Impact of a Stress Management Training Course

Overview

Objective structured clinical examinations (ECOS) are playing an increasingly important role in the training and assessment of medical students, and now account for 30% of the grade for access to the 3rd cycle of medical studies. Although students generally seem to have a favorable opinion of this examination modality, several studies have reported that ECOS are a greater source of stress than other types of examination, particularly written examinations. The investigators aim to assess the benefits of a stress management training for medical students, on the negative impact of stress during ECOS. The investigators hypothesize that training in stress management could be beneficial for medical students, in particular to prepare them mentally to limit the negative impact of stress durgin ECOS, and ultimately reduce their overall stress and potentially improve their performance.

Objective structured clinical examinations (ECOS) are playing an increasingly important role in the training and assessment of medical students, and now account for 30% of the grade for access to the 3rd cycle of medical studies. Although students generally seem to have a favorable opinion of this examination modality, several studies have reported that ECOS are a greater source of stress than other types of examination, particularly written examinations. Anxiety can affect students' performance, although not all studies have found a significant correlation between results and students' state of anxiety. However, it is essential to take account of students' well-being, especially as it has been shown that medical students suffer from symptoms of anxiety and depression, some of which may be related to their studies. It is therefore important to reduce these symptoms of anxiety in order to improve students' well-being, and eventually their performance during ECOS. A number of studies have looked at ways of reducing student anxiety, including breathing relaxation techniques and anxiety management programs. Preparation, stress management and self-confidence can have a calming effect, and may even have a positive impact on exam performance. The visual analog stress scale and the STAI questionnaire are two validated and commonly used methods for stress assessment. The investigators modified the visual scale to assess the functional impact of stress on ECOS performance. The investigators hypothesize that training in stress management could be beneficial for medical students, in particular to prepare them mentally to limit the negative impact of stress durgin ECOS, and ultimately reduce their overall stress and potentially improve their performance. The investigators aim to assess the benefits of a stress management training for medical students, on the negative impact of stress during ECOS.