Impact of Medical Training on Mental Health in Medical Students

Abstract

Introduction: Medical training represents a stressful event that can impact the physical and psychological well-being and quality of life of medical students, predisposing to the emergence of various emotional disorders, stress and the Burnout syndrome, which compromises academic performance, labor and social. Objective: The objective of this study is to identify the stressors associated with medical training that led to problems in the physical and mental health of medical students, as well as the coping strategies adopted. Methodology: This research is a review of the narrative, qualitative literature, whose scientific articles were searched in the scientific databases: Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS) and PubMed. The Descriptors used were: mental health, emotional stress, burnout, psychiatric disorders, medical students, medical training. Results and Discussion: Most of the reviewed studies demonstrated that exposure to chronic and repeated stress among medical students, manifested by psychological and physical exhaustion, can culminate in the development of anxiety, depression, eating and sleeping disorders, stress, burnout syndrome, in addition to ideation, planning and suicide attempts. The damage to the mental health of medical students occurs due to a sum of several stressors associated with medical training, the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of medical students, among them, family pressure, extensive course load, concern with tests and constant evaluations, financial difficulties, little time available for leisure and sports. Conclusion: The damage to mental health of medical students occurs due to various factors, including family pressure, long course workload, concern with constant tests and evaluations, financial difficulties, little time available for leisure and sports practices.