Promoting Mental Health Awareness Among Future Healthcare Professionals: A Core Pillar for Europe’s Health Sovereignty

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Wajd is a third-year medical student at the University of Kordofan, passionate about global health and scientific research. 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.

​The European Union’s efforts to achieve strategic health sovereignty and build resilient healthcare systems capable of facing crises cannot be complete if there is a rift in the infrastructure and the psychological safety of healthcare workers is overlooked. Solid walls cannot be built against future health crises and pandemics if the human foundations are fragile and under continuous psychological pressure; the true strength of the system begins from the minds of those who learn and work to heal others.

​After studying the current landscape of European medical education, recent data indicates that more than 30% of medical students across Europe suffer from depression or its symptoms, while anxiety rates have spread during clinical training periods, leading students to academic dropout and thinking about leaving their studies early. This percentage represents a major economic and societal loss because any medical career that stops is nothing but a loss in public investment, and a shortage in the number of future working cadres in the healthcare sector.

​Dealing with this crisis requires a solution built on three main dimensions:
• ​The Technological and Digital Dimension: One of the biggest obstacles toward accessing psychological assistance is stigma and lack of confidentiality. This problem can be solved by integrating digital tools and psychological support applications to provide immediate, safe, and confidential support. In addition, collecting data will be easier, as well as investigating the causes of psychological stress and the areas of its increase, which helps in early intervention before the problem becomes deeply rooted.

• ​The Social and Labour Dimension: Mental health is closely linked to the work and study environment, which means that to protect students' rights to psychological comfort, the prevailing culture around it in academic education must be reformed, and the culture of support and psychological recreation must be integrated into the curricula. Since students are the closest group to these psychological problems, involving young doctors' unions in designing support programs will enhance their effectiveness.
• ​The Strategic and Localizing Dimension: Protecting the mental health of young medical cadres is a fundamental strategy that ensures reducing rates of migration, searching for better options, or even staying away from critical specialties such as intensive care or emergency... etc. These specialties are considered among the fields in which Europe needs competence and sustainability.

​Because this crisis cannot be solved in isolation from public policies, funding mental health support programs must be a priority and not just any marginal educational spending, such as the EU4Health programs, and its resources must be directed to support students and healthcare workers, while integrating the budget into the horizon of enhancing research and innovation as in the Horizon Europe program, to ensure that development in technology is matched by development in the care of the human being who operates this technology.

​Suggestions and Examples of Solutions:

• ​Psychological Competence Curricula: Introducing accredited and mandatory courses according to the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) that focus on psychological resilience and stress management during academic and practical life.

• ​A Unified Platform to Support Medical Cadres: Launching a centralized, multilingual digital platform that offers immediate and free/low-cost psychological consultations for students and healthcare workers.

• ​An Observatory for the Safety of Young Medical Cadres: Establishing an independent body dedicated to monitoring training, study, and work environments, which possesses the authority to hold universities and hospitals accountable if they violate standards regarding working hours or rest.

​Sources:
• ​European Commission. (2023). A Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health. A document addressed to the European Parliament, the Council, and the House of Representatives.

• ​Eurostat and EU4Health Program Statistics. (2024-2025). Healthcare Personnel Statistics and Attrition Rates in Higher Medical Education in the European Union.

• ​Rotenstein et al. Prevalence of Depression, Depressive Symptoms, and Suicidal Ideation Among Medical Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Updated to include recent European indicators).

• ​European Medical Students' Association (EMSA) and MedSIN-Sudan Network. Policy papers on medical student health and curriculum reform under the frameworks of the Horizon Europe program (2025/2026).

About the author

Wajd is a third-year medical student at the University of Kordofan, passionate about global health and scientific research. She is committed to developing her academic and non-academic skills and enhancing the quality of medical education. She has experience in media, design, and editing programs, and currently serves as the PNTSD Graphic Designer for her LMO. She was also the Media Secretary for the Medical Research Development Project at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kordofan. She aspires to combine medical studies, design, and medical education to simplify medical information and make it understandable for all society segments.