In her second year of medical
school
at
the
University
of
Michigan,
Rahael
Gupta
contemplated taking her own
life. While Gupta got the help she
needed and returned to school
the following year, she uncovered
a stigma among the medical
community
in
which
many
physicians — and those in training
— hide their depression for fear
of
professional
consequences.
Now, in her final year of medical
school, Gupta is speaking out
about her struggles with mental
health and emphasize that, just
like the patients for which they
care, doctors are not immune to
depression.
In Gupta’s second year of
medical
school,
she
began
feeling fatigued and upset as
she fell behind in school work. A
dedicated worker, Gupta wanted
to just focus on her studies and
tried to ignore her increasing
inability to function in school.
She never considered she was
suffering from depression until a
trusted medical school counselor,
whom she had visited at the time
to try to defer a test, suggested she
might be depressed.
“She
was
the
one
that
recognized, ‘Okay, this student
isn’t just having a hard time, there
is something wrong here,’” Gupta
said. “She was the first person to
ask me, ‘Rahael, do you think you
could be depressed?’ No one had
asked me that before.”
For Gupta, her mental health
had become a secondary concern
to exam deadlines and school
work, but as a result, her academic
performance and her well-being
diminished.
“I was so low and distraught —
I was just happy that somebody
was asking me about how I
was doing instead of about my
performance,” she said.
Gupta
is
not
alone
in
suffering
from
depression.
A 2016 study conducted by a
team at Brigham and Women’s
Hospital and the U-M Medical
School
found
one
in
four
medical students may develop
depression. Though the intensity
of medical school would seem
to be an environment naturally
rife with anxiety and stress for
students, study co-author Srijan
Sen explains there is a taboo
concerning doctors who appear to
suffer from such pressures.
“I think there’s a culture that
we’re supposed to be strong and
nothing can faze a doctor, and
they can handle anything and
continue on,” Sen said.
The team collected data from
over 200 studies, which examined
the mental health of 129,000
medical students in 47 countries.
In
addition,
researchers
found one in 10 students will
contemplate
suicide
during
medical school. Though there
are disproportionate numbers of
medical students suffering from
depression and suicidal thoughts,
results from the study show
only 16 percent of those with
depression are seeking help.
Sen has previously worked on
other studies that examine the
mental health of medical students
and professionals. He visited
study participants years after
they graduated from medical
school
and
completed
their
residences to observe similar rates
of depression and reluctance to
request mental health care later in
the participants’ later career lives.
The
Vietnamese
Student
Association painted the Rock
— a University of Michigan
tradition
—
with
their
names and the name of their
organization on Thursday night
. On Friday, VSA students found
their organization’s name on the
Rock defaced with lewd graffiti
and expletives directed toward
the police.
“We’re saying, we’re here,
we’re here on this campus, and
we’re here and we exist,” VSA
co-president Khang Huynh, a
Public Health senior, said. “So
when someone vandalized it, it
left a sour taste in our mouth.
If you want me to blunt, it just
felt like a middle finger to our
student org. To have your name
literally vandalized over.”
In a statement shared by
the VSA on Facebook, which
received over 300 shares as of
Sunday night, the organization
referred to the incident not just
as vandalism, but as a “hate
crime.”
“This incident is one of many
vandalizations targeting people
and
student
organizations
of color at the University of
Michigan,” the statement said.
Engineering sophomore Radu
Tolontan and Education senior
Nick Maternowski may come
from different colleges at the
University of Michigan, but they
share appreciation of the School
of Education’s new Education for
Empowerment minor.
“I don’t think it’s for LSA
students, I don’t think it’s for
Arts students, I don’t think it’s for
Engineering students,” Tolontan
said. “I think it’s a minor for
pretty much anybody who likes
working with people and bringing
power to people.”
The
15-credit
Education
for Empowerment minor was
launched this fall and offers
students the chance to critically
examine the role of education in
social change and justice.
Simona Goldin, director of
instructional design at the School
of Education, explained the minor
was developed after faculty who
taught the Schooling in Multi-
Culture Society course noted
students’ continued desire to
pursue questions of social justice
and its impact on educational
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, September 24, 2018
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Vandalism
on the Rock
instigates
controversy
Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller
talks Broadway journey, time at ‘U’
CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily
Jeffrey Seller, a broadway producer known for his work on Hamilton, discussed his time at Michigan at Palmer Commons Friday afternoon.
CAMPUS LIFE
Lewd graffiti found over annual painting
by the Vietnamese Student Association
CARLY RYAN &
ZAYNA SYED
Daily News Editor &
Daily Staff Reporter
Seller directed plays at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre as a student at Michigan
Acclaimed Broadway producer
Jeffrey Seller, a University of
Michigan 1986 graduate, spoke
to a packed auditorium at Palmer
Commons
Friday
afternoon
about his student experience at
the University and his success in
producing hit-Broadway shows like
“Rent,” “Avenue Q” and “Hamilton.”
Seller graduated with a bachelor’s
degree in political science and
worked various jobs while at the
University, including directing plays
at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
and writing for The Michigan Daily.
Seller explained the difficulty he
faced during his senior year, when
he was unsure how to navigate his
goals for the future.
After graduation, Seller moved
to New York City to pursue a
career in public relations within
the entertainment industry. There,
he met the people who became an
integral part of his early career.
“Who we team up with helps
determine our future,” Seller said.
“The question will be, ‘What can you
make with yourself and the people
that you meet from Michigan, and
the years right after?’”
DANIELLE PASEKOFF
Daily Staff Reporter
New minor
ties social
justice and
teaching
ACADEMICS
The 15 credit program
was launched this fall in
the School of Education
AMARA SHAIKH
Daily Staff Writer
ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily
University medical school working to reduce
mental health stigma among students, doctors
A 2016 study, conducted in part by U-M, found one in four medical students may develop depression
RACHEL LEUNG
Daily Staff Writer
Three in a row
Michigan dominated its
third straight opponent on
Saturday, this time beating
Nebraska, 56-10, in the
Wolverines’ Big Ten opener.
» Page 1B
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 141
©2018 The Michigan Daily
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O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 B
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