Winter, P.D. orcid.org/0000-0003-0766-6297, Rix, A. and Grant, A. (2017) Medical student beliefs about disclosure of mental health issues: a qualitative study. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, 44 (1). pp. 147-156. ISSN 1943-7218
Abstract
In 2012 the United Kingdom's General Medical Council (GMC) commissioned research to develop guidance for medical schools on how best to support students with mental illness. One of the key findings from medical student focus groups in the study was students' strong belief that medical schools excluded students on mental health grounds. Students believed mental illness was a fitness to practice matter that led to eventual dismissal, although neither personal experience nor empirical evidence supported this belief. The objective of the present study was a deeper exploration of this belief and its underlying social mechanisms. This included any other beliefs that influenced medical students' reluctance to disclose a mental health problem, the factors that reinforced these beliefs, and the feared consequences of revealing a mental illness. The study involved a secondary analysis of qualitative data from seven focus groups involving 40 student participants across five UK medical schools in England, Scotland, and Wales. Student beliefs clustered around (1) the unacceptability of mental illness in medicine, (2) punitive medical school support systems, and (3) the view that becoming a doctor is the only successful career outcome. Reinforcing mechanisms included pressure from senior clinicians, a culture of “presenteeism,” distrust of medical school staff, and expectations about conduct. Feared consequences centered on regulatory “fitness to practice” proceedings that would lead to expulsion, reputational damage, and failure to meet parents' expectations. The study's findings provide useful information for veterinary medical educators interested in creating a culture that encourages the disclosure of mental illness and contributes to the debate about mental illness within the veterinary profession.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 University of Toronto Press. |
Keywords: | Medical education; undergraduate; mental illness; fitness to practice; disclosure of mental illness |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Sociological Studies (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 21 Sep 2017 13:17 |
Last Modified: | 22 Sep 2017 08:25 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme.0615-097R |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | University of Toronto Press |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3138/jvme.0615-097R |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:121271 |