A cross-sectional assessment of stress, coping, and burnout in the final-year medical undergraduate students

BACKGROUND: Medical students undergo significant stress during training which may lead to own suffering or problem in patient care. High level of burnouts and depression is also not uncommon. The transition from preclinical to clinical training has been regarded as crucial to student in relation to the stress. METHODOLOGY: An assessment of perceived stress and its relation to general psychopathology, the pattern of coping, and burnout in the final-year medical student was done to bring out clear nature, pattern, and extent of the problem. RESULTS: Perceived stress had statistically significant association with general psychopathology and depressive-anxiety component of burnout. Acceptance, positive reframing, humor, planning, and active coping correlated with lower score on perceived stress. CONCLUSION: Higher score on perceived stress was associated with higher scores on general psychopathology and burnout. Age of joining MBBS course and doctor in the family did not affect the stress significantly. People who displayed positive coping strategies had lesser stress and general psychopathology.