[Stress nature and magnitude during medical residency training]

The stressful nature of Residency training has been largely discussed in the literature. The aim of this paper is to present some data about the stress of training and its effects on residents and on the quality of patient's care. The magnitude of stress results from the interaction of three categories of stresses: professional, situational and personal. The main behavioral disturbances and professional dysfunctions are described and the importance of these data for planning, organization and evaluation of Residency programs is emphasized.