Hassles during the First Year of Medical School: Can a Student Wellness Program Make a Difference?

Acute stress during medical school affects medical student well-being. The objective of the current study was to examine the influence of a holistic, school-sponsored student wellness program (SWP) on acute stress during the first year of medical school. First-year medical students attending two osteopathic medical schools participated, one school with a holistic student wellness program (SWP group) and one without an organized student wellness program (Control group). The SWP was founded on osteopathic philosophy and designed to help students balance educational goals with a holistic, healthy lifestyle. Participants completed the Medical Education Hassles Scale-R (MEHS-R), which measures acute stress, during orientation and approximately every four to six weeks throughout their first year. Administration times were classified into academic periods (examination, routine, vacation) and 13-week quarters (Q1–Q4). Hassles severity was calculated for each of the seven MEHS-R subscales (Academic and Time Pressures, Financial, Social, External Influences, Day-to-Day Functioning, Relationships with Immediate Family, Health). At orientation, the SWP group had significantly lower hassles severity than the Control group for all subscales except Financial (<em>p </em>≤ 0.04). For the examination academic period, the Academic and Time Pressures and Day-to-Day Functioning hassles severities were significantly lower for the SWP group than the Control group after accounting for differences at orientation (<em>p </em>≤ 0.05). For the vacation academic period, Financial hassles severity was significantly lower for the SWP group than the Control group (<em>p </em>≤ 0.05). There were no significant differences between the SWP and Control groups during the routine academic period (<em>p </em>> 0.05). For first-year medical students, Academic and Time Pressures had the highest hassles severity (<em>p </em>< 0.001). These results indicated that holistic, school-sponsored student wellness interventions during the first year of medical school can significantly decrease the acute stress inherent in medical school, particularly during high stress examination academic periods.