From Medical Student to Healthcare Professional: The Importance of Mental Wellbeing

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Rawan Doheen, a second year medical student at New Mansoura University and a member of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Association – Egypt (IFMSA-Egypt). She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least a quarter of health and care workers reported anxiety, depression, and burnout symptoms between January 2020 and April 2022. Despite this, mental health is still treated as a second or even third priority among healthcare professionals, while academic achievement and professional performance are often valued more than mental wellbeing.

Since taking your first step as a medical student, you are exposed to continuous academic overload, a competitive environment, and strong societal expectations that require endless studying, sleep deprivation, perfectionism, and constant readiness to respond to medical issues within your community. Because of their passion, many students try to meet these expectations and force themselves to cope with the pressure they can’t fully handle. As a result, achieving a healthy study–life balance becomes extremely difficult. Many are forced to give up their personal lives and hobbies until their lives become centered entirely around being medical students. This can lead to a sense of disconnection from society and feelings of confusion and loss in everyday social interactions. Also, as a medical student, you spend many years in education while people of the same age are graduating, starting careers and getting married, and you are still a student, which can create a sense of delay or feeling of being left behind.

After graduation, medical students face a reality versus expectations gap. While studying in structured academic environments, real clinical practice exposes them to uncertainty, high pressure decision making, with a lack of supervision, which can be overwhelming. Health care professionals are constantly exposed to high levels of responsibility. Every day requires caring for patients, facing emotionally challenging situations including illness and death, which may lead to emotional exhaustion, burnout, and emotional numbness. In addition, workload and continuous shifts with little sleeping make them mentally exhausted. In times of epidemics or crises, healthcare workers are expected to be calm and take immediate action despite their own emotional breakdown.

After understanding the mental health challenges faced by both medical students and healthcare professionals, prioritizing mental health is no longer optional but essential for maintaining a safe and high-quality healthcare system. Supporting students’ mental well-being can reduce burnout, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion before they progress into professional practice. This will help healthcare professionals communicate effectively with patients and make better decisions, which reduces medical errors.

Furthermore, promoting mental wellbeing creates a healthier educational environment where students feel supported rather than judged, encouraging open discussions about emotional struggles and reducing the stigma surrounding mental health support. By teaching students how to recognize stress, seek help, and build resilience early on, medical institutions can prepare future healthcare professionals to sustain both their personal well-being and professional performance helping them to maintain motivation and passion for their careers.

Finally, healthcare professionals can’t heal others if they are struggling to heal themselves. 

About the author

Rawan Doheen is a second year medical student at New Mansoura University and a member of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Association – Egypt (IFMSA-Egypt). She’s trying to achieve this difficult study-life balance by being an IFMSA member and practicing her biggest hobby (writing), practicing advocacy, and volunteering. She dreams of a world where mental health support is accessible, accepted, and encouraged, and no one is struggling with mental health challenges in silence.