Ea. Guthrie et al., EMBARKING UPON A MEDICAL CAREER - PSYCHOLOGICAL MORBIDITY IN FIRST YEAR MEDICAL-STUDENTS, Medical education, 29(5), 1995, pp. 337-341
This study was undertaken to measure the prevalence of psychological m
orbidity, and the nature and source of stress, in first year medical s
tudents. Two hundred and four first year medical students at a univers
ity in the north of England were sent a postal, self-report questionna
ire. They were asked to complete the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ
), the Stress Incident Record and to give details of their alcohol con
sumption. A total of 172 students (84.3%) replied. Thirty-six per cent
of the students scored above the threshold of the GHQ, indicating pro
bable psychological disturbance. There was no difference between men a
nd women. Approximately half of the students described a stressful inc
ident, the majority of which were related to medical training rather t
han to personal problems. Male students reported drinking significantl
y more alcohol than female students, but there was no relationship bet
ween levels of alcohol consumption and either psychological disturbanc
e or reporting of stress. The findings suggest that even at the prelim
inary stages of medical training, many students find aspects of the me
dical course very stressful. The psychological well-being of medical s
tudents needs to be more carefully addressed, and closer attention pai
d to the styles of medical teaching that may provoke avoidable distres
s.