Out of 37,962 participants surveyed by the National Medical Commission (NMC), 16.2% UG students and 31.23% PG students reported suicidal thoughts.
The causes of such mental health disorders include pressure to repay educational loans and debts (32.7%), students facing ragging (18%), poor hostel facilities (41.6%), and lack of privacy (33.7%).
The regulator formed a task force to suggest corrective measures. It conducted an online survey to understand the mental health status of medical students and faculty. A total of 25,590 UG, 5,337 PG and 7,035 faculty members responded to the online survey.
Mental health status of UG students
As far as UG students are concerned, 7,115 (27.8%) of them have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, of which 3,780 (14.8%) have one condition, 1,851 (7.2%) have two, and 1,045 (4.1%) have three conditions.
4,139 (16.2%) students reported thoughts of self-harm or suicide in the past 12 months, of which 1,305 (5.1%) sought professional help. 4,664 (18.2%) perceived faculty or mentors as “extremely unsupportive.”
Mental health status of PG students
Of the PG students, 1,667 (31.23%) revealed experiencing suicidal thoughts. Furthermore, 564 (10.57%) PG students indicated planning to attempt suicide during the past year. Additionally, 237 (4.44%) PG students admitted to attempting suicide in the past year.
About 2,486 (9.7%) UG students confirmed experiences of ragging. A significant number of PG students, 930 (18%), also reported that the problem of ragging still exists and has harmed them. A total of 1,425 (27%) reported experiencing harassment from senior PG students in clinical settings, while 1,669 (31%) reported similar experiences from faculty as well as senior residents.
A relatively high 42% of students feel uncomfortable seeking help, highlighting barriers such as stigma or lack of confidence in available services, which the NMC said must be addressed to ensure all students can get the help they need.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau Report 2023, 171,000 suicides were recorded in India in 2022 and the suicide rate was 12.4 per 100,000 population. Mental health problems are increasing in higher educational institutions and the suicide rate has also increased.
According to the NMC report, 122 medical students (64 undergraduate and 58 postgraduate students) have committed suicide in the last five years, which means an estimated 25-26 medical students commit suicide every year.
Experts said mental health issues among doctors are not new but are being talked about now because of increased awareness.
“The health of the doctor is important and so the mental health of doctors should also be taken care of. After all, these medical students are going to be the doctors of the future. They should prioritise their own health before the health of the patient. However, earlier there was a lot of stigma attached and there was a lack of awareness. Earlier too, this issue was persistent but no one spoke. Today awareness has increased, people want to talk about it, the number of suicides and mental health issues among doctors have increased. This could be due to academic challenge, stressful environment, interpersonal difficulties, poor coping mechanisms, social media, etc,” said Dr Rajesh Sagar, professor, department of psychiatry at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS-Delhi).
Recommendations of the Task Force
The NMC-appointed task force has recommended medical colleges to formulate policies to create a safe working environment for medical students, including gate-keeping programmes to identify high-risk individuals, limiting workload to 72 hours per week, helping students get at least seven hours of daily sleep, fair and unbiased grading system, establishment of e-complaint portal in NMC, anti-ragging measures, awareness drives, counselling services, staff/student clinic, abolition of bond policy, etc.
The college said it must create a supportive and inclusive environment for students with mental illness and who have attempted suicide. The head of the psychiatry department is tasked with evaluating whether a student’s mental health condition may impact patient care in a clinical setting or pose a direct threat to the student’s own safety.
“Providing accessible mental health services, establishing a mental health and wellness committee, academic support, and maintaining confidentiality. Fitness to practice protocols for medical students with mental illness,” the report said.
