Medical Students' Stress and Uncertainty During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered extraordinary levels of stress and uncertainty nationwide. In the current study, we use stress and coping theory and uncertainty management theory to examine how medical students coped with the stress and uncertainty associated with the disruption COVID-19 created in their training. Students completed a mixed-methods cross-sectional online survey one week after shifting to online instruction due to COVID-19. The survey included a measure of coping strategies and a series of open-ended questions designed to capture barriers and facilitators of coping and uncertainty management. In total, 360 students from one US medical school completed the survey. Students relied most frequently on coping strategies of distraction, acceptance, planning, positive reframing, and emotional support. However, coping strategies differed significantly by year in training. Personal uncertainty emerged as the most salient form of uncertainty. This uncertainty resulted from the loss of structure and resources, disruption of academic timelines, and, ultimately, disrupted identity as a (future) physician. Students described important barriers and facilitators of coping and uncertainty management. The barriers included constant exposure, inadequate information, rumination, and extreme responses. The facilitators included distraction, avoidance, instrumental support, emotional support, network support, and positive reframing. Overall, our results suggest that medical students experienced significant uncertainty related to their professional skills and identities as future physicians and faced many dilemmas coping with stress and managing uncertainty, mainly related to information and social support.