As every whining medical student knows- life as a medico is tough and trying. This was well documented and analysed in an article in Annals of Internal Medicine(abstract).
The article has been reviewed by Sydney Spiesel at Slate.com
The study included more than 2,000 students at seven medical schools and looked for evidence of burnout and suicidal thinking. About half the medical students reported the feelings that define burnout (emotional exhaustion, a feeling of a loss of personal identity, a sense of poor personal accomplishment). Many showed signs of depression and a decreased mental quality of life compared with peers not in medical school.
He attempts to explain the findings and further offers possible solutions to the problems as in
We need to be alert to the signs of burnout, depression, and suicidal thinking in medical students and to make available the mental-health services needed to help with these problems.
Even though the factors in India are quite different from the US medical schools esp. regarding the debt(largely subsidized); I would be surprised if the findings are much different. the full article is here.
(Thanks to Cartoonstock.com for the pic)