Abstract
BackgroundStress is very common among medical students and trainees. Chronic stress has multiple negative mental and physical health consequences. This study explores medical students and interns’ stressors and their coping strategies.MethodsThis is a qualitative study involving four focus group discussions with final year medical students (8 males, 10 females) and medical interns (8 males, 7 females). The study was conducted between October 2017 and January 2018 in the premises of a large medical school in Riyadh. After verbatim transcription, framework thematic analysis of the data was performed using NVivo software.ResultsPromoting the reward feeling of the medical profession was seen as an active stress-coping strategy among medical students. Planning and time management was seen by some participants as stressful while others felt it was a stress-coping strategy. The perception of stress among medical students was seen as a normal feeling. Avoiding discussions on medical matters, building relationships with the other sex and smoking were reported as avoidant stress-coping strategies.ConclusionMedical students and interns are still struggling to achieve healthy stress-coping strategies. There is a great need for stress management programs to help fostering the students’ coping skills.
Highlights
Stress is very common among medical students and trainees
The medical school is a time of significant psychological distress for medical students as they face numerous academic challenges that make them more prone to stress and anxiety when compared to students of other disciplines [7]
The aim of the current study is to explore the coping strategies used by medical students and interns to cope with different stressors
Summary
Stress is very common among medical students and trainees. Chronic stress has multiple negative mental and physical health consequences. Stress is generally a situation where the demands exceed the capacity of an individual to respond and can potentially have negative physical and psychological consequences [1, 2]. It is generally a combination of two elements; the inability to meet demands placed or the judgment made by the individual of being unable to meet the demands [3]. During the medical school years, students utilize various adaptive coping strategies to manage stress [4, 11] and to cope with the external and internal demands [2]. Stress will continue even in the transition period from being a student to becoming an intern, where they bear the added responsibility of their patients’ care [10]
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