Basic psychological needs, more than mindfulness and resilience, relate to medical student stress: A case for shifting the focus of wellness curricula

Neufeld, Adam; Mossière, Annik; Malin, Greg

doi:10.1080/0142159x.2020.1813876

Cited by 49 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…First, while the response rates were satisfactory for sample representativeness and statistical power, the unequal sample sizes across year subgroups, combined with our reliance on self-report data, both create the potential for response bias. That said, various studies concerning four-year medical programs also point to third year as a highly stressful time for students [48,82], and demonstrate that medical students (and females in particular) tend to experience more stress and cope less adaptively during this time period [45,76]. Nonetheless, caution is recommended when interpreting the results from this study, and cohort studies as well as qualitative approaches will be very helpful in enriching these findings and determining their underlying causality.…”

Section: Limitations and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…It therefore follows that denial might be higher among third year medical students because they perceive less autonomy during this stage of their training-something others have emphasized the importance of for physicians and medical students alike [73][74][75]. Support for this theory comes in a recent study which showed that, among a four-year sample of medical students, third years reported the highest autonomy frustration and perceived stress compared to the other 3 years [76]. An alternative explanation might be that third years are placed into situations they have simply never encountered before (e.g., dying patients, witnessing or delivering bad news) that may feel surreal and be harder to cope with actively and adaptively at first, compared to fourth years, who have likely experienced, reflected on, and acclimated to these types of challenging encounters.…”

Section: Coping Differences By Year Of Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As mentioned, a potentially important avenue for achieving this may involve finding ways to facilitate more autonomy for medical learners during their clerkship (e.g., see Neufeld and Malin [79]). Studies suggest that promoting medical learner autonomy may also reduce their perceived stress and increase their ability to be mindful and resilient, which are also key to healthy coping and well-being [76,80,81]. Because third year inevitably involves more administrative tasks (i.e., organizing clinical electives and residency applications), which are increasingly being recognized as underrated sources of stress for medical students, we would also echo others' suggestions to focus on addressing systems-level changes in medical education [52].…”

Section: Implications In Medical Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How medical students cope with stress: a cross-sectional look at strategies and their sociodemographic antecedents

Neufeld

Malin

2021

BMC Med Educ

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Background Medical training can be highly stressful for students and negatively impact their mental health. Important to this matter are the types of coping strategies (and their antecedents) medical students use, which are only characterized to a limited extent. A better understanding of these phenomena can shed additional light on ways to support the health and well-being of medical students. Accordingly, we sought to determine medical students’ use of various coping reactions to stress and how their gender and year of study influence those behaviours. Methods A total of 400 University of Saskatchewan medical students were invited to complete an online survey. Using the Brief COPE inventory, we assessed students’ reported use of various adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies. Descriptive and comparative statistics were performed, including multivariate analysis of variance, to explore how gender and year influenced coping strategies. Results The participation rate was 49% (47% males and 53% females). Overall, the students’ coping strategies were mostly adaptive, albeit with a few exceptions. Females used more behavioural disengagement, while males used less emotional and instrumental support. Additionally, third years used more denial to cope with stress than students in any other year. Conclusions While few studies report significant sociodemographic effects on medical student coping, our findings raise the possibility that males and females do engage in different coping strategies in medical school, and that the clinical learning environment in third year may provoke more dysfunctional coping, compared to pre-clinical stages of training. Potential explanations and implications of these results are discussed.

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Section: Limitations and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Coping Differences By Year Of Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Implications In Medical Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How medical students cope with stress: a cross-sectional look at strategies and their sociodemographic antecedents

Neufeld

Malin

2021

BMC Med Educ

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“…It therefore focuses on promoting students' basic needs for optimal motivation and feelings of confidence in their developing skills-aspects that otherwise come under threat during medical school. 10,19…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a better understanding of medical students’ mentorship needs: a self-determination theory perspective

et al. 2021

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Introduction: Mentorship programs are ubiquitous in medical education. However, few emphasize equal development for learners and mentors, or incorporate clinical skills, which may be important for promoting medical students’ self-determination. Central to this consideration are the three basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, described by Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Grounded in SDT, this study assesses the extent that meeting these needs, in a near-peer mentoring program, impacts learners’ and mentors’ motivation and perceived competence about learning and teaching of clinical knowledge, respectively. Methods: Medical students from the University of Saskatchewan, who participated in its near-peer mentoring program (PULSE: Peers United in Leadership & Skills Enhancement), were invited to complete an anonymous survey. Regression was used to determine how the program’s learning climate impacted learners’ and mentors’ psychological need satisfaction and perceived competence within their mentorship role. Results: Learners and mentors both rated PULSE as highly needs-satisfying. In turn, this was associated with greater perceived competence about learning and teaching of the material. Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that mentoring programs in medical education, which support learners’ basic psychological needs, may promote their motivation and perceived competence—both about learning and also teaching of clinical skills. The implications of these results are discussed from an SDT perspective, with respect to mentoring programs in medical education.

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“…Research has linked satisfied needs with numerous positive outcomes, including positive affect ( Martela & Ryan, 2016 ; Shen, Liu, & Wang, 2013 ; Verner-Filion & Vallerand, 2018 ; Wilson, Longley, Muon, Rodger, & Murray, 2006 ), greater vitality ( Bartholomew, Ntoumanis, Ryan, Bosch, & Thøgersen-Ntoumani, 2011 ; Chen, Assche, Vansteenkiste, Soenens, & Beyers, 2015 ; Costa, Cuzzocrea, Gugliandolo, & Larcan, 2016 ; DeHaan, Hirai, & Ryan, 2016 ), higher self-esteem ( Deci et al, 2001 ; Ilardi, Leone, Kasser, & Ryan, 1993 ), and enhanced life satisfaction ( Chen, Vansteenkiste, et al, 2015 ). However, when one's social environment fails to support their psychological needs, they will be more likely to experience lower levels of need satisfaction, which has been linked to adverse outcomes such as negative affect ( Shen et al, 2013 ; Wilson et al, 2006 ), burnout ( Schultz, Ryan, Niemiec, Legate, & Williams, 2015 ), and perceived stress ( Neufeld, Mossière, & Malin, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Need satisfaction, passion and wellbeing effects of videogame play prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Türkay

Mandryk

2022

Computers in Human Behavior

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Since the outbreak of COVID-19, reports have shown a significant rise in videogame engagement due to stay-at-home and quarantine restrictions, which has led to further concerns regarding the wellbeing impacts of videogames. Due to the challenges and stressors associated with living in a pandemic, it is even more crucial now to understand how engagement with videogames influence players’ wellbeing. This study, therefore, utilises Self-Determination Theory and the Dualistic Model of Passion to explore the relationships between people’s need satisfaction (and frustration), passion for videogames, and wellbeing prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings showed that, during both periods, in-game need satisfaction could lead to either harmonious or obsessive passion for videogames, while frustration of needs through important life domains was more likely to determine an obsessive passion. The findings also highlighted significant differences in wellbeing outcomes seen prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that videogame engagement may play an important role in improving players’ vitality and lowering psychological distress during this time.

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Basic psychological needs, more than mindfulness and resilience, relate to medical student stress: A case for shifting the focus of wellness curricula

Cited by 49 publications

References 63 publications

How medical students cope with stress: a cross-sectional look at strategies and their sociodemographic antecedents

How medical students cope with stress: a cross-sectional look at strategies and their sociodemographic antecedents

Towards a better understanding of medical students’ mentorship needs: a self-determination theory perspective

Need satisfaction, passion and wellbeing effects of videogame play prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic

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