You want someone to hold a student's hand 4 years?
What about residency?
I understand your reasoning however it's not about holding hands. It's about having support and eventually creating a stronger student who can become independent using certain life skills. Just because you have a good MCAT score doesn't mean you know how to navigate hardships of life. Many of these 20 something kids have no understanding of going through the severe ups and downs of life. All they know is study study study while mom and dad pays the bills. Even if they have taken out loans, are working, and have seen divorce in their lives, they STILL need a professional who can help them. Not just a friend with a shoulder but someone who has been trained to identify neutralize and prop up a person during times of hardship. A therapist can teach medical students how to manage stress, deal with severe mood swings based off poor grades or just a feeling of anxiety and those students can utilize those skills throughout life.
Your statement makes sense but it is 100% wrong. Life skills are very important and have to be taught. No one knows everything and I have NEVER EVER seen life skills taught in public schools or colleges in America. Never.
During residency (AND life), it is assumed that the student will successfully apply all of the strategies and techniques learned from his or her counseling session(s) during his medical school years. So, NO, it is NOT "holding a student's hand."
Your statement also reminds me of American culture (I do love USA but not this...): "hey kid you just turned 18! gtfo outta my house and pay your own bills!"
It's not a cool or mature thing to just let your children figure out the world on their own and think that no one is going to guide and offer their support. That reminds me of children without fathers who have run away from their child or mothers who just don't care.
EVERY single medical student would agree and want counseling help on his or her campus. I know that 100%. 50% of college kids have considered committing suicide in America.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/DepressionNews/50-college-students-felt-suicidal/story?id=5603837
Medical students aren't aliens who came here to study medicine. They are normal people who eat KFC, have a smartphone with a corny app., and chit chat about the newest shoes during lunch. In other words, they are NOT special. They too will feel the same way Mikey down the block does when going through a terrible experience. They aren't exempt from going through any mental issues in life. Mental health issues don't only affect the schizo nutjobs or manic depressives or that Jack Nicholson guy hoarding soaps in his movie As Good As It Gets. Everyone has mental challenges throughout life. If you were offered a professionally trained counselor(s), why would you reject that help? Makes no sense. It is seriously worth investing in this as a medical school. I would definitely advocate for this if I had any say.
Like LeBron James had said, and everyone knows, you CANNOT do it on your own. Impossible. You need help in life and all the support you can get so take it. No one has ever been successful alone. You will fail 100% at what you try but how will you respond? This is how: get the support, emotional and professional, use the tools, learn and improve your life and study management skills and thank everyone along the way.
"Hand holding" is an ignorant excuse out of hubris. It's not something to be ashamed of to use and ask for help in life. It doesn't make you a loser or any less capable.