Kinder Med Schools: Students Learn More, Less Depressed

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, MD, MEd, 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 United States, 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 University’s 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.

“We’ve 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."