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A Community-based Stress Management Program: Using Wearable Devices to Assess Whole Body Physiological Responses in Non-laboratory Settings
Published on: January 22, 2018
Student-led stress management program for first-year medical students
Susan K Redwood1, Michael H Pollak
1Department of Behavioral Sciences, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74107, USA. susan.redwood@okstate.edu
Background:
The medical education community has emphasized repeatedly the importance of teaching stress management and self-care skills to medical students. However, descriptions and evaluations of intervention programs are infrequent. This article describes a student-led stress management program for 1st-year medical students and summarizes program evaluation data from 1,111 participants.
Description:
The Stress Management Program is a voluntary activity that involves small groups of 1st-year medical students meeting with 2nd-year student coleaders. At the beginning of the fall semester, each group meets 1 hr per week for 7 consecutive weeks. Two psychologist faculty members serve as program coordinators.
Evaluation:
Mean annual participation rate for 1st-year students was 94% over 16 years. Program evaluation results are strongly positive.
Conclusions:
Based on longevity, participation, and student feedback, the program has been successful. Recommendations for creating and maintaining similar programs are offered.
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