Episodes 102: Honoring Dr. Jack Ruddell: A Story of Joy, Compassion, and Mental Health in Medical Training
Release Date: 09/17/2024
DocsWithDisabilities
Content Warning This episode addresses mental health issues, including research and personal narratives on suicide. Please take care while engaging with it and only proceed if you feel safe doing so. If you, or someone you love, is having thoughts of suicide, please contact 988. Help is available. Interviewer Dr. Lisa Meeks Interviewees John Ruddell Jennifer Ruddell Narrator Dr. Joseph Murray Transcript Keywords Suicide Prevention Medical Education Mental Health Postvention Grief and Healing Wellness in Medicine Advocacy Systemic Reform Burnout Depression Anxiety Disabilities in Medical...
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Content Warning: This content addresses mental health issues, including research and narratives on suicide. Please take care while engaging with it and only proceed if you feel safe doing so. If you, or someone you love, is having thoughts of suicide, please contact 988. Help is available. Interviewer Dr. Lisa Meeks Interviewees John Ruddell Jennifer Ruddell Roja (friend of Jack Ruddell) Dr. David Muller Dr. Christine Moutier Dr. Jessi Gold Narrator Dr. Joseph Murray Keywords: Suicide, Postvention, Prevention, Aftermath, Proactive, Support, Parents, Peers,...
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Content Warning: This content addresses mental health issues, including research and narratives on suicide. Please take care while engaging with it and only proceed if you feel safe doing so. If you, or someone you love, is having thoughts of suicide, please contact 988. Help is available. Episode 103: Suicidality in Medical Training: Understanding the Crisis and its Causes. Interviewer Lisa Meeks Interviewees John Ruddell Jennifer Ruddell Roja (friend of Jack Ruddell) Dr. Christine Moutier Dr. Srijan Sen Dr. Justin Bullock Dr. Jessi Gold Narrator Dr....
info_outline Episodes 102: Honoring Dr. Jack Ruddell: A Story of Joy, Compassion, and Mental Health in Medical TrainingDocsWithDisabilities
Warning: This content addresses mental health issues, including research and narratives on suicide. Please take care while engaging with it and only proceed if you feel safe doing so. If you, or someone you love, is having thoughts of suicide, please contact 988. Help is available. Interviewer Lisa Meeks Interviewees John Ruddell Jennifer Ruddell Roja (friend of Jack Ruddell) Dr. Christine Moutier Dr. Jessi Gold Narrator Dr. Joseph Murray Description In this deeply moving episode, host Lisa Meeks introduces a special series dedicated to exploring the...
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Interviewees: Dr. Kevin Eva, Dr. Lara Varpio, Dr. Gabrielle Finn, and Dr. Yoon Soo Park Interviewer: Lisa Meeks In this special live episode, recorded at the 2024 ASME Conference in Warwick, UK, host Lisa Meeks moderates a dynamic panel titled "Advancing Disability Equity in Health Professions Scholarship: A Panel Discussion on Inclusive Research and Publication Practices." Joining her are esteemed guests Drs. Kevin Eva, Lara Varpio, Gabrielle Finn, and Yoon Soo Park, who delve into the critical intersection of equity, academia, and scholarship. They share valuable insights on expanding...
info_outlineWarning:
This content addresses mental health issues, including research and narratives on suicide. Please take care while engaging with it and only proceed if you feel safe doing so. If you, or someone you love, is having thoughts of suicide, please contact 988. Help is available.
Interviewer
Lisa Meeks
Interviewees
John Ruddell
Jennifer Ruddell
Roja (friend of Jack Ruddell)
Dr. Christine Moutier
Dr. Jessi Gold
Narrator
Dr. Joseph Murray
Description
In this deeply moving episode, host Lisa Meeks introduces a special series dedicated to exploring the mental health crisis among medical trainees, with a focus on the tragic story of Dr. Jack Ruddell. Joined by Jack's parents, John and Jennifer Ruddell, and his close friend Roja, we delve into Jack's life, his struggles with depression and anxiety, and the immense pressures faced by medical students.
Dr. Joseph Murray, a psychiatrist at Weill Cornell Medical College, provides expert insights into the high rates of burnout, depression, and suicide in the medical field. We also hear from Dr. Christine Moutier, Chief Medical Officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and Dr. Jessie Gold, a respected psychiatrist and author, who discuss the unique challenges and cultural issues within medical training that contribute to mental health struggles.
This episode aims to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues, encourage medical learners to seek help, and advocate for systemic changes in medical education to foster a more supportive and compassionate environment.
Description of Series
DWDI Special Series: Suicidality in Medical Training dives into the critical conversations around mental health, well-being, support systems, and the intense pressures faced during medical training. Through the power of storytelling, the series intertwines these broader themes with the deeply personal story of Dr. Jack Ruddell, a promising medical student who died by suicide. Jack’s journey—his strengths, struggles, and the complexities leading to his untimely death—forms the emotional core of this five-part series, giving voice to the loved ones often excluded from these conversations.
Alongside Jack’s story, the series incorporates expert insights and data from the literature, offering a human perspective on burnout, depression, and suicide among medical trainees. With a commitment to improving mental health awareness and reducing the stigma around seeking help, the series presents a novel approach by centering personal narratives alongside expert analysis. It also explores actionable strategies for improving medical training environments and highlights the importance of institutional responses after a loss by suicide.
Our mission is to reduce shame, encourage help-seeking among medical students struggling with depression, and ensure that every medical school is aware of the postvention resources offered by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).
Experts for the Series
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Christine Moutier, MD – Chief Medical Officer, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
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Jessi Gold, MD – Chief Wellness Officer, University of Tennessee System; Author of How Do You Feel?
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David Muller, MD – Director, Institute for Equity and Justice in Health Sciences Education; Dean Emeritus, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai; Author of the NEJM essay, Kathryn
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Srijan Sen, MD, PhD – Director, Eisenberg Family Depression Center; PI of the Intern Health Study
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Justin Bullock, MD, MPH – Fellow, University of Washington; Author of the NEJM article, Suicide, Rewriting My Story
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Stuart Slavin, MD, MEd – Vice President for Well-Being, ACGME
Executive Producers:
- Lisa Meeks
- Rylee Betchkal
- John Ruddell
- Jennifer Ruddell
Sound production:
- Jacob Feeman
- Mark Koha
- Next Day Podcast
Consult Psychiatrist
- Joseph Murray, MD
Episode Release Schedule:
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September 17: Episode 102 – Honoring Dr. Jack Ruddell: A Story of Joy, Compassion, and Mental Health in Medical Training.
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September 17: Episode 103 – Suicide and Suicidality in Medical Training: Understanding the Crisis and its Causes.
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September 24: Episode 104 – Silent Struggles: Mental Health and Medical Education.
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September 26: Episode 105 – Repairing the System: How Do We Create Safe Environments?
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September 30: Episode 106 – Responding to Loss: Postvention and Support After a Suicide.
Keywords: Suicide, Death, Mental health, Jack Ruddell, Medical training, Depression, Suicidality, Burnout, Anxiety, Medical trainees, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Tourette's, Disabilities, Medical education, Medical school, Discrimination, Academic pressure, Clinical practice, Imposter syndrome, Perfectionism, Shame, Mental disability, Learning challenges, Accommodations, High-stakes testing, Inclusivity, Stigma
Resources:
24/7 Suicide & Crisis Hotline, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.
National Office for Suicide Prevention: Language and suicide
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
References
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Johnson KM, Slavin SJ, Takahashi TA. Excellent vs Excessive: Helping Trainees Balance Performance and Perfectionism. J Grad Med Educ. 2023 Aug;15(4):424-427. doi: 10.4300/JGME-D-23-00003.1. PMID: 37637342; PMCID: PMC10449346.
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Bynum WE 4th, W Teunissen P, Varpio L. In the "Shadow of Shame": A Phenomenological Exploration of the Nature of Shame Experiences in Medical Students. Acad Med. 2021 Nov 1;96(11S):S23-S30. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000004261. PMID: 34348391.
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Jain, Neera R. PhD, MS1; Stergiopoulos, Erene MD, MA2; Addams, Amy3; Moreland, Christopher J. MD, MPH4; Meeks, Lisa M. PhD, MA5. “We Need a Seismic Shift”: Disabled Student Perspectives on Disability Inclusion in U.S. Medical Education. Academic Medicine ():10.1097/ACM.0000000000005842, August 8, 2024. | DOI: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005842
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Meeks LM, Jain NR. Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education: Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians with Disabilities. Washington, DC: Association of American Medical Colleges; 2018. Retrieved on September 14, 2024 from: https://store.aamc.org/accessibility-inclusion-and-action-in-medical-education-lived-experiences-of-learners-and-physicians-with-disabilities.html.
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Meeks, L. M., Pereira‐Lima, K., Plegue, M., Jain, N. R., Stergiopoulos, E., Stauffer, C., ... & Moreland, C. J. (2023). Disability, program access, empathy and burnout in US medical students: A national study. Medical education, 57(6), 523-534.
Recommended Readings:
Almutairi, H., Alsubaiei, A., Abduljawad, S., Alshatti, A., Fekih-Romdhane, F., Husni, M., & Jahrami, H. (2022). Prevalence of burnout in medical students: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 68(6), 1157-1170.
Enns MW & Cox B. (2002) The Nature and Assessment of Perfectionism: A Critical Analysis. In: Flett GL, Hewitt PL, eds. Perfectionism: Theory, Research, and Treatment. American Psychological Association, 33-62.
Goldman, M. L., Shah, R. N., & Bernstein, C. A. (2015). Depression and suicide among physician trainees: recommendations for a national response. JAMA psychiatry, 72(5), 411-412.
Johnson, K. M., Slavin, S. J., & Takahashi, T. A. (2023). Excellent vs excessive: helping trainees balance performance and perfectionism. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 15(4), 424-427.
Meeks, L. M., Conrad, S. S., Nouri, Z., Moreland, C. J., Hu, X., & Dill, M. J. (2022). Patient And Coworker Mistreatment Of Physicians With Disabilities: Study examines mistreatment of physicians with disabilities. Health Affairs, 41(10), 1396-1402.
Mirza, A. A., Baig, M., Beyari, G. M., Halawani, M. A., & Mirza, A. A. (2021). Depression and anxiety among medical students: a brief overview. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 393-398.
Pereira-Lima, K., Meeks, L. M., Ross, K. E., Marcelin, J. R., Smeltz, L., Frank, E., & Sen, S. (2023). Barriers to disclosure of disability and request for accommodations among first-year resident physicians in the US. JAMA Network Open, 6(5), e239981-e239981.
Meeks LM, Ramsey J, Lyons M, Spencer AL, Lee WW. Wellness and work: mixed messages in residency training. J Gen Intern Med. 2019;34(7):1352-1355. PMID: 30924087
Meeks LM, Stergiopoulos E, Petersen KH. Institutional Accountability for Students With Disabilities: A Call for Liaison Committee on Medical Education Action. Acad Med. 2021 Oct. PMID: 34670236