Stress and the practice of medicine. III. Physicians compared with lawyers.

Stresses of medical practice, recognized as severe, do not increase physical morbidity and mortality of physicians but are know to have deleterious effects upon their mental well-being. This has been documented by a study of 100 physicians reported by the author previously. The hypothesis of motivation for the choice of medical profession as a vocation was explored from the point of view of personality vulnerability due to reaction formation to the fear of death and resulting compulsivity. In search of validity of vulnerability a study was undertaken on 50 lawyers residing in the same community as the studied physicians. A structured interview identical to the one used in the study of physicians was employed and computer analyzed. Results of this comparative study are reported in the current presentation.