To What Extent Does Medical Training Alter Students' Ideas Concerning Suicide?

Given the critical role of medical students in future healthcare settings, understanding their attitudes towards suicide is important. The purpose of this research was to determine medical faculty students' levels of knowledge concerning suicide and their attitudes toward the stigmatization of suicide, and to evaluate the effect of medical training on those attitudes.

This cross-sectional study was performed with 684 students at the Ondokuz Mayıs University Medical Faculty between March and May 2024. Data were collected using an online questionnaire created via Google Forms. The form includes the Literacy of Suicide Scale (LOSS) and the Stigma of Suicide Scale (SOSS).

The students' mean LOSS score was 17.17 ± 0.13, and their mean SOSS Stigma sub-dimension score was 67.95 ± 0.79. The findings indicated that medical students have a higher knowledge level regarding suicide than the general Turkish population. The knowledge levels of medical students increase significantly from the first year to the fourth year, coinciding with their progression to clinical training. Alongside this increase, there is a significant decrease in stigmatizing attitudes toward suicide among fourth-year students compared to first-year students. However, no significant further improvement in knowledge or reduction in stigma was observed once students enter clinical training in their sixth year and begin interacting with or treating patients who have attempted suicide, compared to the fourth year.

Crucially, the study demonstrated that the transition to hands-on clinical practice, including psychiatry internships and direct contact with suicidal patients, did not yield the expected advancements in suicide literacy or attitudes, highlighting a significant deficiency in the current clinical training model.