Volume 26, Issue 130, December 2022

Assessing the level of stress among medical students at the medical college of Um Al Qura University in Al-Qunfudhah

Saad M Alhatmi¹, Safiah O Aldabali², Zahra A Alzubaidi^2♦

¹Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Um Al Qura University, Al-Qunfudhah, Western Province, Saudi Arabia
²Medical Intern, Faculty of Medicine, University of Um Al Qura University, Al-Qunfudhah, Western Province, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Faculty of Medicine in Al-Qunfudhah city, University of Um Al Qura University. Maccah Region, Western Province, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Objective: One of the major problems affecting medical students is the stress that is perceived during their academic studies. This investigation sought to understand the prevalence and sources of stress among medical students at Umm Al-Qura University in the city of Al-Qunfudhah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a validated 20-item Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ) that was distributed among medical students (Year 2 - 6) to establish the areas of stress. Results: This study found that 42.9% of the medical students suffered from moderate stress and 31.7% experienced high to severe levels of stress. The most leading source of stress was academic-related stressors (ARS), with female students exhibiting more stress than male students, a difference that was statistically significant (P = 0.013). Conclusion: ARS such as 'Lack of time to review what has been learnt' and 'Heavy workload' were the main reasons that cause psychological stress to medical students. The level of stress decreased incrementally with study progression except for the fifth year. We conclude that ARS are a principal concern in the early years of study for medical students, particularly female students and therefore represent an important area for intervention by student support services.

Keywords: medical students, stress, MSSQ-20, stressors

Medical Science, 2022, 26, ms574e2674

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v26i130/ms574e2674

Published: 30 December 2022