Stress among Students of Medicine, Engineering, and Nursing - Research Paper Example

Stress among students is a product of the constant influence of various stressors related to the different aspects of the society and their lives. Existing literature indicate that stress directly impacts on the performance of students by affecting their memory, reducing their problem-solving ability and concentration. A combination of these effects could lead to decreased coping, learning, retention, and academic performance. High levels of stress are associated with low self-esteem, depression and poor adjustment to college life and activities. This paper evaluates the major causes of stress among medicine, engineering, and nursing students as presented by existing literature and gives suggestions on ways of reducing stress among this group of students. Purpose of research My professional interest in this topic is finding out the conditions that make nursing, medicine and engineering students more vulnerable to stress compared to other students. In my view, their courses present heavier mental and physical workload continuously reducing their capacity to cope with other burdens; financial and social. From experience and literature, I have realized that the demanding nature of nursing, medicine and engineering courses present some stress to the students. Students have to grasp a lot of difficult concepts, prepare for national examinations and encounter several challenging professional experiences. These conditions act as magnifiers of other stressful conditions. The things I want to learn about this topic are all the factors that come into play to generate stress among this group of students and the best mitigation measures that can be applied in solving their stress problems. Causes of Stress among Students Taking Medicine, Engineering, and Nursing According to Mayoral (2006 p2), “Stress is a growing problem for, and consequence of, our fast-paced modern society…” Stress is a common factor among people of all walks of life including students. However, it is highly evident that students taking medicine, engineering, and nursing are the worst hit by this mental crisis. Of the kind of stress generally experienced by students in college, Mayoral notes that, Unlike the environment in which non-student peers live, the college student life consists of continuous evaluations in the form of weekly tests and papers, and various assignments, with end of the course assignments and exams creating particularly high stress levels. The stresses experienced by the students may not be in the form of catastrophic stress, but rather an accumulation of daily hassles that become overwhelming during exams. Mayoral (2006 p.3). This has created a lot of interest among researchers who have explored the topic with the goal of defining the causes of stress among students of nursing, medicine and engineering. From their extensive studies, researchers realized that students in college are constantly influenced by a variety of stressors arising from the different aspects of the society and their own lives. These stressors constitute the factors that come into play in causing stress among nursing, medicine and engineering students. One of these studies was conducted by Guo, Wang and Johson of Texas University. This study indicated that stress arising from academics and other dimensions of life generate difficulties in the life of the students and these impacts on the mental health of college students. It points out that intensive demands of academic and developmental tasks generates stress among students. In addition, the study reveals that economic stress resulting from economic contraction presents an additional stressor which adds to the stress levels experienced by students (Guo et al, 2011). However, economic contraction does not generate similar levels of stress among all students. Instead, this level of stress is determined by the levels to which students perceive economic stress. This research indicates that there is no gender difference in how students perceive economic stress. Difference arises in academic levels where senior students are found to perceive greater economic stress than lower grade students. According to Guo et al (2011), college students experience low stress levels on global and national outlook but they experience high levels of stress on their current financial burdens. The reason put forward for this is that economic contraction at national and global level is normally minimized by the shield of the campus but personal financial burden presents urgency and a personal attribution. A study conducted by Goff of the University of North Carolina, Wilmington indicates that the rapidly changing and complex nursing environment demands that students graduating from nursing courses possess higher levels of clinical judgment, knowledge and leadership skills (Goff, 2011). As a result, the admission criterion is becoming more stringent and rigorous. Together with the challenging curriculum, this situation has contributed to having learning environments that are high-stake, competitive and stressful. There is fierce competition when applying for a nursing program and greater difficult stay in. In addition to academic stressors perceived by other students, nursing students are also pressed by stressors unique to their course like clinical experience and getting ready for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered nurses (NCLEX-RN). Complex and personal stressors have been introduced by evolving college demographics. For example, there is an influx of students who are employed, older, married and who commute to campus. Gibbons et al (2008) explains that under these circumstances, such students require special coping skills for balancing family, work and school in order achieve academic goals. The demanding nature of exams could generate thoughts that exams lead to increased stress among students. However, a study conducted by Mayoral of San Jose State University revealed that exams stress did not elevate stress experienced by students. From these results, it was clear that stressors that pose the greatest impact on students are those that have accumulated over time and are viewed negatively (Mayoral, 2006). Suggested solution Stress is a mental condition and thus its most important solution is helping students to change their perception of the academic and personal stressors they face. Perceiving stressors as threat leads to a downward trend in academic performance whereas perceiving them as challenge leads to an upward trend in academic performance. To achieve this, there is need to help students increase their learned resourcefulness. This refers to the ability to regulate cognitions and emotions. This reduces stress and enhances stress coping effectiveness. Students with higher learned resourcefulness levels have a better capacity of minimize negative impacts of stress, cope with threatening and challenging situations, develop academic persistence and confidence and, are less likely to become frustrated or anxious. Conclusion No single factor causes students among nursing, engineering and medicine students. Instead, stress among medicine, engineering and nursing students is a product of the constant influence of many stressors related to the various aspects of the society and their lives. These can be summarized as academic and social demands and, difficult economic situations. Generally, nursing, engineering and medicine courses are more demanding academically and thus make them vulnerable to stress from academic factors, and magnifies the effects of other types of stressors. It is also evident that powerful stressors are those that have accumulated over time and for this reason, learned resourcefulness presents the best mitigation measure because it covers the entire learning period. References Gibbons, C. Dempster, M. and Moutray, M. (2008). Stress and eustress in nursing students. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 61(3), 282-290. Goff, M. (2011). Stressors, Academic Performance, and Learned Resourcefulness in Baccalaureate Nursing Students. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship. 8(1), 1-20. Guo, Y. Wang, S. And Johson, V. (2011). COLLEGE STUDENTS' STRESS UNDER CURRENT ECONOMIC DOWNTURN. College Student Journal. 45(3), 536-543. Mayoral, L. (2006). Exam stress, depression, social support, and sleep disturbance" (2006). Master's Theses. Paper 3017. Retrieved from http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4013&context=etd_theses Read More