Abstract
Objectives: Physicians show a higher risk of psychosocial strain or impairment than the general population or professions with comparable responsibility. We evaluated if training-related behavior and experience patterns of medical students in their first term may already bear risk factors for this development.
Method: Written survey at two German Universities (Freiburg and Lübeck) with three standard instruments (AVEM, SAM, F-SozU). The response rate was n=435 (84.5%), 61.8% were female, 38.2% male students.
Results: Analysis showed a distinct psychosocial strain constellation with at-risk patterns in approximately 40% of students. There was a significant difference between the students of Freiburg and Lübeck. Social support and self-awareness were significantly correlated with health-promoting experience and behavior patterns and must therefore be viewed as important elements of healthy behavior.
Conclusions: Relevant strain patterns are already evident at the beginning of medical training. The integration of health promotion and successful coping for medical students and prevention of profession-related stress for physicians emerges as an important issue.
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