Vanderbilt Concerned After Uptick in Suicide Among Medical Students

Woman in lab coat looking through microscope

Vanderbilt University is concerned after four of its medical school students have committed suicide in less than two years.

“Vanderbilt University is committed to a culture of caring in which the well-being of all community members — our extraordinary students, the faculty who teach them, and the staff who play an immeasurable role in the success of this remarkable university — is enhanced and supported,” Vanderbilt said in a statement. “We strive to foster a culture of openness through brave dialogue, honest self-reflection, and willingness to invest in this incredible university by investing first in the mental health and wholeness of every member of the Vanderbilt family.”

Specifically, four doctoral students in biomedical sciences have died by suicide.

According to one report, mental health resources are stretched thin due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has taken its toll on the mental health of all Americans, and particularly college students.

That report said that wait times for appointments at Vanderbilt University’s Counseling Center could be months long, and that the school has assigned a mental health counselor to specifically help the school’s 400 doctoral students in the biomedical science program.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted in a report last October that rates of anxiety and depression – both risk factors for suicides – have increased dramatically, particularly among young people.

The data showed that such instances were correlated to COVID-19 case numbers, which often correlate to increased isolation.

Yes, Every Kid

“The frequency of anxiety and depression symptoms experienced among U.S. adults increased after August 2020 and peaked during December 2020-January 2021. The frequency of symptoms subsequently decreased but in June 2021 remained elevated compared with estimates from the 2019 NHIS,” the report said. “The relative increases and decreases in frequency of reported symptoms of anxiety and depression at both the national and state levels mirrored the national weekly number of new COVID-19 cases during the same period.”

Vanderbilt University Medical School – a top destination for medical students worldwide – is in a unique position to decipher the mental health toll that the pandemic has taken on Americans of all ages, especially those enrolled at its university.

Vanderbilt did not return a comment request.

– – –

Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].

 

 

Related posts

5 Thoughts to “Vanderbilt Concerned After Uptick in Suicide Among Medical Students”

  1. Patty Canter

    The medical students need a Biblical worldview to understand the times of which we are living and to also know the importance of life and its meaning. It is God that created us in our mother’s womb and that life has eternal importance. The decision we make in regards to Jesus Christ has eternal consequences. Everyone is guilty of sin. God says we come short of His glory and perfection. Ecclesiastes 7:20 declares, “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” God showed us His love by allowing His only Son Jesus to take the punishment for our sins. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13

  2. Well dear God! They just witnessed one of the greatest medical frauds in the history of humanity. What did they expect?

  3. Truthy McTruthFace

    teach more CRT, that’ll fix it

  4. All while Vanderbilt enables their “mad scientists” with draconian masking and mandated vaccines at their institutions. Just hand “all the powerful people” mirrors, and they may see the problem.

    1. 83ragtop50

      Jeanine – Exactly!

Comments