Learning Environment Quality for Medical Students at Umm Al-Qura University: A Comprehensive Study on Stressors, Sources, and Solutions After Introduction of a New Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Curriculum

OBJECTIVE: Due to introduction of a new curriculum and the related stressors that medical students might encounter, we aimed to assess the quality of the students’ learning environment across academic years at Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), by evaluating stress levels, their sources, and impacts on students, to help improve the quality of learning environment and protect students from personal and academic burnout. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study in August and September of 2020 on 572 students enrolled in the new Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) curriculum at UQU. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software and two-tailed tests. RESULTS: In total, 46.5% of participants encountered severe stress levels during their studies at UQU. In term of stressor sources, the highest prevalence of severe stress was found among students who lacked learning resources (68.8%), followed by those who complained of ambiguity in teaching, learning, and assessment strategies (64.1%). Self-study strategy issues (58.4%) and difficulty in reading textbooks (58.2%) also ranked high. Anxiety was often reported by the students as an impact of stress (62.9%), followed by mood swings (60%). Severe stress levels showed a statistically significant relationship to gender, being highest among females (P = 0.001). For a solution to manage the stress, 79% of the students suggested a supportive learning environment and identification of students’ struggles at early stages. CONCLUSION: Almost half the medical students were severely stressed after the new curriculum was introduced. Therefore, professors and universities should look out for potential stressors and help students overcome them. Universities can also help by offering counseling services to students, improving the student tutoring system, providing appropriate learning environment and resources, and including stress management courses as a part of the overall curriculum.