America's Med Students Are a Bunch of Drunks

You might not think that the sort of person who is training to be a doctor would also be the sort of person who feels the need to get absolutely shitfaced on a regular basis. After all, not only do medical students pay an average of $51,044 per year to study their craft, but they of all people should also know what sort of bodily harm comes along with playing Edward Fortyhands on the regs.

Too bad nothing seems to be stopping America's burgeoning medical minds from getting their bona fide Bacchus on.

A study recently published in the journal Academic Medicine has found that upwards of a third of students currently enrolled in a medical school in America are regularly abusing alcohol as a method of coping with high levels of stress. In a statement released by the Mayo Clinic researchers who are responsible for the study, senior author Dr. Liselotte Dyrbye explained, "Our findings clearly show there is reason for concern. We recommend institutions pursue a multifaceted solution to address related issues with burnout, the cost of medical education, and alcohol abuse."

The researchers conducted the study by surveying 12,500 current medical students, a third of whom actually responded. Of the roughly 4,200 respondents, around 1,400 are considered to suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence. That's a pretty big number compared to non-medical students, of whom only 16 percent are considered regular abusers of alcohol.

The problem appears to continue after medical school ends. A second team of researchers from the Mayo Clinic recently reported that during the period of their residencies, doctors prescribe too many opioid painkillers for their patients—and, perhaps more troubling, for themselves. Of 44,612 anesthesiologists studied, 384 were said to have a substance abuse disorder problem; in fact, 28 of the physicians died as a result during their residencies.

The reasons that medical students and residents turn to getting high to relieve stress are well-documented. The high costs of their education, the long hours they work, the competition, and the life-and-death scenarios they face on an everyday basis certainly add up. According to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, one-fourth of young doctors have symptoms of depression. Despite recent reforms in the profession to try to relieve stress, doctors are still suffering.

Looks like the Doogie Howsers and Doug Ross's of tomorrow might need to cut back on the weeklong benders just a bit.