Laura Vater: Doctors in training are human beings

Laura Vater shared a post on LinkedIn:

“A resident messaged me:

‘My co-resident had a condition that required missing months of training. After, he tried to make up for it by doing everything he could. We lost him to suicide the next year. I can’t separate that his guilt over his absence contributed to his death.’

Doctors in training are human beings. They get sick. They need time off. They need mental health support.

They need reminders that it’s okay to be human and this doesn’t make them any less valuable.”

Source: Laura Vater/X

Laura Vater is a gastrointestinal oncologist at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, specializing in colorectal, pancreatic, gastric, liver, and bile duct cancers.

She developed the SMILE Scale in 2017, a tool used globally to help patients and clinicians prioritize health. Her research interests include narrative medicine to enhance clinician empathy and support caregivers in their work.