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Perfectionnism: Efficacy vs. Innocuity

Some may wonder “What’s a paper on mental health doing in a Family Med student journal?” Well, I think it’s always relevant to talk about mental health. Especially in medicine. Because each year, physicians, residents, and students go through difficult professional and personal times, are in distress, or are on the verge of giving it all up. Each year, some of them end their silent suffering tragically. I am thinking of that brilliant paediatric cardiac surgeon who committed suicide, the day after Christmas, a few years ago, or the jolly family medicine resident who slit her wrists with a scalpel behind her hospital, a while back. I am also thinking of the McGill student who, last January, took his own life. The mental wellness of students and professionals in the field of medicine is a taboo subject. This is exactly why we should talk about it. And why it is always relevant.

As students, we chose medicine for different reasons. We love science, we want to help others, or we simply get influenced by a family member. In other cases, it is rather the social status, prestige, or the need for achievement that motivates the choice. Whatever the initial reason, it is certain that strong academics are required to enter med school. Motivation is also vital; it’s what will allow us to get through medical school, clerkship, and residency.

Medical students are obviously all different, but perfectionism, for example, is a widespread personality trait. The perfectionism that drives us towards excellence is encouraged and valued by society, particularly in our discipline.

However, the quest for perfection can sometimes be painful, because it is often engendered both by the desire to do well, and by fear of the consequences a mistake could bring upon. The quest for perfection is not always as desirable as we think.

Whether perfectionism is self-oriented (asking perfection from one-self), oriented towards others (asking for perfection from those around us), or both, it creates the same problems for students: their expectations are too high and impossible to achieve without themselves or others taking a hit. In other words, the convictions of perfectionists can only lead to disappointment, since perfection is not of this world, or is, at least, very difficult to achieve.

In over 20 years of research, psychologists Paul Hewitt and Flett Gordon observed that perfectionists live under constant stress, making them prone to emotional, physical and relational problems, including depression, eating disorders, marital conflicts, and even suicide.

• Perfectionism becomes a problem when…
• it impedes achievement
• it stops you from being happy
• you feel that you are constantly running for time
• you pay too much attention to details, which slows you down
• you are unable to set priorities
• you live with the fear of not having studied enough or of failing
• it causes emotional wreckage
• it creates tensions in your personal relationships

If you fit the description of problematic perfectionism, and/or if you are suffering from it, seek help immediately. Don’t wait until it is too late.

In each faculty of medicine, there are resources for students who need support, for any reason. There are no bad reasons for consulting, and no one should feel ashamed to do so.

McGill
Counselling services: 514 398-3601

Mental Health Services: 514-298-6019
Offices opened Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Student Health Services: 514-398-6017
Clinic opened Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

UdeM
Bureau d'aide aux étudiants et aux résidents (BAER)
ou 514 343-6603/1 866 862-5642 pour RV.

Réseau d'entraide des étudiants en médecine ou écrivez à reseauUdeM@gmail.com

ULaval
Le réseau d’aide, par et pour les pairs

Le Centre d’aide aux étudiants : du lundi au vendredi, de 8h30 à midi, de 13h30 à 17h, Tél. : (418) 656-7987, accueil@aide.ulaval.ca, Pavillon Maurice-Pollack.

USherbrooke
Groupe d'Entraide, par et pour les pairs :
Personnes ressources au niveau facultaire

There is also the “Programme d’Aide aux Médecins du Québec” (PAMQ), founded in 1990, which is a non-profit organization whose mission is to assist, free of charge, medical students, residents and physicians in Quebec.
pamq.org or 1800 387.4166.

Centre de prévention du suicide de Québec
1 866-APPELLE (277-3553), open 24/7.

Article adapted from Johnson C. Les périls du perfectionnisme ou comment devenir son propre ennemi. Le Médecin du Québec 2009 ; 44(9) : 37-41. ©FMOQ. Reproduction autorisée

Èvelyne Bourdua-Roy, translated by Jean-François Couture