Premium
Beyond the G.P.A.: Focusing on Student Well‐Being During First‐Year Professional Education
Author(s) -
Klinesmith Stephanie,
Dunbar Melanie,
Allen Erika,
McCarthy Sarah,
Terrell Mark,
Kulesza Randy
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2021.35.s1.01656
Subject(s) - anxiety , psychosocial , burnout , empathy , medical education , psychology , coping (psychology) , attendance , session (web analytics) , medicine , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , world wide web , computer science , economics , economic growth
Background Nearly one‐third of medical students experience significantly higher anxiety levels as compared to their non‐medical counterparts. Elevated anxiety levels increase the likelihood of developing depression and result in loss of personal relationships and a lower quality of life. Specifically, in medical students, increased anxiety is correlated with decreased empathy, professionalism, and may negatively impact academic performance. Peer‐support programs benefit not only student participants but also peer volunteers. Programs like these provide psychosocial support that students are otherwise without, as well as encourage professional development. We hypothesized that peer‐support participants will experience decreased overall and exam‐related anxiety, feel more prepared, and perform higher academically after participating in the program. Design A peer‐support program was designed and implemented at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, PA during the Fall of 2020. Students participants were recruited from the Master's in Medical Science (M.M.S.) program to participate. First‐year medical students (MS1s) who matriculated from the M.M.S. program were recruited to lead the peer support sessions. Three sessions were held throughout Fall 2020 and covered topics including goal setting, time management, and burnout and coping. The final session is scheduled for January 2021 and will cover self‐reflection. M.M.S. participants were randomly assigned to one of 11 groups led by an MS1 volunteer and given 30 minutes to discuss the session topic. M.M.S. students were surveyed at five different time points by the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the General Anxiety Disorder‐7 (GAD‐7) questionnaires. MS1 students were surveyed at two time points, using the STAI. Participant opinion was also collected using Likert scale and open‐ended questions. Results A total of 67 M.M.S. students attended the first session, with 11 MS1 students volunteering to lead the sessions. Initial STAI results are consistent with that of an average college student and significantly higher than their age group, as expected. Similarly, GAD‐7 results showed an expected increase in exam‐related anxiety throughout the semester, specifically experiencing more restlessness and irritability. Written responses suggest students appreciated the opportunity to ask MS1 volunteers questions, discuss relevant topics, and form relationships otherwise difficult to due to curricula being entirely online. Full results are pending the final session. Conclusion Students transitioning to professional‐level education find peer‐support a helpful tool to improve their preparedness. Full conclusions will be drawn upon completion of the final session and analysis of the post‐test STAI results.