• Sue Outram and Brian Kelly.
• School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia, Sue.outram@newcastle.edu.au.
• Perspect Med Educ. 2014 Nov 1; 3 (5): 371-8.

AbstractThis article examines the pre-vocational preparation of doctors to cope with the demands of clinical practice, drawing on literature from across a number of domains: mental health, psychological stress among medical students and medical practitioners; and self-care strategies in medicine curricula. High rates of psychological distress in medical students and medical practitioners were consistently reported. A number of questions remain pertinent to medical education: how does the experience of medical education impact on this level of distress, and possibly exacerbate pre-existing student vulnerabilities? What will help future doctors respond to, and cope with, suffering in their patients? Can the formal curriculum build resilience? Medical schools and educators have a responsibility to address these questions and to provide effective self-care curricula. In this review promising interventions such as mindfulness training are reported, frameworks to guide self-awareness in medical students are suggested, and recommendations for a self-care curriculum are made.

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