Work

Prioritizing mental health support for physician-scientist trainees

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Mental health support is a critical part of healthcare, not only for patients but also for the providers who care for them. This is particularly true for physician-scientist trainees, who aim to obtain both a medical degree (Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)) and scientific credentials (often a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)) for the purpose of integrating research and medicine. These trainees face unique and significant mental health stressors, as they must balance rigorous academic demands with patient care, directing complex research projects, and often coping with substantial financial burdens due to the prolonged training period. Mental health challenges in physician-scientist trainees are often overshadowed by the demanding nature of their dual careers, yet their well-being is central to their professional and personal success. Many physician-scientist trainees at different levels report high levels of stress and burnout due to immense workloads, long hours, high-performance expectations, financial insecurity, and inconsistent or incomplete institutional support 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 . These pressures can have dramatic effects on trainees by significantly elevating their risk of medical errors or self-harm 1 , 5 . Without addressing these gaps, poor mental health will continue to have a negative impact on physician-scientist trainee well-being, professional effectiveness, and ultimately patient care. In this Comment, we highlight the physician-scientist training pathway’s detrimental impact on mental health and propose solutions at multiple institutional levels to maintain well-being during the training process.

Source: Communications Medicine

DOI: 10.1038/s43856-025-00843-5