A report on stress among first year students in an Indian medical school.

ABSTRACT

Stress is common in medical students. However, studies on stress among students in Indian medical schools are very few. The present study was undertaken to determine the prevalence and sources of stress among first year Malaysian students at Melaka Manipal Medical College (MMMC), (Manipal Campus), India. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was used as the screening instrument. Based on the score, the prevalence of emotional disorders was determined. The sources of stress in students were identified by asking them to respond to a questionnaire which had items categorized under academic and non-academic problems. It was found that the prevalence of stress among the students was 37.3%. Among the sources of stress, frequent examinations and information overload were found to be the greatest sources of stress among academic problems. Among nonacademic problems, limited time for recreation and home-sickness were found to be the greatest sources of stress. The present study revealed that academic problems were greater sources of stress in first year medical students compared to non-academic problems. The study provided scope for adopting strategies intended to reduce students’ stress.