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Newswise ST. LOUIS -- Removing pressure from medical school while teaching students skills to manage stress and bounce back from adversity improves their mental health and boosts their academic achievement, Saint Louis University research finds.

Stuart Slavin, M.D., M.Ed., associate dean for curriculum at SLU School of Medicine, is the lead author of the paper, which is published the April edition of Academic Medicine.

The problem of depression among medical school students is significant, Slavin said, affecting between 20 and 30 percent of medical students in the U.S., and potentially compromising their mental health for years to come.

The study looks at the well-being of first and second year students before and after changes to Saint Louis Universitys medical school curriculum that are designed to prevent depression, stress and anxiety. It compared the performance of five classes of 175 to 178 students two before the changes and three after measured at medical school orientation, the end of year one and the end of year two.

Weve seen dramatic improvement in the mental health of our students. Depression rates in first year medical students went from 27 percent to 11 percent and anxiety dropped from 55 percent to 31 percent. At the same time, our Step 1 board scores went up, meaning student performance improved, Slavin said. Our students know more, and will be in a better situation, emotionally, to care for our patients.

The first of many licensing exams, the Step 1 boards are given to medical school students at the end of their second year to assess whether students can apply basic science concepts to medical questions. Scores help determine admission to residency programs.

For about 60 years, administrators have recognized the number of students who feel depressed or anxious increases during their time in medical school, Slavin said.

For many years, nobody did anything about it, he said. Then, the first approach to addressing the problem was to get students better access to psychiatric and mental health services. That was followed by schools adding activities that encourage wellness and teamwork, such as Olympics-style athletic competitions and optional wellness seminars. While those things are great, theyre not enough.

Link:

Kinder, Gentler Med School: Students Less Depressed, Learn More