BackgroundWe aimed to assess medical students' empathy and its associations with gender, stage of medical school, quality of life and burnout.MethodA cross-sectional, multi-centric (22 medical schools) study that employed online, validated, self-reported questionnaires on empathy (Interpersonal Reactivity Index), quality of life (The World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment) and burnout (the Maslach Burnout Inventory) in a random sample of medical students.ResultsOut of a total of 1,650 randomly selected students, 1,350 (81.8%) completed all of the questionnaires. Female students exhibited higher dispositional empathic concern and experienced more personal distress than their male counterparts (p<0.05; d≥0.5). There were minor differences in the empathic dispositions of students in different stages of their medical training (p<0.05; f<0.25). Female students had slightly lower scores for physical and psychological quality of life than male students (p<0.05; d<0.5). Female students scored higher on emotional exhaustion and lower on depersonalization than male students (p<0.001; d<0.5). Students in their final stage of medical school had slightly higher scores for emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment (p<0.05; f<0.25). Gender (β = 0.27; p<0.001) and perspective taking (β = 0.30; p<0.001) were significant predictors of empathic concern scores. Depersonalization was associated with lower empathic concern (β = −0.18) and perspective taking (β = −0.14) (p<0.001). Personal accomplishment was associated with higher perspective taking (β = 0.21; p<0.001) and lower personal distress (β = −0.26; p<0.001) scores.ConclusionsFemale students had higher empathic concern and personal distress dispositions. The differences in the empathy scores of students in different stages of medical school were small. Among all of the studied variables, personal accomplishment held the most important association with decreasing personal distress and was also a predicting variable for perspective taking.

ContextResilience is a capacity to face and overcome adversities, with personal transformation and growth. In medical education, it is critical to understand the determinants of a positive, developmental reaction in the face of stressful, emotionally demanding situations. We studied the association among resilience, quality of life (QoL) and educational environment perceptions in medical students.MethodsWe evaluated data from a random sample of 1,350 medical students from 22 Brazilian medical schools. Information from participants included the Wagnild and Young’s resilience scale (RS-14), the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM), the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire – short form (WHOQOL-BREF), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).ResultsFull multiple linear regression models were adjusted for sex, age, year of medical course, presence of a BDI score ≥ 14 and STAI state or anxiety scores ≥ 50. Compared to those with very high resilience levels, individuals with very low resilience had worse QoL, measured by overall (β=-0.89; 95% confidence interval =-1.21 to -0.56) and medical-school related (β=-0.85; 95%CI=-1.25 to -0.45) QoL scores, environment (β=-6.48; 95%CI=-10.01 to -2.95), psychological (β=-22.89; 95%CI=-25.70 to -20.07), social relationships (β=-14.28; 95%CI=-19.07 to -9.49), and physical health (β=-10.74; 95%CI=-14.07 to -7.42) WHOQOL-BREF domain scores. They also had a worse educational environment perception, measured by global DREEM score (β=-31.42; 95%CI=-37.86 to -24.98), learning (β=-7.32; 95%CI=-9.23 to -5.41), teachers (β=-5.37; 95%CI=-7.16 to -3.58), academic self-perception (β=-7.33; 95%CI=-8.53 to -6.12), atmosphere (β=-8.29; 95%CI=-10.13 to -6.44) and social self-perception (β=-3.12; 95%CI=-4.11 to -2.12) DREEM domain scores. We also observed a dose-response pattern across resilience level groups for most measurements.ConclusionsMedical students with higher resilience levels had a better quality of life and a better perception of educational environment. Developing resilience may become an important strategy to minimize emotional distress and enhance medical training.

The authors observed a positive association between QoL measures and DREEM scores. This association had a dose-response effect, independent of age, sex, and year of medical training, showing that educational environment appears to be an important moderator of medical student QoL.

Background/aimWe evaluated the association between leisure time physical activity (PA) and quality of life (QoL) in medical students. Our hypothesis was that there was a positive association between volume of PA and various domains of perception of QoL.MethodsData were evaluated from a random sample of 1350 medical students from 22 Brazilian medical schools. Information from participants included the WHO Quality of Life questionnaire-short form (WHOQOL-BREF), a questionnaire specifically designed to evaluate QoL in medical students (VERAS-Q) and questions for both global QoL self-assessment and leisure time PA. According to the amount of metabolic equivalents (METs) spend during PA, volunteers were divided into four groups, according to the volume of PA: (a) no PA; (b) low PA, ≤540 MET min/week; (c) moderate PA, from 541 to 1260 MET min/week and (d) high PA, > 1261 MET min/week.ResultsForty per cent of the medical students reported no leisure time PA (46.0% of females and 32.3% of males). In contrast, 27.2% were classified in the group of high PA (21.0% of females and 34.2% of males). We found significant associations between moderate and high levels of PA and better QoL for all measurements. For low levels of PA, this association was also significant for most QoL measurements, with the exceptions of WHOQOL physical health (p=0.08) and social relationships (p=0.26) domains.ConclusionWe observed a strong dose-effect relationship between the volume of leisure time PA and QoL in both male and female medical students.

A residência médica pode gerar sonolência diurna e burnout, que afetam a saúde física e mental do mé-dico e prejudicam sua qualidade de vida (QV). ABSTRACT Medical residency can generate daytime sleepiness and burnout, affecting the young physicians' physical and mental health and jeopardizing their quality of life (QoL). Our aim was to investigate the OoL of medical residents and related factors. Residents (n = 136) at the Evangelical University Hospital in Curitiba answered the short version of the WHO Quality of Life assessment (WHOQOL), the Epworth daytime sleepiness scale, and the Maslach burnout inventory (MBI

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Background It has been previously shown that a high percentage of medical students have sleep problems that interfere with academic performance and mental health. Methods To study the impact of sleep quality, daytime somnolence, and sleep deprivation on medical students, we analyzed data from a multicenter study with medical students in Brazil (22 medical schools, 1350 randomized medical students). We applied questionnaires of daytime sleepiness, quality of sleep, quality of life, anxiety and depression symptoms and perception of educational environment. Results 37.8% of medical students presented mild values of daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale - ESS) and 8.7% presented moderate/severe values. The percentage of female medical students that presented ESS values high or very high was significantly greater than male medical students (p <  0.05). Students with lower ESS scores presented significantly greater scores of quality of life and perception of educational environment and lower scores of depression and anxiety symptoms, and these relationships showed a dose-effect pattern. Medical students reporting more sleep deprivation showed significantly greater odds ratios of presenting anxiety and depression symptoms and lower odds of good quality of life or perception of educational environment. Conclusions There is a significant association between sleep deprivation and daytime sleepiness with the perception of quality of life and educational environment in medical students.

Background Preceptorship fulfills the requirements of International Guidelines regarding the training of health care professionals as a method of teaching in clinical settings, during the daily work routine. This study aims to analyze the preceptors’ perceptions about preceptorship and their role as educators. Methods Data were collected via a questionnaire with 35 five-point Likert-type scale statements and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. The qualitative analysis consisted of two open-ended questions: (1) What is Preceptorship? And (2) What is your perception of the preceptor’s role as an educator? Results Out of 619 invited Brazilian preceptors from different health care professions, 327 (52.8%) participated in the study. Among them, 80.7% were females, 35.2% were nurses and 8.9% were physicians. Factor analysis revealed five factors: Pedagogical Competence (F1), Support and educational resources (F2), Educational program planning (F3), Teaching-service integration (F4), and Student presence in the clinical setting (F5). About F1, F3, and F5, professionals from the northeast region had a more positive perception than professionals from the southeast. The item analysis revealed that preceptors learn from the students and consider the service network co-responsible for their training. However, they agreed that only a small part of the health care team participates in the program. Participants described preceptorship as an educational task in a clinical setting, in which active learning methods are used for the training of health care professionals. Preceptorship was considered a bridge between the Unified Health System and the Academic Practice. They envisioned their educator role as a model, tutor, leader, supervisor, and mentor. Conclusion Preceptors expressed a critical view about the nature of preceptorship and their role as educators, recognizing its challenges as well as its potential in clinical settings.