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Poor mental health is an issue for many of our readers. That fact is underscored by the response to a tweet sent by @NatureNews earlier this week, which highlighted that rates of depression and anxiety reported by postgraduate students are six times higher than in the general population (T. M. Evans et al. Nature Biotechnol. 36, 282–284; 2018), and asked what should be done to help. The figures are a shock, but it was the reaction that blew us away: more than 1,200 retweets and around 170 replies.
“This is not one dimensional problem. Financial burden, hostile academia, red tape, tough job market, no proper career guidance. Take your pick,” read one. “Maybe being told day in, day out that the work you spend 10+ hrs a day, 6–7 days a week on isn’t good enough,” said another.
The feedback emphasizes something that Nature has highlighted often in recent years: there is a problem among young scientists. Too many have mental-health difficulties, and too many say that the demands of the role are partly to blame. Neither issue gets the attention it deserves. “I’d love to see some of the comments under this thread published,” wrote one responder. “There needs to be real conversation about this, not just observation.”
We agree — which is why we are publishing some of the responses. (You can read the full thread here.)
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 03 2018, @12:55AM
It's higher schooling, not higher education. And no, it hasn't, or at least not when it comes to the vast majority of schools. Most people who graduate have little idea what they are doing, as most colleges and universities simply rely on rote memorization much like K-12 schools. This continues to be true. Anyone who believes that are school system is anything but a disaster simply doesn't know what a quality education looks like, because they've probably never witnessed one, or at the very least are heavily indoctrinated by our anti-intellectual culture.