RESUMEN
Introduction: Test anxiety is a psychological condition that results in extreme fear of poor performance on examinations and is commonly found among medical students. A study was conducted on the proportion of test anxiety among medical university students and the factors affecting it, determining the types of test anxiety and associating it with grades and forms of assessment
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was done on the students of Gulf Medical University, Ajman by using self-administered questionnaires, which included the Westside Test Anxiety Scale, socio demographic variables and symptoms of anxiety with the type of assessment. Data was analyzed using the SPSS program. A Chi square test was done for association
Results: 43% of those surveyed had high anxiety levels. Test Anxiety was found to be high among medical university students especially in the age group of below 20 years, females, and the early years of medical training. The symptoms experienced were also surveyed with the largest number of students having trouble sleeping [n=75]. The results showed that viva and seminar invoked the most severe responses in students, while OSPE, OSCE, MCQs and SAQs resulted in fewer symptoms. Students with high levels of test anxiety scored less than their low anxiety peers. However the study in general was inconclusive about the facilitative or debilitative effect of test anxiety on students, though certain parts of the study indicated a rather debilitative effect on academic performance
Conclusions: Overall, test anxiety was found to be high among medical university students. Various coping strategies are recommended, including counseling by experienced healthcare professionals, and proper time management. A modification of forms of assessment which cause severe and debilitating forms of test anxiety was also suggested