The mental health of medical students: a literature review

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the mental health of medical students. Bibliographic review: The medical course is one of the most difficult and laborious as it requires dedication, effort, sacrifice and physical and emotional resistance from academics. Stressors often start in the period before entering university and during the course, factors such as lack of time for social activities and physical exercise, loss of personal freedom, low self-esteem, feeling of worthlessness, difficulty managing time of studies and leisure, social expectations of the physician's role, fear of making mistakes, living away from the family, individualism are stressing factors that negatively influence the mental health of students who develop disorders such as depression, anxiety and exhaustion. Final considerations: The mental health of medical students is an important problem in medical education, with depression, anxiety and burnout syndrome as the main disorders. In this way, it is necessary that the current medical teaching model be rethought so that psychopedagogical support services are created for students, reducing their psychological suffering and reinforcing defensive strategies suitable for solving the characteristic problems of the profession.