Exploring Coping Strategies For Stress Management Among Undergraduate Medical Students.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• College environments, particularly demanding medical curricula, are critical periods for the onset of mental health disorders.
• Medical students face high stress levels due to strenuous academic demands.
• Implementing stress management training is vital for medical students' mental and physical health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify perceived stress in 5th-year undergraduate medical students using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).
• To assess the efficacy of stress management activities in reducing student-reported stress.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental design was employed.
• A full-day stress management workshop was conducted for 5th-year medical students.
• Perceived stress was measured using the PSS before and one month after the intervention.

Main Results:

• Pre-intervention, 21.1% of students reported high stress; post-intervention, this decreased to 11.6%.
• Moderate stress levels were reported by 61.1% pre-intervention and 76.8% post-intervention.
• The reduction in perceived stress levels from pre- to post-intervention was statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• The majority of final-year medical students experience moderate stress.
• Integrated stress-relieving activities effectively lower perceived stress in undergraduate medical students.
• Stress management training is a valuable component of medical education.