Young Cancer Doctors Hit By Stress
A quarter of young cancer specialists in the UK are suffering from stress which can lead to depression and affect their care of patients and their families, researchers have found.
In a survey of 401 oncology registrars, 102 scored above the threshold for possible psychiatric morbidity and more than one in ten showed clinically important levels of depression.
The main reasons cited include being over-stretched, keeping up-to-date with knowledge, fear of making mistakes, talking with distressed relatives, and poor senior support and team relations.
The team was established to survey all the palliative medicine, medical oncology and clinical oncology registrars in the country - 63% of the UK’s cancer specialist registrars replied- with a questionnaire and a test for short-term changes in mental health.
They found 102 with levels of psychological distress, 44 had scores indicating depression and 15 expressed suicidal ideas. The study also found that the effect of stress on personal/family life was the dominant predictor of depression, which tallied with studies of other specialties. If interested in more details, please click here.