Medical school can be an incredibly rewarding experience, but it’s also widely known to be demanding and stressful. As you apply, it’s worth paying close attention to the support systems a school has in place and how it takes care of its students. Below are some questions you can ask during an interview, second‑look event, or medical school fair to get a sense of how a school prioritizes student health and wellness.
- What organizations are available to help students connect with like-minded peers?
During medical school, many students face the challenges of adjusting to a new city, being away from friends and family, and managing a heavy workload. Having a support system can make all the difference in a smooth transition to medical school. Student organizations — such as a Black student association, an LGBTQIA+ organization, an intramural sports league, or a book club — can provide students with a support system where they are able to decompress and reset. It is important for students to have access to healthy outlets during their medical training.
- Can you give an example of how you’ve enhanced your wellness program based on student feedback?
A medical school’s ability to accept and incorporate student feedback is a key consideration for any wellness program. Applicants will also be able to gain insight into the faculty-student relationship based on the feedback given by the students and the responsiveness of the faculty and administration.
- Are there formal mentorship opportunities for students to receive a mentor and be a mentor?
Medical school can be a difficult and demanding time for future health care professionals. Therefore, the need for a mentor and the need to mentor are inextricably tied to the medical education process. While many students develop a mentor relationship with their professors or peers on their own, the institution itself may offer the opportunity to pair mentors and proteges. Discussing the mentorship opportunities available at the institution can demonstrate a willingness to learn from others as well as a willingness to give back. Mentor relationships can also be a boost to mental health: Research indicates that mentored students rate their overall well-being higher compared to those who did not have a mentor.
- What is campus life like?
This question is especially valuable to ask current medical students, who can speak to how supported, connected, and balanced student life feels day to day. Their insights can reveal whether the campus culture promotes community, inclusion, and opportunities to recharge outside of academics.
- How do you help students prevent burnout?
Acknowledging the heavy workload of medical school and the potential stressors of being far away from friends, family, and a support system is the first step to preventing burnout. First- and second-year medical students often struggle to distinguish between normal amounts of stress and other mental health conditions. It is important to ask how the medical school will assist students as they go through this extensive training process. A few examples of how medical schools address wellness include incorporating wellness discussions into orientation, organizing wellness retreats, offering free counseling services, organizing self-care events, and more.
- How do you identify and assist struggling students?
For students who may be struggling emotionally or academically, the medical school may have a system of identifying at-risk students so they can assist them accordingly. Given the stigma surrounding mental illness and seeking therapy, many medical students are not comfortable seeking support for mental health. This stigma can also affect students seeking resources from their own institutions. Because students may not voluntarily communicate their needs to the medical school, it is useful for a school to identify the students’ needs and proactively address them.
- What is the student participation rate for your well-being resources?
The participation rate of a medical school’s wellness resources may offer insight into how effective students perceive the programs to be — as well as how accessible they are. Students may be more likely to participate in mental health services if they believe that the school’s resources will improve their well-being and create a nurturing learning environment. High levels of participation can also help students learn from each other and may lead to smaller informal networks of support.
- How accessible and confidential are counseling and mental health services for students?
When counseling services are easy to access, truly confidential, and designed with students in mind, students feel safer reaching out for help. A big barrier to therapy is often the hassle of finding nearby providers or ones that are in-network, but dedicated counseling services at medical schools remove many of those obstacles. Knowing support is convenient, private, and reliable helps reduce stigma and encourages students to get help sooner, which can make a real difference in their well‑being and success.
As a future physician, I believe a knowledge of the available wellness resources at my prospective medical schools may mitigate mental health crisis, stress, and burnout throughout my medical education.
by Alexzander Ballard, Morehouse School of Medicine medical student and former AAMC student affairs and programs intern