Manju Mehta & Rajesh Sagar
Department of Psychiatry
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
Introduction
Procedure
Prevalence of mental health problems in medical students
Mental health problems have been a concern in Undergraduate
students and Postgraduate residents in medical colleges.
Medical education is inherently stressful and demanding.
Selection to medical college is a life event that requires a
significant change in life style.
2.4% of medical students developed psychiatric morbidity severe
enough to cause loss of time to the course and 1% of them
required hospital admission (Salmons, 1983).
Guthrie et al (1995) found that 36% of medical students showed
evidence of significant psychological disturbance .
A recent review of literature mapping 40 articles (between 1980
and 2005) on psychological disturbance in medical students
suggest a high prevalence of depression and anxiety among
medical students, with overall levels of psychological distress
consistently higher than in general population and age matched
pairs (Dyrbye et al, 2006).
This was a pilot initiative carried out by Department of
Psychiatry for the faculty of All India Institute of Medical
Sciences, under the direction of the Dean and the Registrar.
Training session
3- hours focused training with
interactive session
Identification of common
mental health problems
Lecture/ Discussion
Case History
Counselling skills
Building Rapport
Interviewing
Probing for problems
Active listening
Problem Solving
Supe (1998) found that 73% of medical students perceived stress
at various stages of MBBS course.
Consequences of Poor Mental Health
Role Play
May lead to negative impact on functionality of the student
Contributes to substance abuse, broken relationships, suicide
and attrition from profession
Causes low
adjustment.
self-esteem,
anxiety,
depression
and
poor
Role of Teachers
Teachers can play very important role in enhancing mental health
of medical students
Can help in identification of :
signs and symptoms of poor mental health
behavioral changes in day-to-day life
mood problems
other major difficulties
Providing support to reduce student’s stress
Referring the student to mental health professional at the right
time
Objectives
Often students / residents hesitate to consult mental health
professionals, i.e. psychiatrists or psychologists, due to stigma or
lack of awareness of their problems. Departmental faculty has an
opportunity to observe and identify mental health problems due to
frequent and regular interactions with students / residents in their
departments. Thus, the present activity was planned at AIIMS.
To provide training to faculty members in identifying mental
health problems in students
To counsel students in overcoming stressful situations
Sample
Two faculty members from each department were invited to
volunteer for the training.
56 middle and junior level faculty members participated.
Monitoring & evaluation :
Faculty members were asked to identify students who need
help.
They could discuss identified cases with trainers. Guidance to
carry out counselling was given.
More referrals and consultations were sought after this activity.
Feedback
60% of the volunteer faculty members found this exercise useful
35% of the participants felt that it should be carried out on a
regular basis
Conclusions
Mental health problems are of utmost concern for
medical students
Teachers play a crucial role in helping students in
managing their stress
Training sessions can be carried out on a regular basis
for teachers
Future Directions
Training sessions could be carried out on a periodical basis for
teachers
Development of training modules
Assessment of effectiveness of these modules at different
places of higher education