Abstract
BackgroundMedical studies place students at risk for burnout. Resilience enables students to cope with adversity. Students’ coping skills will ensure the well-being of future healthcare professisonals.ObjectivesThis study investigated resilience and coping among undergraduate medical students.SettingUndergraduate students at the University of the Free State medical school.MethodsA cross-sectional study was performed. Quantitative data regarding resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale), coping strategies (Brief COPE questionnaire) and relevant information were collected by means of an anonymous self-administered questionnaire.ResultsFive hundred students (pre-clinical n = 270; clinical n = 230; approximately 62% female) participated. Most students self-reported high resilience (84.6% pre-clinical; 91.8% clinical). Mean resilience scores were 72.5 (pre-clinical) and 75.4 (clinical). Clinical students had higher resilience scores, while black, pre-clinical, first-generation and female students scored lower.Academic stress was most prominent (> 85%) and associated with lower resilience scores. Most students used adaptive coping strategies (e.g. instrumental or emotional support) associated with significantly increased resilience scores. Students who used dysfunctional strategies (e.g. substance abuse) had significantly lower resilience scores.ConclusionAssociations between resilience scores and year of study, gender, ethnicity, levels and type of stress varied. Academic pressure was a major source of stress. Adaptive coping strategies were associated with higher resilience scores.
Highlights
Medical studies place numerous demands on students, which continue into the future physician’s career, making both students and healthcare workers vulnerable to burnout.[1,2,3,4] Successful selection for medical school is merely the first hurdle in an increasingly complex, competitive and challenging arena
Burnout as an occupational phenomenon described in the revised ICD-11 is ‘a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed’
We found that the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CDR) score was significantly lower in both pre-clinical and clinical students who reported a current high degree of stress
Summary
Medical studies place numerous demands on students, which continue into the future physician’s career, making both students and healthcare workers vulnerable to burnout.[1,2,3,4] Successful selection for medical school is merely the first hurdle in an increasingly complex, competitive and challenging arena. Burnout as an occupational phenomenon described in the revised ICD-11 is ‘a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed’. It includes three dimensions, namely ‘feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion’, ‘increased mental distance, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job’ and ‘reduced professional efficacy’.7. Students’ coping skills will ensure the well-being of future healthcare professisonals
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