Comparison of level of stress among medical students of private and government medical college in Pakistan

Background: The medical profession is considered one of the most stressful professions owing to its never ending pressures, critical decisions and hectic working hours. Medical education is no exception either and published medical literature documents a considerable amount of stress in medical students across the globe. Furthermore, researches also claim that medical students experience more stress than non-medical students and the sources of stress stem from all the three spheres of life, i.e., academic, financial and social. Subjects and Methods: It is a descriptive cross-sectional study which was conducted at Rawalpindi Medical University and Foundation University Medical College. 300 medical students were included in the study population by simple random sampling. 150 medical students were recruited from each college (30 students from each class). A structured questionnaire was filled by the medical students. The level of stress in medical students was measured by using Kessler stress scale. The data was analyzed by using SPSS version 22.0. Results: This study established overall stress in 42% of the students of which 45.2% were mildly stressed, 34% moderately stressed and 20.6% were severely stressed. Furthermore, the students of Rawalpindi Medical University (38%) were less stressed than the students of Foundation University Medical College (46%). Conclusion: The study documented a profound amount of stress in medical students. This calls for regular evaluation of stress in medical students followed by regular counselling sessions of stressed students. Furthermore, causes of stress need to be addressed and evaluated accordingl