Depression in the internship

Fifty three first yr residents who had just completed an internship were interviewed and it was found that 30% of them had a depression in their internship. The onset of their depression generally occurred at the beginning of their internship on a service with a higher number of working hr per wk. Four in the depressed group had suicidal ideation, 3 had a suicidal plan, and 6 had marital problems who had never had marital problems before. Thirty one % of the depressed interns said they would not choose medicine again as a career. The depressed interns had a positive family history for depression and more previous depressions. Changes in the internship might be considered, in particular, lowering the number of working hr per wk.