Testimonials
“I’ve often felt like the work I do in the lab is unappreciated. My PI is quick to criticize and ask for more without acknowledging the work I’ve done or making me feel valuable in the lab. I know my experience is not unique to me, or to labs at Vanderbilt, but rather a fault of academia as a whole. We have the opportunity to change this at Vanderbilt, and it’s imperative that we do. At this point, it’s literally become a matter of life and death.”
“...As my limited number of sessions with the UCC continued, I was further told that my issues extended beyond what the UCC could help me with for my mental health issues. The UCC made it clear that I could not come to their office for help because they cannot help me. I did not find the experience beneficial, especially since everyone touts the UCC as a resource students can use. But I cannot use it. Several of my classmates have had similar interactions with the UCC. So what are we supposed to do? Having the UCC used as one of the only resources or solutions to the mental health crisis makes me feel even more isolated and left behind than I already do. Additionally, if the UCC really is unequipped to help some of the student population with their mental health, they should not be used as a scapegoat for the underlying causes of the mental health crisis on our campus caused by cultural issues… To be honest, I do not feel supported by the Vandy biomed community. I am glad there is a focus on graduate student mental health, as I think this should be something that is addressed and discussed more. However, it points the finger at students like we are the problem when there are cultural issues not being addressed contributing to the deterioration of our mental health… Sink-or-swim style of training is a commonly employed method of teaching across courses and programs. This comes with a culture that we are expected to know things we might not know yet before we get here, such as effectively looking up information, reading literature, writing practices, networking, etc., which can further increases imposter syndrome and chips away at mental health… My PI is very supportive and sees me as an individual person who has strengths and limitations. I picked an advisor who is compatible with me personality-wise and mentoring-style-wise, so we are a good match in that regard, which helps me feel supported and helps our relationship. He celebrates my strengths and is patient with me when things are delayed as a result of things I’m struggling with or weaknesses… As a disabled student in a for-profit health care system, I struggle to feed myself and pay my rent. I go without a lot of the medical care I need, including mental health services outside of Vandy (since the UCC is not an accessible resource for me). Assistance programs don’t supplement enough of this, so I still don’t have what I need medically, mentally, and nutritionally. All of these things affect my mental health and physical health, which extends to affecting my performance in the program. As my performance drops, so does my mental health. I’m too scared to go to the BRET office for financial assistance after the change in administration, which I’ve heard financial assistance is available, because I’m afraid that will put a target on my back for getting kicked out of the program as my performance declines. Each year we get a pay cut because the COL raise does not keep up with inflation, especially for rising medical costs…”
“Despite the considerable challenges we have faced in the past two years, I have found Vanderbilt to be supportive and accommodating. After talking with students at other universities, I started graduate school with expectations of 60+ hour work weeks, strenuous coursework, and constant burnout. Since I have dealt with mental health issues in the past, I was worried that the grad school environment would be hard for me - but I have not experienced this here. In classes, most professors have been flexible with grading and deadlines so that we can focus on research. Working hours have been largely determined by my own progress and efficiency; sometimes the workload does feel overwhelming, but I've found faculty and peers to be supportive during these times.”
“It takes over 6 months to get diagnosed with ADHD through the UCC--even if you've already been diagnosed earlier. The UCC was not up front with me about how long it would take to receive care, so I didn't think to reach out for community care either. They also ask really personal questions. The UCC said they'd need to get in contact with my parents to give me a diagnosis. I am an adult and I am estranged from my parents, so this requirement is wholly unacceptable. Overall, this greatly delayed how long it took for me to get care. I'm finally being treated now, and treatment is making a large difference. It hurts knowing that I struggled for months without being treated just because the UCC wasn't up front with me on how long the wait list really is. Also if the wait lists are that long, no one's psychiatric needs are close to being met.”
“I would have been the fifth student to lose their life to the crisis happening on our campus if I did not have a pet that relies on me to take care of them. This would have happened after the changes made mentioned in the administration's email. I am in a supportive lab with an extremely supportive advisor, but they are not perfect, as nothing and no one can ever achieve perfection. Our labs cannot do all of the work when there is a culture in the biomed community and programs that are a root cause for the issues surrounding the deterioration of the mental health of our graduate students. Students exchanging memes around suicidal ideation and how different situations in grad school are driving us to those feelings have become very common interactions for me… Change needs to start somewhere, and I do not want to see more of my classmates lose their lives when there are meaningful changes and solutions the biomed community and programs can implement to reduce the likelihood of this happening again.”
“I feel like I was gaslit into this entire thing. Ph.D. is advertised like it's the right thing to do if you want to be a "real" scientist. And then, once you're accepted, fresh outta undergrad for many, they try their best to affirm your decision while making it clear that there is an agenda to be followed in order for a debt to be paid. The sword of damacles looms... And sometimes you just want it to fall. There is no transparency about what you are stepping into, and if you happen to be a first generation grad student you might not understand why people even get Ph.D.s other than to prove they are smart or "run a lab"... The immense burden of responsibility foisted upon young graduate students only grows as financial inequity inflates across the globe, and tenure track positions become ever more sparse. The joke is often made that grad students are like indentured servants... Not so funny now that it feels truer than ever… It starts with admitting what the academic establishment has become... An industry in and of itself, and we're the product. That's why I consider leaving with my master's more seriously every day. Do I really want to spend another 3 to 4 years of my life living paycheck to paycheck, just to feed the beast anyway? You tell me.”
“I’m a former student of the Vanderbilt Biomedical program… In the time that I’ve been out of graduate school at Vanderbilt, my mental health has improved exponentially. I have also been reached out to by other people in the program about my experience leaving graduate school and if they should do it as well. If the Vanderbilt biomedical programs can’t get their act together, I think it’s inevitable that they will lose a lot of amazing talent. If Vanderbilt wants top-tier researchers, they need to support those researchers.”
“...However, all of those feelings of community (in person lab meetings, holiday parties, happy hours, etc.) have also disintegrated the past two years due to the same University guidelines. At this point, my lab culture and friend groups have fallen apart, and I feel like I am walking through the Ph.D. process on my own, which should never be the case for any graduate student. For this reason, I have considered dropping out/mastering out multiple times, or even completely changing career paths in order to escape the experience and find a job and environment that will improve my mental health, not hinder it..”
“UCC has always been unusable to me, I always needed services that they couldn't, or wouldn't, provide. They go out of their way to prescribe stimulants, unless you can jump through the series of hoops necessary to prove that you need them, and thus prove you do not need them so badly. The vandy biomed community has worsened my mental health via failure to consistently provide accommodations across all classes. Some professors are much better than others, but the process would be so much easier if people learned about EAD services during orientation and knew how they could become a notetaker. People in labs are supportive and friendly, but still very spread out and focused on their own work limiting opportunities to socialize The most important thing the BRET office could do to support graduate student mental health is to pay a wage that matches the price of this area and reflects a fair $15 per hour minimum wage for the more realistic estimate of 60 hours per week worked, or $46,800 per year. In addition, they should not expect productive schoolwork unless they cover vision insurance, community mental health providers to do the essential services that UCC does not provide.”
