Evaluation of anxiety status in medical students prior to examination stress

Pulse rate (PR), blood pressure (BP), auditory reaction time (ART), galvanic skin resistance (GSR), and eosinophil count (EC) were determined in 30 male and 25 female medical students appearing for the I MBBS viva-voce examination. Two readings were taken viz 2 months (control) and 20 min prior to the examination. A statistically significant increase was seen in the PR and BP while a significant decrease was observed in ART, GSR and EC before the examination as compared to the control readings. There was a significant correlation between the PR and ART.