Death in Medical School

The realities of life and death certainly hit home during medical school. Many individuals enter Australian graduate medical school having never experienced illness or death personally, and they are quickly faced with many despairing cases of patients passing away. Indeed, this is a consideration that is never really thought too much on for the medical student, but it can be a hugely confronting and emotional time when you see a patient whisper their last words to a distraught family as they slowly pass.

With the move towards a great proportion of ‘twosie’ students (i.e. those that are not technically post-graduates), this is a significant issue for the younger pupils. Students may be only eighteen or nineteen when they are faced with very serious issues of life and death, and many are unprepared for this reality. This can cause despair, hopelessness, anguish, and depression in medical students, and it is vital that such issues are acknowledged and dealt with in the most appropriate manner when they occur. There are severe mental health issues amongst medical students, when compared to the average population and ‘normal’ student, and a lot of that must anecdotally be attributable to the severe amount of stress that one can experience witnessing a patient die. Whether the patient dies a horrible, bloody death on the operating table, or a quiet death in the arms of their loved one, it affects the whole medical team.

Students must be wholeheartedly prepared for these realisations, and have strong support structures around them to deal with the sadness and despair of such troubling times. Confiding in fellow students who have gone through the same issues is a very important way of dealing with this, as is talking to your local general practitioner and family members. Advice from more mature individuals as to handle these issues of life and death are often highly helpful and insightful.

Medicine is a very rewarding and fun career, but one must be aware of all of the various downsides to contemporary practice. Even though medical advances have progressed significantly in the last few decades, regular death and horrible illness are exceptionally common, daily occurrences in the hospital for medical students. Shying away and dealing with this issue silently is not only very unhelpful, but will instigate poor practices in handling despair and sadness. As you move through medical school, you will realise that positive mental health and an optimistic outlook are essential in getting through your studies and future practice, and it is vital to develop healthy coping mechanisms from the start.

Don’t be afraid of death in the patients you see, as you can’t heal all of them. Just ensure that you are adequately prepared for the emotional side-effects that happen for you in experiencing a fellow human being pass away, so that you can safely address these to ensure you are still able to adequately care for others.

Check out our GAMSAT To Med School Podcast for more interesting news, tips & tricks about the GAMSAT, applying to medical school, and life at med school.