The construction of support forums for mental health in government medical institutions is one approach that is being taken in order to improve the mental health and well-being of medical students located around the state. This program is aimed at all medical colleges in an effort to lower suicide rates and better meet the mental health needs of the students in these institutions.
The Mental Health Awareness Program known as “Mananala Nallaatharavu Mandram” (MaNaM) was officially launched on Monday by the Minister of Health, Ma Subramanian. At a ceremony celebrating World Suicide Prevention Day that took place at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai, the program was presented to the public for the first time.
While talking to The New Indian Express, Dr. P. Poorna Chandrika, director of the Institute of Mental Health at Kilpauk in Chennai, said that the decision has been made to enlist the assistance of peer counselors in order to assist in the identification of students who are experiencing mental suffering and to provide support for these students. According to a press release, the counselors will receive training in life skills, coping mechanisms, and stress management strategies in order to share these with their colleagues. While the monitoring and empowerment committees will collaborate with peer counselors to identify and help the most in need students, there will also be a dedicated helpline set up for students to call in case of an emergency.
The goal was to address the concerns about the mental health of medical students and to ensure that their mental well-being was maintained. After the initial stage, which consists of establishing forums in medical colleges, the project will be expanded to include other educational institutions.
According to the release, the monitoring committee will monitor, review, and support the operations of the other panel. In addition, the monitoring committee will receive feedback from MaNaM ambassadors evaluating the teaching, learning process, and extracurricular activities at the institute. During the committee’s scheduled get-togethers, the Empowerment Committee will serve as a forum that is democratic and welcoming to all students, where they will have the opportunity to discuss their own experiences and issues in an unstructured setting. It has been determined that the psychiatry departments of each individual medical college would take on the role of serving as the primary nodal departments for the MaNaM volunteer organization.
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