Abstract
Purpose: Core competencies for becoming a good physician have been the focus of recent discussion. Understanding students’ state of mind should be included in this analysis. Thus, the purpose of this study was to review recent research papers on subjective well-being in medical education and propose some suggestions. Methods: A selective search was conducted of the literature that has been published since 2000 in the Medline, Riss4U, ERIC, and KoreaMed databases using the search terms “happiness”, “subjective well-being”, “satisfaction”, and “stress”. Thirty seven studies were included in this review. Each was categorized according to 3 subjects (satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect). Results: Most studies showed relatively high levels of distress in medical students, which was related to academic worries. Although medical students were under a great deal of distress, they regarded help-seeking behavior for their distress as weakness or something negative. Conclusion: To decrease medical students’ distress and sustain their well-being, there should be a change in students’ awareness through curriculum, teaching methods, and coping strategies in medical education.
Publisher
Yonsei University College of Medicine