British medical students suffer an inordinate amount of stress compared to other university students: fact or fiction?

• Main Author: Shah S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2015-04-01
• Series: Advances in Medical Education and Practice
• Online Access: http://www.dovepress.com/british-medical-students-suffer-an-inordinate-amount-of-stress-compare-peer-reviewed-article-AMEP

Savan Shah Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UKHigh levels of stress in medical students are a commonly accepted phenomenon within the medical education community and as a result medical schools are often arraigned for not doing enough.1 Several studies in the UK have reported that medical students suffer significantly higher levels of stress than the age-matched general population.1 However, it can be argued that comparisons with the general population are misleading. All university students experience high levels of stress due to the demands of the course, a new environment and learning to manage financially, emotionally, and socially with less parental support. Therefore it is more pertinent to determine if medical students in the UK suffer greater levels of stress compared to age-matched peers in other university courses.