Depression?

Met my friends whom I have been with for the longest possible time. Everyone is now successful in their respective fields. And one of the friend asked me: "Don't you get depressed when one of your patients died, that's why I didn't want to be in the clinical setting." He is a hospital administrator for their hospital.

I suddenly stopped and didn't know how to reply to that question. At that moment in time, I realized: "I think I am, but I am not fully aware of the extent or depth of that emotion."

My reply was, shrinking away from further questioning: "Of course, a little bit." But the truth is, I really don't know, and do I really want to explore that area?

In my med school and I'm sure in almost all the med schools out there, students aren't trained or at least informed of how to handle the emotional and psychological effects of patients' questioning, pestering, pleading, and worse suffering and death itself. WE all were just thrown into the proverbial lion's den and fend for ourselves for whatever physical and psychoemotional asteriods that come into our direction.

Sure there are also psychiatrists, but honestly, how can they treat fellow collegues esp if they themselves suffer the same affliction. And how can you "stay unattached" as much as possible? Only robots and reptilian-based creatures can do that, being cold and steady without emotions.

What will keep the doctors sane after long years of practice?