ABSTRACT
Graduate programs aimed at educating and preparing students to become professionals in the areas of law, medicine, and allied health offer unique challenges and opportunities. The clear benefit of professional programs is that they allow students to integrate classroom learning with highly supervised “on the job” training. However, this form of graduate education is also often quite costly, in terms of both financial and time commitments. Students in professional programs typically juggle demanding coursework along with externships or fieldwork while also managing various other professional and personal responsibilities, in a competitive and high-pressured academic culture. They may struggle to be present with the clients or patients they treat or otherwise work with in their trainee roles, in part because of the demands associated with trying to recall the readings and classroom learning relevant to each case. Not surprisingly, students in professional graduate programs are at heightened risk for developing depression, stress, and reduced quality of life (e.g., Dyrbye et al., 2011; Walter et el., 2013). Further, the risk for such outcomes is magnified within program cultures that imply that such distress should be concealed (e.g., Walter et al., 2013).
