Availability of psychological support for medical students in Poland

• Authors: Maciej Walkiewicz , Mateusz Guziak

Abstracts

EN

ObjectivesMedical students suffer from a considerable level of stress, which can result in the deterioration of their mental health, including depression or suicidal ideation. They are afraid to seek help due to stigmatization and environmental ostracism. The goal of the study is to analyze the psychological support and stress management programs for students supported by medical schools in PolandMaterial and MethodsThe authors sent out e-mails with 9 questions regarding the issue being analyzed to all 19 medical schools in Poland. They obtained answers from 15 such schools, which corresponds to a response rate of 79%. The study was conducted in 2018–2019, before the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.ResultsDue to the lack of central regulations, support is provided by medical schools individually. Those solutions focus on short-term, temporary therapy. If a longer therapy is needed, students are redirected to external health providers. Moreover, information about the support is not transferred by student-friendly communication channels. Conclusions: Support should be flexible, and it should quickly adapt to the emerging trends and consider students’ feedback. A future model of psychological support could be a center organized as a transfer point between a university problem-solving facility and external health providers, concentrating on short-term activity. Quick support would eliminate potential complications and more serious mental problems.

Keywords

EN

mental health; support; psychological distress; medical students; medical education; preventive programs

• Publisher: Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. dra Jerzego Nofera w Łodzi
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
• Year: 2021
• Volume: 34
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 87-99

Dates

published

2021

Contributors

author

Maciej Walkiewicz

• Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland (Department of Psychology)

author

Mateusz Guziak

• Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland (Faculty of Medicine)

Identifiers

DOI

10.13075/ijomeh.1896.01539

Biblioteka Nauki

2086118