PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS IN MEDICAL STUDENTS: A COMPARISON OF TWO VERY DIFFERENT UNIVERSITY COURSES

• Published in: Stress medicine Vol. 13; no. 3; pp. 179 - 184
• Main Authors: GUTHRIE, E. A., BLACK, D., SHAW, C. M., HAMILTON, J., CREED, F. H., TOMENSON, B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-07-1997; Wiley
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Health participants; Medical sciences; medical students; psychological stress; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Human; Medicine; Educational program; Health staff; Student; Comparative study; Public health; Stress
• ISSN: 0748-8386; 1099-1700
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1700(199707)13:3<179::AID-SMI740>3.0.CO;2-E

This study compared the psychological morbidity of medical students in their first year of medical training at two different medical schools. One medical school had a 5‐year course: 2 years intensive preclinical training followed by 3 years clinical work. The second medical school had a 6‐year course: a 3‐year degree course in basic medical sciences followed by 3 years clinical work. Students on both courses were asked to complete the General Health Questionnaire, the Stress Incident Record and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The students on the first course reported significantly higher amounts of stress related to course work than the students on the second course (χ2=24.4, df=1, p<0.001), but there was no difference in the prevalence of psychological morbidity between the students on the two courses (z=−1.377, p=0.168). Psychological morbidity was most closely associated with thoughts of dropping out, stressful relationships with other medical students and stress related to dissection. The findings suggest that medical students have high rates of psychological disturbance during the first year of their training, which are not explained by marked differences in the type of training they receive. Reduction in psychological morbidity may be best achieved by targeting those students who are reporting psychological distress or thinking of dropping out.© 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.