Academic Medicine Open Forum

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  • 1.  Medical student syndrome

    Posted 02-14-2020 02:41:00 PM

    Medical students spend many hours focused on the unpleasant details of many worrisome conditions, so it's understandable that they may suspect they have one of them. A faculty member recently shared his experience with "medical student syndrome" - and how it ultimately made him a better doctor - in AAMCNews Insights piece.

    • When you were in medical school, did you or one of your classmates ever worry you had a condition you studied?
    • What did you do to get past "medical student syndrome"?
    • Any advice for current medical students or other faculty who may be working with students who are struggling with this?


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    Stacy Weiner
    Senior Staff Writer
    Association of American Medical Colleges
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  • 2.  RE: Medical student syndrome

    Posted 02-14-2020 04:05:00 PM
    Really interesting statistics... "different researchers have reviewed medical student syndrome with wide-ranging results, sometimes demonstrating prevalence rates as high as 70% to 80%"!

    Looking forward to hearing from the community on this topic :-)


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    Stephanie Weiner
    Manager of Digital Strategy
    Association of American Medical Colleges
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  • 3.  RE: Medical student syndrome

    Posted 02-17-2020 09:23:00 AM
    While I was in school (in the 1960s) I had a classmate that thought he had every disease we studied.  I believe that many of us took the time to have lengthy discussions with him regarding all on the issues, not simply one symptom.  I have always believed that honest, open discussions will often make people more comfortable, and lead them to better introspection of "Why" they have the feelings they do.  While it is not uncommon, it is more often handled with honest conversation and respect.

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    Leonard Goldstein
    VP for Clinical Education Development
    A.T. Still University
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