HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS British Journal of Psychiatry Advances in Psychiatric Treatment All RCPsych Journals		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Macaskill, A. M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Macaskill, A. M.

Work-related stress in psychiatry

Royal Cornhill Hospital, 26 Cornhill Road, Aberdeen AB25 2ZH, email: amy.macaskill{at}nhs.net

I read with admiration Dr Harrison’s report on work-related stress (Psychiatric Bulletin, October 2006, 30, 385-387) but I felt a sense of disappointment that we as psychiatrists and the wider medical profession continue to deny our health needs and general fallibility, and that our employers exhibit similar impotence.

Our training focuses our energies on succeeding both academically and later clinically. We are a competitive breed, entering our working life with high personal expectations of our performance on a day-to-day basis. The effect of daily consultation with morbidity and mortality on ourselves has to be addressed somehow. Denial becomes a handy defence mechanism.

As a profession we are more likely to develop alcohol misuse and dependence problems, as well as having a higher suicide rate. Yet how often do the precursors to these go unchecked or unnoticed. Taking time off sick is often accompanied by guilt and a sense of failure. We seem to believe that it shouldn’t happen to us.

Currently, our junior doctors are in a heightened state of performance anxiety as Modernising Medical Careers goes live. The usual anxieties related to finding a job are magnified considerably by the number of jobs being applied for. How are we and our employers protecting this vital part of the work force from the inevitable stress-related symptoms that are likely to ensue? When will we start to be honest with ourselves about our susceptibility to illness and look to prevent and manage it? When will our employers?

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Macaskill, A. M. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Macaskill, A. M.