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How to stop pimping at your medical school (& heal yourself) →

Pimping is a “teaching” technique in which a student is grilled with rapid-fire questions (often about obscure medical minutiae). These much-feared public interrogation sessions can be so malicious that the student may be left crying—in front of peers, staff, and patients. Alison, a physician in the UK, writes:

It’s not just in the US that these problems are occurring. I’m currently off sick with anxiety and depression—this is my third episode and I’m only thirty-one. The first episode started in medical school during a particularly unpleasant ‘teaching session’ where I was ripped apart in front of a patient and my peers. My best friend stood next to me whispering, ‘It’s okay, it’s okay’ in a bid to stop me from breaking down then and there. We moved to the next patient for one of my peers to be cross-examined, when this patient looked at me and offered me a tissue because she could see the tears in my eyes.

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Physician Suicide Letters—Answered (FREE Audiobook) →

This FREE audiobook of Physician Suicide Letters—Answered, read by the author Dr. Pamela Wible, is dedicated to all medical students, to every child who has ever dreamed of being a doctor, and to all those who have lost their lives in pursuit of healing others. PLEASE SHARE WIDELY. You may save a life. (Press download arrow below playbar for your free copy).

I lost both men I dated in medical school to suicide. In just over a year we lost three physicians in my town to suicide. I was once a suicidal doctor myself. Thankfully, I survived to tell my story—and to share a secret that has been hidden from public view for more than a century.

Nobody likes to talks about how many of our doctors are jumping from hospital rooftops, overdosing in call rooms, hanging themselves in hospital chapels. It’s medicine’s dirty secret—and it’s covered up by our hospitals, clinics, and medical schools.

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Suicide censorship? Grieving mom speaks out. →

Cheryl with son, Sean Petro, as a medical student.

Dear Dr. Wible,

As you know I lost my son Sean Petro on Mother’s Day 2016 but he wasn’t found until two days later.

From the moment Sean was found by USC/Keck police in his apartment I have been treated by his medical school like a person with no feelings. We were the last to be invited to his school’s memorial. At the end of the memorial I was told by the Associated Dean in no uncertain terms that Sean was the first medical student to die by suicide at USC/Keck. She made sure to tell me that Derek Seehausen who went missing Sean’s first year in school had just changed his mind about being a doctor. She hoped that he was now a bartender down in Cabo, Mexico. Then she went on to tell me that a doctor died suddenly a year before Sean. I guess he did die suddenly when he jumped from the school roof and landed in the quad on the pavement.

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What depressed doctors do (when nobody’s looking) →

DepressedDoc Pamela Wible

Do depressed doctors go to doctors? Do they even seek help? What do depressed doctors do when they’re not helping you? Doctors have affairs. They drink alcohol and smoke pot. They steal prescription medications. They binge-eat crap, scream, and exercise obsessively. Depressed doctors contemplate suicide. They hide their feelings to prevent being punished by licensing boards or mistreated by “Physician Health Programs.” Fact: depression is an occupational hazard in medicine. Chances are your own doctor may be depressed now.

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Are you an employee, business owner, or entrepreneur? →

Entrepreneur? Pamela Wible

Are you (by nature) an employee, a business owner, or an entrepreneur? Listen to this podcast to find out now:

Hate your job? You may be in the right profession, but wrong position for your personality. Want to love your life and career? Step one: discover whether you are an employee, a business owner, or an entrepreneur. Here’s how to figure it out.

EMPLOYEES are risk averse and like to know the rules. They thrive on structure and predictability. They need clear instructions and direction. Employees play it safe and they value job security. Knowledge base is narrow. Motivation may vary from low to high and they’re good at saying yes to the boss. Employees dislike failure and many require praise to remain motivated. They tend to enjoy the social atmosphere at work. Employees are generally oriented toward self and family. A common phrase from an employee is: “Thank God it’s Friday!” Employees watch the clock. If they work nine to five, they show up at nine and at 4:59 pm they’re heading toward the door. Employees love holidays and vacations because they get time off to hang out with family and friends. They know how to relax.