Wellbeing and mental health amongst medical students in Canada

Wilkes, Chris; Lewis, Thomas H.; Brager, Nancy; Bulloch, Andrew G. M.; MacMaster, Frank P.; Paget, Mike; Holm, Johanna; Farrell, Sarah; Ventriglio, Antonio

doi:10.1080/09540261.2019.1675927

Cited by 56 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In 2019, Wilkes and colleagues surveyed 69 undergraduate medical students and reported that 83% of students considered medical education a source of stress, and 70% met criteria for exhaustion; however, only 36% of students reported seeing a mental health professional to address mental health concerns. 110 There is a need for formal programs focused on mental well-being, inclusive of increasing awareness, reducing stigma and improving access to mental health services. Although such programs are associated with lower depression and suicidal ideation rates in the United States, the effectiveness of this approach in Canadian medical schools is unknown.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interventions to improve the well-being of medical learners in Canada: a scoping review

Moss¹,

Wollny²,

Amarbayan³

et al. 2021

cmajo

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C oncerns exist about the impact of medical education on learner well-being. [1][2][3][4] Programs housed within medical schools often address intellectual and occupational well-being, focusing specifically on skills related to learning and working; 5,6 however, well-being is a multidimensional construct. Social, mental, and physical wellbeing have been shown to be negatively affected during undergraduate medical education, 7 with increased prevalence of burnout in residency. 8,9 Poor well-being can affect medical learners across the spectrum of programs, including undergraduate health sciences. 10 The Canadian Federation of Medical Students aims to "train healthier physicians to maximize the productivity and quality of health care services for Canadians." 11 Their strategic directions for 2020-2022 include developing health promoting communities, promoting a positive culture in medical education that prioritizes learner well-being, increasing collaboration within the medical community and optimizing student resources. Despite the growing literature as universities implement services to address the well-being of medical learners, earlier reviews on this topic have not evaluated interventions in Canadian medical schools and have found it difficult to define medical learner well-being. 12,13 The Wellness Innovation Scholarship for Health Professions Education and Health Sciences (WISHES) laboratory at the University of Calgary is taking a holistic approach to medical learner well-being. 14 Based on Nussbaum's human capabilities approach 15 and acknowledging that well-being is multi dimensional, 16 WISHES focuses on measurable outcomes within the domains of mental, physical, occupational,

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interventions to improve the well-being of medical learners in Canada: a scoping review

Moss¹,

Wollny²,

Amarbayan³

et al. 2021

cmajo

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In a recent study from one medical school in Canada, Wilkes et al . [ 37 ] reported that a quarter (26%) of the students had been diagnosed with a mental health condition before medical school, while over one third (36%) reported currently seeing a professional regarding their mental ill-health, with anxiety disorders forming the most commonly reported conditions. A vast majority (83%) reported their studies as a significant source of stress.…”

Section: Suicide and Attempted Suicidementioning

confidence: 99%

A narrative review of suicide and suicidal behavior in medical students

Ventriglio

Bhugra

2020

Indian J Psychiatry

Self Cite

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Studies across different countries have consistently demonstrated high rates of several psychiatric disorders among medical students. These findings, in turn, may be correlated with the higher than expected rate of suicide in student doctors. We aimed to provide a narrative review of the literature concerning suicidality in medical students worldwide. A narrative review is not a systematic review. Using Pub Med, we identified articles including our defined search terms: ((suicide) OR self-harm) (attempted suicide, deliberate self-harm AND medical students) OR future doctors. Particular credence was given to review articles and original research conducted this decade. We find that medical student suicide is likely related to a number of social and environmental factors. Structural systems in medical schools may play a role, for example, curricula, accommodation, social support, and academic pressures. Interpersonal factors that may be implicated include social isolation, the competitive nature of learning, and being away from home at an early age. There may also be endemic factors unique to medical training, which may contribute to higher rates of depression and suicidality; these include simulation training, working with cadavers, and witnessing trauma throughout placements. The socio-cultural environment, for example, the role of ragging, expectations from teachers, and patients, may place extra pressure on vulnerable individuals. Rates have been shown to be higher among females, which raises further discussion on the nature of gender roles and gender role expectations within medicine. As the medical workforce of the future, today's students require a considerable emotional and financial investment. It is, therefore, crucial that educators and supervisors understand the needs of this student body while delivering the essential skills to be a doctor in a sensitive nonstigmatizing manner.

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“…Una investigación llevada a cabo en 3 países europeos (Bulgaria, Alemania y Polonia) en 2103 estudiantes universitarios (Mikolajczyk et al, 2016), también encontró un porcentaje de personas con positividad en el CAGE (puntuación ≥ 2) mucho menor que en el nuestro: 22,7%, 26,3% y 19% respectivamente en Bulgaria, Alemania y Polonia dentro de los hombres, y 9,6%, 9,3% y 8,5% en mujeres, que contrasta con el 36% en hombres y el 14,3% en mujeres en nuestra muestra de sanos de 18 a 30 años, que es la más parecida por grupo de edad a la de estudiantes universitarios. Estudios similares sobre muestras de adultos jóvenes de 18 a 35 años en Italia (Manzoli et al, 2009) o sobre estudiantes de medicina en Canadá (Thakore et al, 2009), u otros estudios recientes sobre muestras de estudiantes de medicina en distintos países del mundo: Gales (Farrell et al, 2019), Portugal (Almeida, Kadhum, Farrell, Ventriglio y Molodynski, 2019), Marruecos (Lemtiri Chelieh et al, 2019), Canadá (Wilkes et al, 2019), Brasil (Castaldelli-Maia et al, 2019, Paraguay (Torales et al, 2019) y Jordania (Masri et al, 2019) mostraron igualmente una menor prevalencia de positividad en el CAGE (puntuación ≥ 2), que osciló entre el 5% de los marroquíes y el 25% de los brasileños, que los participantes sanos de 18 a 30 años de nuestro estudio, que llegaron al 26,1%, incluyendo tanto hombres como mujeres.…”

Section: Discussionunclassified