English

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Medical students are frequently described as stressed in comparison with general population.1,2 Particularly examinations are a major cause of stress.3 High level of stress may have adverse effect on academic achievement. However there is a deficit of information regarding the interrelationship of stress and academic performance in medical students. The present study adds to the literature of the level of stress during examination and its impact on performance in a cohort of first year medical students. The study also discusses the areas where medical students are more stressful, effects of stress, student’s adaptation styles, and intervention measures to deal with stress, as it is believed that healthy medical students are likely to become healthy doctors who can then be model and promote healthy lifestyles with their patients.4 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To determine the effect of stress measured by self-evaluation questionnaire. 2. Impact of examination stress on the academic performance of first year medical students. 3. To study effect of premenstrual stress on autonomic function. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted on medical students to determine the examination stress measured by anxiety questionnaire and autonomic function tests. One hundred medical students studying in first academic year admitted for the first year during 2011-2012 in S.P. Medical College, Bikaner. Stress was measured during first terminal examination since it was the first major examination faced by the students after entering into the professional course. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: In consort with previous research, the examination of first year medical students is stressful enough to affect the performance adversely. Since stress around examinations is strongly predicting the academic achievement, students should be exposed to stress management techniques to help prevent the known high consequences. INTRODUCTION: Medical education is long and at some instances tiring. The student often realizes about his/her future/career. When his fellow colleagues have started their career, got married, got issues, developed bank balance and so on – so forth, he has just not started even. This creates many times stress among medical students. This also explains the fact that at present time sections of science biology at school level are lying vacant. The students are coming from school standard (after 12th class) and more than 90% are from Hindi medium. They are unable to understand English language teaching in medical institutions and in such atmosphere when they know that they have to face an examination here, they go under stress. DOI: 10.14260/jemds/2014/2041