contribute to workforce shortages.
