T.H
Member
- Sep 22, 2025
- 9
At Southern Medical University (SMU) in China, a seventh-year student in the eight-year Clinical Medicine programme died by suicide after jumping from a high-rise building.
In China, the standard undergraduate route to becoming a doctor involves completing a five-year bachelor's degree in Clinical Medicine, followed by three years of standardized residency training, commonly known as 规培. He had chosen the eight-year programme, which would have led to a doctoral degree in Clinical Medicine. After graduation, he would still have needed to complete three years of standardized residency training before pursuing clinical practice.
Two months earlier, his parents had been involved in a traffic accident. His father suffered severe brain injuries and eventually passed away only days before the student's death.
His university mentor personally gave him 22,000 CNY (about 3,300 USD) in response to what had happened to his family, helped him with his academic work, and internship.
However, after losing his father, he felt that he could no longer continue on the path toward becoming a doctor. His mentor strongly advised him to take a one-year leave of absence instead of dropping out of university. He agreed to take a year off. That night, however, he made the decision to end his life by jumping from a 23-story building.
After his death, widespread rumors circulated online about his mentor, implying that harassment or mistreatment by his mentor had contributed to his death. Later today, those claims were proven to be entirely unfounded.
I have always found it difficult to put into words what I feel when I see people living through similar circumstances make profoundly different choices, with some choosing to go beyond the point of no return.
I wrote this thread to remind myself of how much sorrow his death has brought me, and of how heavy death can be.
He died at 1:55 a.m. on September 15, 2026 (UTC+8).
May he rest in peace.
In China, the standard undergraduate route to becoming a doctor involves completing a five-year bachelor's degree in Clinical Medicine, followed by three years of standardized residency training, commonly known as 规培. He had chosen the eight-year programme, which would have led to a doctoral degree in Clinical Medicine. After graduation, he would still have needed to complete three years of standardized residency training before pursuing clinical practice.
Two months earlier, his parents had been involved in a traffic accident. His father suffered severe brain injuries and eventually passed away only days before the student's death.
His university mentor personally gave him 22,000 CNY (about 3,300 USD) in response to what had happened to his family, helped him with his academic work, and internship.
However, after losing his father, he felt that he could no longer continue on the path toward becoming a doctor. His mentor strongly advised him to take a one-year leave of absence instead of dropping out of university. He agreed to take a year off. That night, however, he made the decision to end his life by jumping from a 23-story building.
After his death, widespread rumors circulated online about his mentor, implying that harassment or mistreatment by his mentor had contributed to his death. Later today, those claims were proven to be entirely unfounded.
I have always found it difficult to put into words what I feel when I see people living through similar circumstances make profoundly different choices, with some choosing to go beyond the point of no return.
I wrote this thread to remind myself of how much sorrow his death has brought me, and of how heavy death can be.
He died at 1:55 a.m. on September 15, 2026 (UTC+8).
May he rest in peace.
