Quality of Life of Medical Students in Different Stages – A Multi Center Study

Abstract

Background and Prupose: The goal of medical education is to train competent, knowledgeable and professional physicians to promote public health care for the nations, sick and advanced the science of medicine. Method: In this study quality of life in medical students of different educational stages of Shiraz medical university and two nearby medical schools in south of IRAN were measured by translated version of the SF-36 questionnaire. All medical students were invited to complete the questionnaire, participation is voluntary and anonymous. Results: Except for the general health scale, the male group had higher mean than female group in all scales. The difference in physical functioning and body pain between the genders were significant (p<0.001) and among all scales physical functioning (P=0.029) and vitality (P=0.026) are higher in the students in physiopathology stage and the lowest means especially in MH and PF were presented in last year medical students. There was a negative linear correlation between MH scale and the age. There was a negative linear correlation between mental health and the age. Conclusion:The potential for enhanced well-being to enhance student and physician professionalism is largely unexplored. Additional research to improve our understanding of the causes and consequences of medical student distress, and to investigate potential solutions, is likely to benefit not only the affected individuals, but also the patients for whom they provide care. Key words: GENERAL HEALTH, IRAN, MEDICAL EDUCATION, MEDICAL STUDENTS, QUALITY OF LIFE, SF-36