Health Differences in Didactic Versus Clinical Stage Graduate Allied Health Students

Graduate education in the healthcare professions can be stressful and mentally taxing. The objective of this study was to identify differences in health and health-related behaviors among graduate allied health students based on sex and curriculum stage (i.e., didactic or clinical education).

Participants (n=77) were assessed for body fat, BMI, resting metabolic rate (RMR), and peripheral arterial-venous O2 (AVO2), as well as a series of cognitive tasks and self-reported health and health-related behaviors. Independent sample t-tests and tests of proportions were used to assess differences between groups.

There was no evidence that the didactic and clinical students were meaningfully different upon entering their programs. Didactic students reported significantly higher tension/anxiety, depression, anger, confusion, fatigue, total mood disturbance, trait mental fatigue, total intensity of mental work performed, and time spent sitting (p<0.05). Didactic students also reported significantly lower RMR (p=0.033), but not after normalizing for fat-free mass. Males reported lower intensity of mental work performed on non-work days compared to females (p=0.009).

Findings indicate students in didactic stages have worse mood and decreased health relative to their counterparts in clinical stages. Opportunities exist to integrate physical and mental health-related education, resources, and self-management programming into graduate allied health curricula to improve wellness among students.