Mitigating medical student stress and anxiety: Should schools mandate participation in wellness intervention programs?

Abstract

Purpose: Medical students are at increased risk of poor mental health and need to regularly engage in preventive programs to maintain well-being. However, many do not and it remains an open question whether these programs should be mandatory. We implemented a RCT to examine the effectiveness of assigning medical students to a wellness intervention on adherence to engagement in the assigned intervention and on psychological and academic outcomes. Method: Medical students participated in a 12-week randomized controlled intervention involving one-hour wellness sessions of either (1) yoga; (2) mindfulness; or (3) walking, held twice-weekly. Students completed standardized psychological assessments at baseline and following the intervention. Results: Students randomized to the wellness intervention group engaged in more minutes of assigned activities than students randomized to the control. There was a significant difference in the change from pre-to post-intervention on measures of state anxiety and perceived stress, with better outcomes for the intervention group. Conclusions: The assignment of twice-weekly wellness intervention sessions protects medical students from state anxiety and perceived stress with no negative impact on academic performance. Students adhered to the sessions and reported enjoying the sessions once trying them. Actual engagement is more important than wellness activity type.

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“…Most of the studies describe the relationship between anxiety and wellness as a negative relationship. However, this study showed a positive relationship, which is possibly due to anxiety in this study being within the normal range ( 37 ).…”

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“…And even more, medical students are at a higher rate of mental health problems than non-medical undergraduates, such as anxiety, depression, stress, suicide and so on ( 8 ). These problems might lead to a range of adverse effects, such as poor academic performance, bad relationships with peers, and increasing risk of suicide and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior ( 9 , 10 ). Moreover, they might also potentially increase the incidence of drug abuse, medical errors, and unethical behavior after graduation ( 11 ).…”

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“…Furthermore, various aspects of student personalities, including professionalism and communication skills, general academic preparation, and external forces such as life events, are likely to play a significant role in student performance in dental school, 9,19 and a holistic approach to supporting matriculated dental students is warranted. Stress has also been shown to have a negative association with GPA, 20 but wellness interventions reduce perceived anxiety and stress 21 . A humanistic approach to dental school curricula and student services is warranted.…”

“…Stress has also been shown to have a negative association with GPA, 20 but wellness interventions reduce perceived anxiety and stress. 21 A humanistic approach to dental school curricula and student services is warranted. Dental schools should offer resources such as academic advisement, tutoring, and services such as study skills seminars.…”