Contemplating cognitive enhancement in medical students and residents.
Medical school and residency can be stressful times, involving years of intensive academic study and pressure to earn high grades. Students and residents must learn to care for the sick, a task requiring long work hours and sleep deprivation. In such an environment, it is important to monitor the mental health of trainees and the factors that influence it. This essay examines a relatively unexplored facet of physician mental health: the use of pharmacological stimulants by students and residents to study better, earn higher grades, stay awake longer, and take better care of patients. Practical and ethical considerations of stimulant use in the medical profession, along with future directions for medical student mental health, are discussed.
Webb
Jadon R
JR
Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA. jwebb1@parknet.pmh.org
Thomas
John W
JW
Valasek
Mark A
MA
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003071:Cognition; D003657:Decision Making; D004501:Education, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D012892:Sleep Deprivation; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*
D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants