A study of stress factors during the learning of anatomy in Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis

Abstract

Among medical students, stress has always been a major problem. Medical studies are known to be long, stressful, and difficult. The dropout rate is high in medical studies; it is often associated with chronic fatigue and a permanent state of stress. The objectives of our work were to determine the different aspects of stress, to assess the intensity of stress, to determine an association between perceived stress and socio-demographic characteristics; and to make recommendations to optimize our student’s performance.This was a cross-sectional and descriptive study aimed at determining the different aspects of stress experienced by license 2 and license 3 medical students at Gaston BERGER University during the teaching of anatomy. We proposed 29 questions with 5-level Likert scale responses.The response rate was 91.5% with a male predominance (sex ratio of 1.17). The minimum, average and maximum stress degrees were 4%, 54.52% and 100% respectively; the intensity was higher among female students (60%) than male students (50%); the youngest between 18 and 21 years old had a stress intensity of 50%; and 60% between 22 and 25 years old.Our study, which focused on the stress experienced by medical students during the “anatomy and organogenesis” teaching unit, highlighted many particularities. It appeared that stress is relatively common among medical students, and that most of them are moderately or highly stressed. We also found that the issue of stress is only rarely discussed with the teacher, or between students. Moreover, the existence of the “stress” factor and its poor management with students are directly correlated to academic performance.