Assessment of stress load and its causes among medical students

Abstract

Introduction: Medical students experience stress related to their education and to their general existence. The main factors leading to stressful stimuli are: difficulties adapting to medical school, exposure to death and human suffering, educational debt, personal life events, overwork, working with cadavers, and lack of time for relaxation. Aims: The primary aim of this study was thus to assess the stress level among medical students. Secondary we aimed to determine most significant stressors and identify most vulnerable students. Materials and methods: A total of 1321 students from all six years of the medical undergraduate degree at Jagiellonian University Medical College were enrolled to the study, including 768 female and 553 male respondents. The overall response rate was 94%. To assess stress factors we used two validated questionnaires: Perceived Stress Scale and the Perceived Medical School Stress Instrument. Results: We found that medical students are exposed to significant stresses, both associated with their course of study and of a more general nature, involving personal problems, behavior, and ways of coping. We also observed that female medical students were significantly more stressed than males. Moreover students in the second and sixth years, and those who were paying tuition, were more susceptible to stress. Conclusions: These findings suggest that support services should be made widely available to all medical students.