Medical students’ engagement in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: The influence of psychological factors on readiness to volunteer

Mühlbauer, Luisa; Huber, Johanna; Fischer, Martin R.; Berberat, Pascal O.; Gartmeier, Martin

doi:10.3205/zma001506

Cited by 8 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The participants saw their volunteer work as a meaningful opportunity that helped them build their clinical experience. Consistent with Mühlbauer et al’s (2021) quantitative examination of n=244 medical students’ participation in COVID-19 care, the interviewees were strongly motivated to volunteer because they wanted to do something meaningful and helpful during the pandemic [ 23 ]. Most interviewed medical students said they would volunteer in COVID-19 crisis services again.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Medical students’ mental burden and experiences of voluntary work in COVID-19 patient support and treatment services: a qualitative analysis

Nikendei

Dinger-Ehrenthal

Schumacher

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim: Medical training is undergoing a dramatic shift toward alternative training methods due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This study is the first to examine medical students' expectations, experiences, and mental burden related to volunteering in COVID-19 patient support and treatment services using semi-structured interviews. Methods: In May 2020, all 194 Heidelberg University Medical School students involved in volunteer COVID-19 support and treatment services were invited to participate in a cross-sectional, qualitative interview study. The semi-structured interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed using Mayring's principles for content analysis. Results: We interviewed 12 medical students (8 female, mean age 23.2 years, mean medical training 3.7 years) working in Heidelberg COVID-19 crises management services, i.e., the Heidelberg Medical Hospital COVID-19 inpatient and outpatient units. The analysis revealed two key themes: “Expectations and structural barriers” and “Experiences and mental burden”. The participants reported uncertainty and apprehension before starting their voluntary work. Although they initially found volunteering to be somewhat disorganized, their roles became clearer with time. In addition, they reported good team cohesion, which helped reduce initial concerns and uncertainties. The participants also felt that working in the field had helped them maintain their professional identification while standard medical classes and bedside learning were suspended due to the COVID-19 crises. Overall, they reported little volunteer work-related mental burden. Conclusions: The participants felt that volunteering during the COVID-19 crisis had benefited their professional development. A designated liaison person, psychosocial support, and introductory and accompanying courses could help alleviate initial concerns and interim difficulties in future crisis-related assignments.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Medical students’ mental burden and experiences of voluntary work in COVID-19 patient support and treatment services: a qualitative analysis

Nikendei

Dinger-Ehrenthal

Schumacher

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The most frequently mentioned advantage was to learn and practice, especially to give real aid and explore evidence-based medicine ( 8 , 16 , 17 , 22 , 24 , 28 , 47 , 53 ). Other benefits included collaborating with non-physicians ( 8 , 22 , 47 ), strengthening communication skills and empathy ( 8 , 16 , 17 , 22 , 24 , 50 , 54 ), knowing more about the healthcare system and costs ( 22 ), developing leadership and time management ( 24 , 47 , 52 ), helping other people (social benefits) ( 16 , 17 , 24 , 28 , 51 ), getting recognition (from friends, other healthcare workers, patients, etc.) ( 7 , 46 ), providing an interactive learning platform ( 49 ), receiving financial compensation ( 52 ), and experiencing a research atmosphere ( 8 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following the positive impression of volunteering activity, three studies found a high level of willingness (73.2–94%) among health professional students regarding participation in the future ( 7 , 49 , 53 ). Regarding mental issues associated with volunteering, four studies found that student volunteers had low psychological stress ( 40 , 44 , 51 , 55 ). The prevalence of anxiety and depression was lower among volunteering students than non-volunteering ones, indicating that it positively influenced general psychological wellbeing ( 40 , 51 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health professional student’s volunteering activities during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic literature review

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis has forced health and education services to use additional human resources, such as health professional students. Students in the health professions, particularly those in the medical field, can participate in a variety of voluntary activities, both directly and indirectly in health services. The aim of this review was to determine the affecting factors, types of activity, and benefits of undertaking a volunteering role by the health professional student.MethodsA systematic review of health professional student volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted using seven databases: Epistemonikos, ProQuest, Scopus, EBSCOhost, JSTOR, Cochrane Library, and PubMed. This literature search included published articles from March 2020 through to December 2021 using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines.ResultWe included 41 studies that met the selection criteria that assessed the factors and specific programs related to health profession students’ volunteering involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic era. The most frequently observed supporting factor of the eagerness to be a volunteer was the feeling of moral responsibility (such as social dedication, sense of duty, and care), potential learning opportunities, personal interest, and financial compensation. Factors that contributed to a person’s refusal to participate in a volunteer position were the fear of COVID-19 itself (such as transmission, risk of being infected, and personal identification as a risk group).ConclusionThe review of available literature has shown that understanding the motivation and barriers to the willingness of health professional students to volunteer and the impact of volunteering activities on their future lives is a key for supporting them.

show abstract

“…They showed specialized knowledge and skills that were most useful in the fight against the pandemic but, little is known about their feelings and readiness to take action. Mühlbauer et al, examined the influence of psychological factors on students’ decisions to respond to volunteering calls [ 11 ]. Students’ decisions to volunteer revealed both altruistic and introjected motivations since a sense of duty and desire to help were the most important reasons for volunteering.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Students’ decisions to volunteer revealed both altruistic and introjected motivations since a sense of duty and desire to help were the most important reasons for volunteering. Depressive symptoms and lack of time made volunteering less likely, yet, resilience and COVID-19 related anxieties did not seem to have had any influence on the decision to volunteer or not [ 11 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 Pandemic Psychological Impact and Volunteering Experience Perceptions of Medical Students after 2 Years

Gómez‐Durán

Martín-Fumadó

Gassó

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Undergraduate healthcare students were mobilized to support healthcare systems during the COVID-19 pandemic, but we have scarce information regarding their experience and its impact on their wellbeing. An anonymous online survey was conducted among undergraduate students and recently graduated physicians of a medical university in Spain, regarding their symptoms and volunteering experience during the initial months of the Spanish COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents showed a high prevalence of perceived stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, measured by the PHQ-9 and GAD-7. 14.5% reported healthcare-related volunteering tasks. Volunteering was a satisfactory experience for most of the respondents and the majority felt ready to do volunteering tasks (66.6%). Yet, 16.6% acknowledged not getting appropriate specific-task education before starting, 20.8% reported not having appropriate supervision, and 33.3% feel they did not have proper protective equipment. More than half of volunteers feared getting infected, more than 70% feared infecting their relatives or friends, and 54.2% reported stigmatization. Volunteers showed significantly higher stress, anxiety, and depression scores than the rest of the respondents, and 32% reported a highly traumatic event during volunteering, with high scores on the IES-R in the 16% of volunteers. Our results should help guide future potential volunteering processes in emergencies, enhance academic programs at medical schools and provide valuable data for psychological support services.

show abstract

Medical students’ engagement in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: The influence of psychological factors on readiness to volunteer

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

Medical students’ mental burden and experiences of voluntary work in COVID-19 patient support and treatment services: a qualitative analysis

Medical students’ mental burden and experiences of voluntary work in COVID-19 patient support and treatment services: a qualitative analysis

Health professional student’s volunteering activities during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic literature review

COVID-19 Pandemic Psychological Impact and Volunteering Experience Perceptions of Medical Students after 2 Years

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About