Abstract
BackgroundMedical students are exposed to high amounts of stress. Stress and poor academic performance can become part of a vicious circle. In order to counteract this circularity, it seems important to better understand the relationship between stress and performance during medical education. The most widespread stress questionnaire designed for use in Medical School is the “Perceived Medical School Stress Instrument” (PMSS). It addresses a wide range of stressors, including workload, competition, social isolation and financial worries. Our aim was to examine the relation between the perceived Medical School stress of undergraduate medical students and academic performance.MethodsWe measured Medical School stress using the PMSS at two different time points (at the end of freshman year and at the end of sophomore year) and matched stress scores together with age and gender to the first medical examination (M1) grade of the students (n = 456).ResultsPMSS scores from 2 and 14 months before M1 proved to be significant predictors for medical students’ M1 grade. Age and gender also predict academic performance, making older female students with high stress scores a potential risk group for entering the vicious circle of stress and poor academic performance.ConclusionsPMSS sum scores 2 and 14 months before the M1 exam seem to have an independent predictive validity for medical students’ M1 grade. More research is needed to identify potential confounders.
Highlights
Medical students are exposed to high amounts of stress
Stress and poor academic performance can become part of a vicious circle in the course of medical education [3] with a potential negative impact on students’ and physicians’ health and, potentially, the quality
Measuring specific Medical School stress is, important; does it allow the further investigation of sources of stress and starting points for healthpromoting interventions, but it is necessary in evaluating such interventions for medical students
Summary
Medical students are exposed to high amounts of stress. Stress and poor academic performance can become part of a vicious circle. The most widespread stress questionnaire designed for use in Medical School is the “Perceived Medical School Stress Instrument” (PMSS). It addresses a wide range of stressors, including workload, competition, social isolation and financial worries. Kötter et al BMC Medical Education (2017) 17:256 introduced by Vitaliano et al [7] It addresses a wide range of possible stressors, including workload, competition, social isolation and financial worries, and has been used in a number of cross-sectional [8, 9], longitudinal [10, 11] and interventional studies [12, 13]. The authors of a recent systematic review of stress-management programs for medical students conclude that the PMSS should be among the standard set of outcome measures for this area of research [19]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
