| Summary: | The purpose of this piece is to provide a perspective on how societal dynamics and changes in India have a bearing on wellness among medical students. Wellness is a dynamic state that is often analyzed in terms of attributes of emotional, mental, physical, and interpersonal/social at the individual level. However, the societal context plays an important role in determining wellness even at this level. The social determinants of wellness would include the individual's location in the social hierarchy, economic, social, and cultural capital that they have access to, and the aspirations and expectations that are placed by the family, peers, and society at large. While this is common to most college-going students, medicine being an elite profession that enjoys high status and seen as providing social mobility, there is increased pressure in terms of competitiveness and performance. These complex interactions result in many challenges for medical students as they negotiate multiple demands – economic, academic, interpersonal, and societal in an institution for a prolonged period of time.
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