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. 2021 Jul 15;4(3):281-283.
doi: 10.31662/jmaj.2021-0039. Epub 2021 Jul 9.

Mental Health Support for the Current and Future Medical Professionals during Pandemics

Soichiro Saeki  1   2 , Masako Shimato  3
Affiliations

Mental Health Support for the Current and Future Medical Professionals during Pandemics

Soichiro Saeki et al. JMA J. .

Abstract

Psychological distress among medical professionals due to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is of great concern as it may lead to mental health problems and, furthermore, work leaves. Studies suggest that immediate psychological interventions are needed to protect medical staff during this chaotic situation. However, the importance of mental healthcare for the "future" medical staff, such as medical students, remains underestimated compared with that of current medical professionals. Medical students also face potential mental health stressors during their degrees and clinical clerkships, further increasing the risk of their psychological disorders. Hence, they should also be protected from burnout by various measures at governmental, organizational, and individual levels. To maintain a sustainable, robust healthcare system, medical professionals, students, and society should unite and collaboratively overcome the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Burnouts; COVID-19; Clinical Clerkship; Medical Staff; Medical Students.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Sickness absence of National Health Service staff in 2019 and 2020. Data was analyzed using open-source data provided by the National Health Service .
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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