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FEATURES FSUMED
Floyd Jaggears , a 1983 alumnus of FSU ’ s Program in Medical Sciences , said he ’ s glad to hear about the new emphasis – because burnout has long been part of medical tradition . “ Our joke in residency ,” he recalled , “ was that the day we were healthy was when we went from suicidal to homicidal . It was our way of coping with it , trying to pull each other through . It was not ‘ Promote wellness .’ It was survival of the fittest .” Fogarty , a West Point graduate , said that the “ suck it up , drive on ” philosophy often is concealing secret fears : “ Do I have the right stuff ? Am I good enough to be here ? Do I deserve to be a doctor ? Who am I fooling ? I ’ m an impostor !” And even though the College of Medicine embraces teamwork , competitiveness is never far away .
“ What have these students done , exclusively , until they walked in this door ? Try to be the best , so they can get in ,” Painter said . “ Then they come here and they don ’ t compete anymore ? For God ’ s sake ! They ’ re jockeying for position the minute they walk in the door .” In some cases , they ’ ve never even considered the possibility of another career . Graham Patrick , assistant dean for admissions , remembers reading an article on a national sampling of med students : “ It said something like 20 percent had contemplated suicide , and something like 6 percent had contemplated withdrawing from medical school . For apparently a significant number of students , medical school is the most important thing in the world .” Matt Wittman knew that feeling .
After Matt In February 2017 , the College of Medicine ’ s atmosphere was tense . Staff members were questioning the college ’ s commitment to diversity and opportunities for advancement . Faculty members were wrestling with a new curriculum . Students blamed that curriculum for compounding their headaches … and their fears of the upcoming board exam known as Step 1 . ( See story , Page 19 ) Against that backdrop came tragic news : Wittman – a likable student who had begun with the Class of 2018 , taken time off , then returned in the Class of 2019 – apparently concluded that the career of his dreams was out of reach . So , to the total surprise of his friends , faculty , church and family , he took his own life . ( See story , Page 20 ) The medical school ’ s morale sank like a stone .
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