News Release

Bad medicine

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Canadian Medical Association Journal

The quality of life of medical students deteriorates during their clerkship year, a new study indicates. (Students spend their clerkship year in the hospital instead of the classroom, learning to treat patients. They are not allowed to prescribe drugs and their orders must be countersigned by a physician.)

The authors measured the self-reported quality of life of final-year medical students 4 times over 10 months and found significant deterioration in the students' vitality and ability to conduct work activities due to physical and emotional problems. The authors say their findings suggest that the decline in health status may begin in the clerkship year or even earlier, and steps should be taken to find out why.

In a related article, Erica Weir cautions that today's medical students must deal with issues earlier students did not have to consider, including rising tuition fees, accumulated debt during training, return-of-service requirements and more competition for residencies. Weir speculates that these issues may combine to drive some would-be medical students away from the profession.

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Health-related quality of life among final-year medical students - Satish R. Raj, et al

Jung at heart: assessing one's suitability for medical training - Erica Weir


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