I just read an survey study about the health and well-being of medical residents that was done by a chief resident at a local Baltimore hospital. The article describes the well-known difficulties that residents face such as sleep deprivation, social isolation, etc. Then they looked at health-related behaviors including seeking medical or psychiatric care. Not surprisingly, most medical residents reported not having a primary care physician, not calling out when they were sick and not seeking emotional support. Perhaps even more disturbing than these results was the fact that many did not disclose information to their treatment providers (when they did seek treatment) or did not seek treatment because of fears of confidentiality breaches. It’s a sad statement when doctors do not trust fellow doctors to keep private their personal information.
