Stressed over alleged work pressure: DM Cardiology student commits suicide at Salem Govt Hospital

Salem: In a tragic incident, a 32-year-old postgraduate (PG) resident doctor at the Department of Cardiology at Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College, Tamil Nadu allegedly committed suicide inside the hospital bathroom on Tuesday.   

The colleagues suspect that work pressure could be the reason, though the exact cause is yet to be investigated. 

The deceased was pursuing DM Cardiology at the medical college hospital and was found dead inside the bathroom it is uncertain whether he committed suicide and if so then what could be the reason behind it. 

According to his colleagues, the doctor was under stress due to the heavy workload in the department which they attribute could have been the reason for taking the extreme step. However, a police investigation is underway to identify the doctor's motive. 

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The doctor hailed from Madhuranthak in Chengalpattu district and was working as a Super Speciality trainee student at the department after completing his Doctor of Medicine (MD) programme. 

The incident occurred on Tuesday morning when the coworkers of the deceased were searching for him. At one point, they thought that the doctor who was on night duty returned home after completing his duty in the morning. However, soon they noticed his car being parked at the hospital premises. 

Subsequently, his colleagues attempted to reach out to him via his mobile phone. However, since the doctor did not answer his phone, his colleagues became suspicious and commenced a search for him at Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Super Specialty Hospital as reported by ABP. 

Afterwards, the doctors knocked on the door of a restroom on the hospital grounds when they realized it had been closed for a long time. With no response, the doctors forcefully opened the door and went inside, only to find their colleague's lifeless body. The colleagues immediately informed the police and when the police arrived, they took control of the deceased doctor's body and sent it for postmortem examination. 

According to police, he went to the bathroom at 11 am but did not return. At 3 pm his colleagues found him lying unconscious. They examined him and found him dead.

Dr Keerthy Varman M, General Secretary of Tamil Nadu Resident Doctors Association (TNRDA) and former president of Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association (TNMSA) informed EdexLive, “When we spoke to his colleagues, they told us that he (the deceased) used to be a very energetic and enthusiastic person in the department and did all the work proactively. It is very sad to hear that he got married only a year back and his wife is also pregnant. He took the extreme step due to the extreme workload in the department of cardiology.”

Further, Dr Varman said, "As informed by the deceased’s colleagues and juniors at the Cardiology department, he was under extreme work stress and had even been considering discontinuing his degree."

The police have registered a case in this regard and an investigation is under process to determine the reason behind his death. 

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