Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Education

Advisor

Kimberley Alkins

Abstract

Medical students have consistently identified medical school as a stressful experience. Although studies show stress management to be beneficial for helping students alleviate stress, few studies have been conducted with osteopathic medicine (DO) students as participants. The purpose of the quasi-experimental study was to assess the effect of participation in a 4-week stress management module on first-year DO students’ stress levels. This study was grounded in Quick and Quick’s preventive stress management theory and Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, which together suggest that early recognition of stress and consistent stress management coping mechanisms are beneficial for altering and sustaining stress levels. For this quasi-experimental study, 30 DO students completed the Perceived Stress Scale presurvey, but only 11 students completed the postsurvey, which means that all results have to be interpreted with caution, as the study was underpowered. Of these 11 students, only four participants indicated that they completed the entire stress management module. A related-samples Wilcoxon signed rank test showed statistical significance (p = .032). Although the results indicate an effect of the stress management module on first-year DO students’ stress levels, additional studies with larger samples are needed. If the results would be replicated, a stress management module could be incorporated into osteopathic programs. Lower stress levels among DO students could improve student burnout and increase the DO presence in the medical field. This study also has the potential to increase the organization’s retention rates, implicating positive social change on an organizational and individual level.

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