Stress and coping in postgraduate medical students: An observational study from a tertiary care centre

Background Medical postgraduate training is stressful and can have a detrimental impact on students' physical, emotional, and mental well-being. This, in turn, can affect their academic performance, as well as their personal and professional development. The effects of stress are mediated by one's coping skills. The coping strategies can be adaptive or constructive, which reduce stress levels. An insight into the coping styles may be helpful for addressing this stress. Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out after approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee. All postgraduate students from all three years (with a minimum of 6 months into the residency programme) across all specialties constituted the study sample. The study was conducted online using a predesigned, pretested questionnaire (including an informed consent form) as a Google Form. Medical Students' Stressor Questionnaire and Brief COPE were used to measure stress and its sources, and specific coping strategies used by the students. Results Of 456 students from 22 different specialties approached for the study, 384 responded, a response rate of 84%. Their mean (SD) age was 28.2 (3.3) years, age range being 23-44 years, and 53% were females. All students reported some degree of stress. The majority of the students (79%) considered academic-related stressors to be the major source. Female and married students and those in their first year of residency reported significantly higher stress in almost all the domains. Presence of mental illness correlated positively with all the domains of stress. None of the socio-demographic variables showed any correlation with coping styles. However, all 6 domains of stress showed statistically significant positive correlation with all 3 coping styles, though the students used more emotion-focused and avoidant coping than problem-focused. Conclusion A significant number of postgraduate medical students reported stress in more than one domain. Academic stress topped the list of sources of stress. Factors such as age, gender, marital status, year, and type of specialty contribute to the level of stress. Presence of psychiatric illness may further increase the propensity to feel stressed. Use of dysfunctional coping styles may further increase the stress level among students.