Is the medical teacher's mental health neglected? Effects of perceived student attitudes and behaviors on mental health and lifestyle of teachers in a rural university of western Maharashtra in India

BACKGROUND: A medical teacher is a practitioner, teacher, trainer, and researcher all at once. There are very few studies assessing stress among medical teachers. With landmark policy changes, disruption and ongoing pandemic, looking at the mental health of medical teachers assumes greater importance. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the teaching faculty of medical, dental, nursing, and physiotherapy colleges affiliated within a rural medical university in western Maharashtra. A convenience sample of 100 teachers was taken and a self-report questionnaire was used to collect data from the teachers. Stress was measured by the Perceived Stress Scale. RESULTS: Low stress scores (0–13) were seen in 43% of teachers, 55% had moderate stress scores (14–26), and 2% had high stress scores (27–40). Teaching was reported as a stressor by only 8%, whereas administrative work, lifestyle, family responsibilities, finances, patient care, professional jealousy, competition, and frequently changing norms were more commonly reported stressors. The overt focus on entrance test preparation, over-reliance on mobile phones, short attention span, poor listening skills, lack of interpersonal skills, lack of initiative to acquire clinical skills, lack of punctuality, and transactional nature toward learning were some of the perceived faults in the attitude of medical students as reported by the teachers. CONCLUSION: Teachers are coping with changing trends in technology and attitude of students toward learning and shoulder a multitude of responsibilities while creating doctors and healthcare professionals of the future. Attention needs to be paid to their health.