PREVALENCE OF STRESS AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS OF PAKISTAN AND ITS EFFECT ON THEIR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Introduction: Medical education is inherently stressful and demanding. Overwhelming burden of information leaves a minimal opportunity for the student to relax and recreate. Stress and depression have been consistently linked to mental and physical health effects. Objectives of the study: To determine the relationship of stress and academic performance in medical students and to identify sources of stress. Study Design: Mixed method sequential. Place and Duration of Study: Allied Hospital Faisalabad from Nov 2018 to Feb 2019. Methodology: Survey questionnaire was carried out in the 3rd year, 4th year and final year students with their consent. One hundred students were surveyed. Non-probability purposive sampling was employed for both types of data collection. SPSS version 20 was used. Results: Non stressed students were 17 % and stressed students were 83 %. There is moderate negative and significant (p < 0.01) correlation between academic performance and sources of stress. There was strong positive and significant (p < 0.01), correlation between stress level and number of stress sources. Conclusion: The study showed a diversity of stress sources and a high level of stress in the medical students of Pakistan. The results also show that higher level of stress is associated with poor academic performance. Key words: Medical, students, stress, academic