Vol 44 # 2 June 2012 - Kma.org.kw

105
Is Medical Education Really Stressful? A Prospective Study in Selcuk University, Turkey
June 2012
the magnitude and periodicity of the distress of medical
students is still unclear and only a small number of
prospective studies have been done [10,19] . Prospective
studies to determine the sources of medical students’
stress and the association of psychological morbidity
with demographic variables are needed [14,17] . Therefore,
this three-year prospective study was designed to
achieve the following aims: (1) to define the incidence
of anxiety and depression among new entrant medical
students prior to full effect of medical education (2)
to describe the probable factors contributing to their
anxiety and depression (3) to analyze the changes in
anxiety and depression levels during their three-year
medical training.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Medical education in Selcuk University Meram
Faculty of Medicine is divided into preclinical (1 st ,
2 nd and 3 rd years), clinical (4 th and 5 th years), and
internship (6 th year) periods. The selected participants
of this prospective study were 164 new entrant medical
students in 2007. These students were evaluated after
a four-month period in 2008 (A1) and results of that
study with the comparison of second year students
were published in another journal [14] . For this study,
students were re-evaluated in one year periods in 2009
(A2) and in 2010 (A3) via a redesigned questionnaire.
This paper presents the data of the first (A1), second
(A2) and third (A3) assessments. In summary, medical
students’ anxiety and depression levels were followed
from the first year to the end of preclinical years
between 2008 and 2010. This survey was carried
out by avoiding the stressful times of exams and
transition problems of new academic year beginning.
Every student was briefed about the aim of the study
and verbal consent was taken. The students were
also assured about anonymity and confidentiality
of their responses given in the questionnaire. The
questionnaires were distributed during a lecture and
completed questionnaires were collected at the end of
the same lecture. The local ethics committee approved
the study.
Questionnaire form
Data was obtained through a questionnaire
consisting of three parts:
1. Questions concerning socio-demographic data;
gender, hometown, family income etc
2. A. Questions concerning education-related
details; reasons for selecting a career in medicine,
expectations from medical career, being pleased
with the career selection, idea of abandon etc.
B. Questions about recent life events; experience
of an important problem in the past six months,
suicidal idea, if any, and the time and reasons of
the suicidal idea and predilections
Table 1: The main characteristics of students who participated in the study
Characteristics
Gender
Man
Woman
Hometown
Rural
Urban
Family income
0-1000 TL
1001 TL and over
Information about medical education
Yes
No
Information about working conditions
Yes
No
The reasons for medical career
Occupation guarantee
External influences
Individual reasons
Other factors
Expectations from medical career
Esteem/prestige
Better economic conditions
Occupational satisfaction
Other
2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010
N (%) N (%) N (%)
70
69
18
121
65
74
82
57
72
67
59
15
61
4
99
16
24
0
50.4
49.6
12.9
87.1
46.8
53.2
59.0
41.0
51.8
48.2
42.2
10.8
43.9
2.9
71.2
11.5
17.3
0.0
45
53
13
85
34
64
63
35
61
37
55
9
31
3
52
20
20
6
45.9
54.1
13.3
86.7
34.7
65.3
64.3
35.7
62.2
37.8
56.1
9.2
31.6
3.1
53.1
20.4
20.4
6.1
45
56
8
93
26
75
72
29
64
37
55
10
32
4
63
13
18
7
44.6
55.4
7.9
92.1
25.7
74.3
71.3
28.7
63.4
36.6
54.5
9.9
31.7
4.0
62.4
12.9
17.8
6.9
p-value
0.67
0.39
0.00
0.16
0.14
0.34
0.00
Total
139
100.0
98
100.0
101
100.0