Background/Knowledge Gap: Throughout medical education, students must navigate demanding academic and professional responsibilities while achieving and maintaining personal wellness. Institutional initiatives with voluntary participation are not always utilized by students. Though many wellness interventions have been implemented, previous studies have experienced difficulties establishing the efficacy of such interventions Methods/Design: The survey consisted of 10 free response, 7 multiple choice, and 54 Likert scales and was split into 4 sections: conceptions of wellness, use and perceived efficacy wellness programs, barriers to wellness and the use of related programs, and what students want from future interventions. Results/Findings: As hypothesized, students reported that their professional responsibilities were overwhelming and left them little time for personal well-being. Students rated “stigma” and “fear of judgment” as lower barriers than “time” and “professional responsibilities,” which may reflect institutional success at creating a more mental health-aware culture. However, students perceived that their personal efforts had between 70% and 80% more efficacy than school-run, student-run, and community-based programs. Regarding 12 aspects of wellness, “relaxation and mental rest” ranked 2nd most important on average, yet regarding 12 aspects of long-term fulfillment, “ease of lifestyle” was 10th. Conclusions/Implication: Perhaps students intellectually know the signs of burnout, but they prioritize professional advancement at the expense of personal well-being and struggle to consistently recognize signs of burnout in themselves. Destigmatization is a baseline necessity, but a more fruitful use of resources might include educational workshops, voluntary and active social engagements, schedule flexibility, counseling availability, and opportunities for individualized professional mentorship. In conclusion, students’ opinions of student-run and school-run programs are similar; institutional efforts need to be more individually targeted to help students identify their needs and find their own avenues to maintain wellness.

References

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