scholarly journals Wellbeing and mental health amongst medical students in Canada

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110577
Author(s):  
Thomas Christopher Wilkes ◽  
Thomas Lewis ◽  
Mike Paget ◽  
Johanna Holm ◽  
Nancy Brager ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Psychiatric Morbidity ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Common Finding ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Core Study ◽  
The Uk

Research: There is abundant data revealing that there is significant rate of rates of Psychiatric morbidity, psychological stress, and burnout in the medical student population. A core study group in the UK collaborated with 12 countries around the world to review medical student wellness. In this context we surveyed 101 medical students at the Cummings medical school, Calgary, Canada during the height of the COVID pandemic regarding their wellbeing and mental health. Results/main findings: Prior to medical school 27% reported a diagnosis with a mental disorder. Whilst at medical school 21% reported a mental health condition, most commonly an anxiety disorder and or depressive disorder. The most commonly reported source of stress was study at 81%, the second being relationships at 62%, money stress was a significant source of stress for 35%, and finally 10% reported accommodation or housing as stressful. Interestingly only 14% tested CAGE positive but 20% of students reported having taken a non-prescription substance to feel better or regulate their mood. Seventy-five percent of medical students met specific case criteria for exhaustion on the Oldenburg Burnout inventory 74% met criteria for the GHQ questionnaire. Conclusions: These findings confirm that medical students are facing significant stressors during their training. These stressors include, in order of frequency, study, relational, financial, and accommodation issues. Nonprescription Substance use was a common finding as well as exhaustion and psychiatric morbidity. Future interventions pursued will have to address cultural issues as well as the organizational and individual determinates of stress.

Cyberchondria and Medical Student Syndrome

2022 ◽  
pp. 98-113
Author(s):  
Afkar Aulia ◽  
Budi Pratiti
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical Information ◽  
Health Anxiety ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Medical Doctor ◽  
Patient Counselling ◽  
Online Behaviour ◽  
Diagnosis Therapy

Health anxiety is a disorder that can be very distressful and cause unnecessary examinations. A doctor is expected to handle health anxiety in terms of examination, diagnosis, therapy, and counselling processes. To provide optimal patient counselling, a doctor needs confidence, empathy, and good mental health. However, the process to become a medical doctor requires a student to read through a large amount of medical information, which arguably might induce “medical student's syndrome,” or health anxiety. Contradicting research findings exist about such conditions, however, most of them use traditional measures of health anxiety and do not consider students' online behaviour. The authors hypothesized that a medical student is susceptible to cyberchondria, a form of health anxiety due to excessive internet use. Some studies have shown that there may be higher cyberchondria scores among medical students compared to the general population. Cyberchondria needs to be studied further to improve the mental health condition of medical students and to provide optimal future healthcare for patients.

A descriptive study of mental health and burnout among Nigerian medical students

2021 ◽  
pp. 002076402110577
Author(s):  
Olatunde Olayinka Ayinde ◽  
Eniola Racheal Akinnuoye ◽  
Andrew Molodynski ◽  
Oliver Battrick ◽  
Oye Gureje
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Psychiatric Morbidity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Mental Health Conditions

Background: Increasing attention is being paid to medical students’ mental wellbeing globally due in part to their exposure to stressors inherent in medical education and the numerous reports of elevated rates of mental health conditions in this population. Aims: This study aimed to identify stressors and determine prevalence rates of psychiatric morbidity, substance use and burnout in a sample of Nigerian medical students. Methods: In a cross-sectional online survey, 505 medical students from 25 Nigerian medical schools completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, short version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), the CAGE questionnaire and the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI). Result: The most commonly reported sources of stress were study (75.6%), money (52.3%) and relationships (30.1%). Nine students (1.8%) had received a mental health diagnosis prior to medical school but this number had increased to 29 (5.7%) whilst in medical school, with the majority being cases of anxiety and depressive disorders. The prevalence of psychological distress was 54.5%, but <5% of affected students had received any help for their mental health conditions. Twenty five students (5%) met criteria for problematic alcohol use and 6% had used cannabis. The proportions of students who met criteria for disengagement and exhaustion domains of the OLBI were 84.6% and 77.0% respectively. Conclusion: The prevalence of psychological distress and burnout is high among medical students. Interventions for medical students’ well-being should be tailored to their needs and should target risk factors related to personal, organisational and medical school academic structure attributes.

Mental health and psychiatric disorders

2019 ◽  
pp. 398-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J.L. Heron ◽  
Neil Greenberg
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychiatric Morbidity ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Health Disorders ◽  
Working Age Population ◽  
The Uk

Mental health disorders significantly impact well-being and productivity in the working age population. They affect around 17% of the population and their economic cost has been estimated at £70 billion or 4.5% of gross domestic product in the UK. Mental health conditions are a leading cause of sickness absence with 70 million working days lost per year. Over half of disabled people who are out of work have a mental health and/or musculoskeletal disorder as their main health condition. This chapter considers how work and mental health interrelate, how employers can ensure that their workforce mental health needs are managed, opportunities for productivity maximized, and psychiatric morbidity minimized.

Medical students’ attitudes towards mental health disclosure: a qualitative study

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Christy
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Medical Curriculum ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Medical Council ◽  
Content Type

Purpose In 2013, the General Medical Council conducted research into best practice for supporting medical students with mental health concerns, producing a document outlining University’s duty of care. It also outlined reasons as to why medical students are susceptible to mental illness. The purpose of this paper is to explore what factors affected medical students' disclosure of mental health problems and their help-seeking behaviour today and if these differed from the GMC’s findings from 2013. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was issued to all University of Glasgow medical student year groups. In total, 72 people responded. All responses were then analysed by the primary researcher using Mayring’s six-step approach of systematic, rule guided qualitative text analysis. Findings Four main barriers to disclosure were revealed: fear of repercussions, medical student “expectations”, judgement and lack of support. Respondents feared being deemed unfit to practise, displaying “weakness” or being treated differently. They believed support provided was inadequate or inaccessible. Less than half felt the Medical School made mental health support easily available and only 11% were even aware of the GMC document. Respondents believed medical students were psychologically vulnerable due to Medical School environment, work load, “expectations” and course content. They perceived the Medical School was “a pressure cooker” for mental health problems and yet student well-being was not prioritised. Originality/value The research highlighted some key areas that universities should address, such as promoting support services available, recognising the unique stresses of the medical curriculum and the need for provision of resources that can be accessed without fear, stigmatisation or uncertainty.

Meditation buffers medical student compassion from the deleterious effects of depression.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer S Mascaro ◽  
Sean Kelley ◽  
Alana Darcher ◽  
Lobsang Negi ◽  
Carol Worthman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Daily Functioning ◽  
Wait List ◽  
School Students ◽  
Social Emotions ◽  
The Face ◽  
Second Year

Increasing data suggest that for medical school students the stress of academic and psychologicaldemands can impair social emotions that are a core aspect of compassion and ultimately physiciancompetence. Few interventions have proven successful for enhancing physician compassion inways that persist in the face of suffering and that enable sustained caretaker well-being. To addressthis issue, the current study was designed to (1) investigate the feasibility of cognitively-basedcompassion training (CBCT) for second-year medical students, and (2) test whether CBCT decreasesdepression, enhances compassion, and improves daily functioning in medical students. Comparedto the wait-list group, students randomized to CBCT reported increased compassion, and decreasedloneliness and depression. Changes in compassion were most robust in individuals reporting highlevels of depression at baseline, suggesting that CBCT may benefit those most in need by breakingthe link between personal suffering and a concomitant drop in compassion

Culinary Medicine Training in Core Medical School Curriculum Improved Medical Student Nutrition Knowledge and Confidence in Providing Nutrition Counseling

2021 ◽  
pp. 155982762110217
Author(s):  
Christopher R. D’Adamo ◽  
Kayli Workman ◽  
Christine Barnabic ◽  
Norman Retener ◽  
Bernadette Siaton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Nutrition Knowledge ◽  
Medical School Curriculum ◽  
Nutrition Counseling ◽  
Patient Counseling ◽  
Culinary Medicine

Background: Elective culinary medicine education has become popular to help fill important gaps in physician nutrition training. The implementation and outcomes among the inaugural cohort of medical students who received culinary medicine training as a required component of medical school curriculum at the University of Maryland School of Medicine are described. Methods: Following a series of elective pilot sessions, culinary medicine training was provided to all first-year medical students in the 2019-2020 academic year. The 3-hour training included evidence-based nutrition lecture, cooking simple recipes, and group discussion of the application to personal and patient care. Pre-/postsession questionnaires assessed nutrition knowledge, skills, and attitudes as well as nutritional counseling confidence. Paired t-tests estimated mean differences in outcomes pre- and posttraining. Qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: Overall, 119 of 125 (95.2%) students provided pre- and posttraining outcomes data. All nutritional and patient counseling outcomes improved ( P < .05). Themes of being better prepared to address healthy eating barriers in patient care and personal ability to make healthy dietary changes were noted in qualitative analysis. Conclusion: One session of culinary medicine training in core medical student curriculum was feasible and improved medical student nutrition knowledge, skills, and attitudes and confidence in patient nutrition counseling.

scholarly journals Survey of Osteopathic Medical Students Regarding Physician Shadowing Experiences Before and During Medical School Training

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 238212051985204
Author(s):  
Erik Langenau ◽  
Sarah B Frank ◽  
Sarah J Calardo ◽  
Michael B Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Student Experiences ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Care Experience ◽  
Ensure Patient Safety ◽  
College Of Osteopathic Medicine

Introduction: Shadowing a physician is an observational experience which includes a student observing a licensed healthcare provider caring for patients. Shadowing is commonly done by students before and during medical school, but little is known about the nature or extent of these extra-curricular observational experiences. Objective: We hypothesized that shadowing experiences were common yet variable. We investigated the prevalence, nature, and perceived value of medical student experiences with shadowing physicians (both before and during medical school). Methods: This survey-based study was non-experimental with a cross-sectional convenience sample of osteopathic medical students about their shadowing experiences before and during medical school. The survey was sent to all matriculated osteopathic medical students (OMS1-4) for the 2017 to 2018 academic year from two medical schools: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) (1084 total students) and PCOM-Georgia (554 total students). The final survey instrument included three sections: demographics (6 questions), pre-medical shadowing experiences (21 questions), and medical student shadowing experiences (24 questions). Results: Respondents (357) identified themselves as OMS1 (96), OMS2 (89), OMS3 (73), OMS4 (95) and other (2, OMS5) with enrollment at PCOM-Philadelphia (242) and PCOM-Georgia (115). Among survey respondents, 339 (95.5%) reported shadowing a physician as a pre-medical student, and 110 (30.8%) reported shadowing (outside of their required clinical rotations) a physician during medical school. Requirements to participate were inconsistent; fewer than 50% of shadowing experiences required Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) training, proof of vaccination, or purified protein derivative (PPD) documentation. In addition to observation, pre-medical and medical students, respectively, participated in history taking (44 [13%], 47 [42.7%]), physical examinations (45 [13.3%], 44 [40%]) and procedures (13, [3.8%], 20 [18.2%]) during their shadowing experiences. Motivations to participate in shadowing varied between pre-medical and medical student experiences, but both groups mentioned their desire to learn more about a particular discipline, obtain letters of recommendation, and gain patient care experience. Students recommended both pre-medical (273 [80.5%]) and medical school (93 [84.5%]) shadowing to future students. Conclusion: Shadowing remains a common and important tool for students to learn about patient care, medicine and careers. The nature of each shadowing experience and participation requirements are quite variable. Measures to ensure patient safety, confidentiality, liability and supervision are inconsistently applied. Promoting guidelines, as well as codes of conduct, for shadowing could serve as a helpful resource for students, academic advisors and supervising clinicians.

scholarly journals Are efforts to attract graduate applicants to UK medical schools effective in increasing the participation of under-represented socioeconomic groups? A national cohort study

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e018946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Kumwenda ◽  
Jennifer Cleland ◽  
Rachel Greatrix ◽  
Rhoda Katharine MacKenzie ◽  
Gordon Prescott
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Student Population ◽  
Multiple Logistic Regression ◽  
Sociodemographic Characteristic ◽  
Universities And Colleges ◽  
Graduate Entry ◽  
Socioeconomic Groups ◽  
National Cohort ◽  
The Uk

IntroductionAttracting graduates was recommended as a means of diversifying the UK medical student population. Graduates now make up nearly a quarter of the total medical student population. Research to date has focused on comparing the sociodemographic characteristics of applicants to and/or students on traditional and graduate entry programmes (GEMs), yet GEMs account for only 40% of the graduate medical student population. Thus, we aimed to compare the sociodemographic characteristic and outcomes of graduates and non-graduate applicants across a range of programmes.MethodsThis was an observational study of 117 214 applicants to medicine who took the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) from 2006 to 2014 and who applied to medical school through Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). We included applicant demographics, UKCAT total score and offers in our analysis. Applicants were assigned as graduates or non-graduates on the basis of their highest qualification. Multiple logistic regression was used to predict the odds of receiving an offer, after adjusting for confounders.ResultsIrrespective of graduate or non-graduate status, most applicants were from the highest socioeconomic groups and were from a white ethnic background. Receiving an offer was related to gender and ethnicity in both graduates and non-graduates. After adjusting for UKCAT score, the OR of an offer for graduates versus non-graduates was approximately 0.5 (OR=0.48, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.49).DiscussionOur findings indicate that the aim of diversifying the medical student population on socioeconomic grounds by attracting graduates has been only marginally successful. Graduate applicants from widening access backgrounds are less likely than others to be offered a place at medical school. Different approaches must be considered if medicine is to attract and select more socially diverse applicants.

Should medical students perform pelvic exams on anaesthetised patients without explicit consent?

2021 ◽  
pp. 147775092110704
Author(s):  
Chloe Bell ◽  
Nathan Emmerich
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Consent Process ◽  
Potential Harm ◽  
Explicit Consent ◽  
Subsequent Discussion ◽  
Pelvic Examinations

There have been many reports of medical students performing pelvic exams on anaesthetised patients without the necessary consent being provided or even sought. These cases have led to an ongoing discussion regarding the need to ensure informed consent has been secured and furthermore, how it might be best obtained. We consider the importance of informed consent, the potential harm to both the patient and medical student risked by the suboptimal consent process, as well as alternatives to teaching pelvic examinations within medical school. The subsequent discussion focuses on whether medical students should perform pelvic examinations on anaesthetised patients without personally ensuring that they have given their explicit consent. Whilst we question the need to conduct pelvic examinations on anaesthetised patients in any circumstance, we argue that medical students should not perform such exams without personally securing the patients informed consent.

Fourth-Year Podiatric Medical Student Perspectives on Clerkships and Residency Selection

2018 ◽  
Vol 108 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Shofler ◽  
Kathryn Bosia ◽  
Lawrence Harkless
Keyword(s):  
Medical Student ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Residency Programs ◽  
Forefoot Surgery ◽  
Quality Of Learning ◽  
Attending Physicians

Background: The fourth year of podiatric medical school is an important period in the education of the podiatric medical student, a period that consists largely of month-long clerkships. Nonetheless, there has been limited formal study of the quality of learning experiences during this period. Furthermore, there is limited knowledge of how podiatric medical students evaluate residency programs during clerkships. Methods: An online survey was developed and distributed electronically to fourth-year podiatric medical school students. The focus of the survey was the quality of learning experiences during externships, and decision making in ranking residency programs. Results: The most valuable learning experiences during clerkships were interactions with attending physicians, interactions with residents, and general feedback in surgery. Students self-identified that they most improved in the following areas during clerkships: forefoot surgery, clinical podiatry skills, and rearfoot surgery. The areas in which students improved the least were research, pediatrics, and practice management. The three most important factors students considered as they created their rank list were hands-on resident participation in surgical training, the attitude and personality of the residents, and the attitude and personality of the attending physicians. A range of surgical interest was identified among students, and students lacking in surgical interest self-reported less improvement in various surgical topics. Conclusions: The perspectives of fourth-year podiatric medical students are currently an underused resource. Improved understanding can help residency programs improve the quality of associated learning experiences and can make their programs more appealing to potential residency candidates.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document