Perceived Stress and Its Physical Presentation During Exam: A Study of Central Park Medical College

Abstract

Stress during examination is a global issue. Researches show that the physical impact of stress includes various clinical symptoms and diseases. This study was designed to analyze the clinical presentation of stress in medical students during professional examination and the coping strategies practiced by them. Objective: To evaluate the causes of stress during exams and its physical presentation in medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at Central Park Medical College, from November 2022 to February 2023. A validated questionnaire was used as a data collection tool. Medical students from 1st year to the 4th year of the age group 18 to 25 years were selected using the convenient sampling method. The data were transcribed into SPSS version 26.0. The significance of the results was decided at a p-value of ≤ 0.05. Results: The most frequent clinical symptom during stress was fatigue, followed by headache. These symptoms varied significantly among male and female students (p ≤ 0.05) for headache, tense muscles, depression, and decreased blood pressure. The portion regarding coping mechanisms exercised by students during stress, revealed religious activities (35%) followed by music (22%) and sleep (18%) respectively. The study also revealed that the biggest support medical graduates get during stress is from their friends (45%). Conclusions: This study concluded that the main cause of stress during professional exams is fear of disappointing parents. This stress presents in the form of physical symptoms like excessive fatigue, headache, and anxiety. Where the support system during this time is friends for most respondents, the most commonly exercised coping mechanism is performing religious activities.