Identifying medical students at risk of underperformance from significant stressors

BMC Medical Education
Tim J WilkinsonCaroline J Bell

Abstract

Stress is associated with poorer academic performance but identifying vulnerable students is less clear. A series of earthquakes and disrupted learning environments created an opportunity to explore the relationships among stress, student factors, support and academic performance within a medical course. The outcomes were deviations from expected performances on end of year written and clinical examinations. The predictors were questionnaire-based measures of connectedness/support, impact of the earthquakes, safety, depression, anxiety, stress, resilience and personality. The response rate was 77%. Poorer than expected performance on all examinations was associated with greater disruptions to living arrangements and fewer years in the country; on the written examination with not having a place to study; and on the clinical examination with relationship status, not having the support of others, less extroversion, and feeling less safe. There was a suggestion of a beneficial association with some markers of stress. We show that academic performance is assisted by students having a secure physical and emotional base. The students who are most vulnerable are those with fewer social networks, and those who are recent immigrants.

References

May 2, 2002·The British Journal of Psychiatry : the Journal of Mental Science·James C MundtJohn H Greist
Sep 10, 2003·Depression and Anxiety·Kathryn M Connor, Jonathan R T Davidson
May 20, 2004·Journal of Anxiety Disorders·Tanya H UrenPeter F Lovibond
Nov 6, 2004·British Journal of Psychology·Bernice Andrews, John M Wilding
Feb 14, 2008·Academic Psychiatry : the Journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry·Laura B DunnChristine Moutier
Jan 27, 2010·Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·Vicki R LeBlanc
Feb 23, 2010·The Medical Journal of Australia·James M HillisJustin Yousef
Jun 22, 2010·The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry·Catherine M LeahyDeborah Turnbull
Jul 9, 2010·Teaching and Learning in Medicine·David L GreenburgJeffrey L Jackson
Mar 21, 2012·Medical Education·Liselotte Dyrbye, Tait Shanafelt
Mar 21, 2012·Medical Education·Amanda HoweAndrea Stöckl
Jan 18, 2013·Medical Education·Tim J WilkinsonJan M McKenzie
Jan 19, 2013·American Journal of Public Health·Michael J PoulinDylan M Smith
Nov 16, 2013·Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness·Huaibo XinJosé A Villalba

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Sep 1, 2016·Chronobiology International·Francisco Romo-NavaGerhard Heinze
Mar 30, 2017·Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·Calvin L Chou, Arianne Teherani
Jan 23, 2018·Medical Teacher·Claire DendleKylie Horne
Apr 9, 2019·Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health·Ben BeagleholeCaroline J Bell
Nov 7, 2019·Perspectives on Medical Education·Calvin L ChouKalman Winston
Mar 28, 2021·Advances in Health Sciences Education : Theory and Practice·Marie A Chisholm-BurnsAnne Pithan
Apr 1, 2021·Clinics·Patrícia Lacerda BellodiRossana Pulcineli Vieira Francisco

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Anxiety Disorders

Discover the latest research on anxiety disorders including agoraphobia, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder here.

© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved